Bluesound Multi-Room Tips and Tricks

BluOS, the award-winning software platform that underpins all Bluesound products and a growing number of streaming players from NAD and other Hi-Fi brands, lets listeners enjoy music throughout their homes. Here are five tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your Bluesound home audio system.

All Through the House: To configure and operate a Bluesound multi-room system, use the free BluOS Controller app that communicates with your Bluesound players across your home network. All Bluesound players have Ethernet network ports and built-in Wi-Fi*. Like all network-connected devices, using Ethernet to connect your players is the most stable option, as it reserves the use of WiFi to areas of the home where using Ethernet is cumbersome. BluOS can handle up to 64 players on the same network, wireless or otherwise, but if you’ve got an unusually large number of players on your network (more than 16), then consider hardwiring your players.

A Bluesound multi-room system could include a Bluesound PULSE 2i wireless speaker in the kitchen, a PULSE MINI 2i in the primary bedroom, a PULSE SOUNDBAR+ and PULSE SUB+ in the family room, a PULSE FLEX 2i portable speaker on the deck, and a POWERNODE or BluOS-enabled NAD amplifier in the music room.

You can start your Bluesound multi-room system with one player and grow from there. Connect your first Bluesound player to a power outlet and launch the BluOS Controller app. The app discovers your player and guides you through the process of connecting it to your home network. When you want to add more rooms, choose the Add a Player option in the Player Drawer of the BluOS Controller app, then follow the instructions on your screen to add the player.

Play Together: You can use the BluOS Controller app to stream different music to different Bluesound players, or play the same music through several Bluesound players simultaneously. To combine Bluesound players into a group, select the Player Drawer icon and choose the one you want to designate as the primary player. The primary player distributes audio to other players in that group. This can be audio from a streaming service or a source connected to the primary player. Then, select the + (plus) icon next to other players you want in your group. Each player in the group has an individual volume slider. There’s also a master volume control for all players in the group.

To remove a single player from a group, select the three-dot icon to the right of the player and select Remove. When you’re finished with your group and want to control your players individually, select the “X” next to your player group.

Team Building: With the BluOS Controller app’s Fixed Groups function, you can group two Bluesound players to create a stereo pair, combine several Bluesound players into a Home Theatre group for surround sound, or create a Multi-Player group that plays the same music. One perfect scenario for a Multi-Player group is using several Bluesound speakers to fill a large area with sound.

To create a Fixed Group, follow these steps in the BluOS Controller app:

1. Mobile device – Tap the Player Drawer and Fixed Groups.
   Desktop – Select the Player Drawer , then the three-dot context menu , and select My Fixed Groups.
2. In the following screen, choose the kind of group you want to create (Stereo Pair, Home Theatre Group, Multi-Player Group), select the Bluesound players that you want to include in that group, and give your new group a name (e.g. “Office stereo speakers,” “Family room cinema,” “Party room”).
3. You can adjust the relative levels of the speakers in a Stereo Pair or Multi-Player Group using the Edit Group feature in the Player Drawer .
4. If you’re creating a Home Theatre Group, you need to specify the Bluesound player connected to your TV and channel allocations for all the speakers in the group (front-left, right-surround, etc.). Then specify the distance of each speaker to the main listening position and set levels using a white noise test tone that the BluOS Controller app sends to each speaker. The app walks you through the whole process.
5. When you’re done, your Fixed Group appears in the Player Drawer as a single player.

Follow Me Anywhere: The BluOS Controller app’s FollowMe function lets you transfer playback from one player to another. If you’re listening to a podcast using a Bluesound speaker in your home office, you can send it to a speaker in the kitchen when it’s time to prepare dinner.

To use FollowMe, select the Player Drawer in the BluOS Controller app, then specify the player currently playing the content you want to transfer. Next, select the FollowMe icon , and choose the new speaker for your content. The current speaker stops playing, and the audio will transfer to the new player.

Wi-Fi Connectivity: Streaming in hi-res requires more bandwidth than the average audio stream so you’ll want to ensure you have strong Wi-Fi signals to your player. To check the strength of the Wi-Fi connection in the locations you’d like to place your player, access the Help menu in the BluOS Controller app’s Navigation Drawer and choose Diagnostics. The next screen displays the status information of your Bluesound player, including the network name and Wi-Fi signal level. If your Wi-Fi strength is low, try to keep a clear line of sight between your player and your router by removing furniture or other obstructions. If dropouts persist, try reorienting the antenna(s) on your router and changing the Wi-Fi channel in your router’s administration menu.

If network hiccups still occur, consider adding a network extender of the same brand or connecting a PowerLine adapter to your network router and another to your Bluesound player’s Ethernet port. (PowerLine networking sends network signals over household AC wiring.)

For more articles on how to optimize your Bluesound Ecosystem, visit the Bluesound Help Center.

*Bluesound VAULT models do not have a wireless network card and can be connected only using a wired Ethernet connection.