Multiroom vs Airplay

Multiroom is one of the great B&O features to connect multiple speakers. Escpecially the "touch to connect" feature is simple and convinient during daily use. However, it also has some issues and limitations:

• Some recent products (Balance, Level, ...) do not support it (yet?).
• You can only set up alarms per speaker, it is not possible to set up an alarm for a group of speakers.
• You cannot set a custom volume for an alarm.
• Unfortunately, it can be buggy, touch to join for example doesn't work half the time between my A9 and Beosound 2.

B&O has been pushing Airplay (and Chromecast) as an alternative. While it is convenient to use your phone to select and operate your music, the dependence on the presence and connectivity of a specific mobile device can be annoying. For example, if the person with the playing device leaves the house, the music will stop playing on all speakers.

I have been testing a workflow that alleviates this limitation and in addition enables to set an alarm on multiple speakers at once. To enable this functionality you will need a device that serves as a hub, this can be an Apple TV or an iPad.

To set up an alarm, proceed as follows:

• In the Home app make sure that your Beosound or Beoplay speakers have been added:
  • Tab the + button at the top
  • Tab "Add accessory"
  • Tab "I don't Have  a Code or Cannot Scan"
  • You should see a list of Airplay enabled devices in your network that were not added yet. Select the device you want to add and repeat the previous steps for other devices.
• Select the Automation tab, tab the + button at the top and select "Add Automation"
• Select "A Time of Day Occurs"
• Set your time, preferred days, etc. and tab "Next"
• Select your preferred speakers
• Tab "Audio", "Play audio" and then "Choose audio" to choose your radio station or playlist and select the default volume

In addition to setting alarms, using the Shortcuts application you can make Shortcuts to start a specific playlist on a specific set of speakers etc. with a single tab on your homescreen.

While using Airplay in this way opens a lot of possibilities, I still hope that B&O continues to improve and extend Multiroom. This will always allow better integration and as such a better user experience.

Smart!

However, my B&O devices never show up in the Home app when I try to add.

Frederik:

Tab "Audio", "Play audio" and then "Choose audio" to choose your radio station or playlist and select the default volume

Hi Frederick

I tried with my M3, but at the step for choosing the audio content, it says I need an active Apple Music account (that I don’t have).

CB:

I tried with my M3, but at the step for choosing the audio content, it says I need an active Apple Music account (that I don’t have).

I cannot test it without Apple Music subscription, but I would assume that at least the radio stations should work...