# Wiil 2 bluetooth speakers give me true stereo or just double mono? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922 "2017-02-03T19:16:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/1 "2017-02-03T19:16:50Z")
i assumed BT was mono output but someone is telling me that if i link 2 BT speakers it can be configured for (or will automatically become) stereo. True? ---
**Author:** ![quimper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7c8e57/32.png) [@quimper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quimper)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/2 "2017-02-03T19:34:40Z")
> [@astro](#): > > i assumed BT was mono output but someone is telling me that if i link 2 BT speakers it can be configured for (or will automatically become) stereo. True? I’d be skeptical if the claim is that you can mix and match any two BT speakers from different manufacturers. Look for the ones that advertise stereo linking. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/3 "2017-02-03T20:06:22Z")
I know that there Bang & Olufsen has a method of taking two Bluetooth speakers and wirelessly linking them to obtain a stereo output. One of the speakers is linked to the source, it then acts as a master and links to the other speaker, sending the other channel to it. Of course they both have to be B&O and you pay for the privilege/ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/4 "2017-02-03T20:15:20Z")
Bluetooth outputs stereo. There are many, many models of paired Bluetooth stereo speakers. You can also buy adapters that input into any set of stereo speakers. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/5 "2017-02-03T20:46:15Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Bluetooth outputs stereo. There are many, many models of paired Bluetooth stereo speakers. You can also buy adapters that input into any set of stereo speakers. Specifically I want to know if 1 : Two different stand alone BT speakers can be configured to work together to output stereo 2: Two identical (but sold as separate non-paired, stand alone BT speakers) can be configured to work together to output stereo if connected to my Galaxy S7 smartphone. or do I have to buy a special paired set? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/6 "2017-02-03T21:08:49Z")
In looking further the answer is apparently “no” for random BT speakers unless the speakers are engineered to be set up to be a paired stereo separated set or a manufacturers android app exists that will let you do this on their speakers. Two of the BT speakers I have are JBL Sparks but they are not listed specifically as stereo paring capable like the JBL Flip 2 and Flip 3 speakers are. I will experiment with the JBL BT Android app and see if I can make it happen for the pair of JBL Sparks I have. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/7 "2017-02-03T21:22:50Z")
> [@astro](#): > > In looking further the answer is apparently “no” for random BT speakers unless the speakers are engineered to be set up to be a paired stereo separated set or a manufacturers android app exists that will let you do this on their speakers. That’d be my suspicion, as well. You need to have _something_ (i.e., software on your phone or in the speakers) that can be configured to use one speaker only for the left channel of the stereo output, and the other speaker only for the right channel. Otherwise, you’d have two speakers, both of which are carrying both channels. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/8 "2017-02-04T01:55:11Z")
I know our Bose SoundTouch 10 is advertised as having the ability to pair with another Bose SoundTouch to give stereo output. It’s a feature of the speakers themselves. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/9 "2017-02-05T14:47:35Z")
Our off-brand speaker from Amazon said right on the box that if we buy another one of the same model they can be paired as stereo. Now that I’ve read this thread, I want to try it! ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/10 "2017-02-05T15:29:06Z")
> [@digs](#): > > _" Our off-brand speaker from Amazon said right on the box that if we buy another one of the same model they can be paired as stereo. Now that I’ve read this thread, I want to try it! "_ that may be true … before purchasing, i’d suggest looking at consumers’ reviews … since the others’ comments are part of the whole buying experience on amazon. if a handful of people complain the sound is mono … write to the manufacturer or access their website and find out first-hand. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/11 "2017-02-05T15:47:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > That’d be my suspicion, as well. You need to have _something_ (i.e., software on your phone or in the speakers) that can be configured to use one speaker only for the left channel of the stereo output, and the other speaker only for the right channel. **Otherwise, you’d have two speakers, both of which are carrying both channels.** (emphasis mine) I don’t think you could even do that. My Android phones and tablets don’t seem to have the ability to pair with two speakers at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiil-2-bluetooth-speakers-give-me-true-stereo-or-just-double-mono/778922/12 "2017-02-05T18:42:36Z")
Been playing with Galaxy S7 phone and a PC desktop with BT attaching to BT speakers with a couple different configurations. One at a time mono is apparently the rule for BT enabled speakers unless the speaker is engineered and configured for stereo pairing from the start. Even an identical pair of BT speakers will not pair for stereo unless they were engineered to do so from the start.