How to connect several Bluetooth speakers together
Two modes
Stereo means two speakers, one on the left channel and one on the right, so the sound has space. Playing together means several speakers playing the same music in different places, say indoors and in the garden.
TESNA Pod Pro
Two Pod Pros pair for stereo, and up to eight speakers can play together. The Pod Pro gives 30 W from two 45 mm drivers and a passive radiator, lasts 18 hours and has a mic that tunes the bass to the room.
TESNA Pod mini
Two Pod minis pair for stereo. The Pod mini gives 10 W, lasts 12 hours and has a silicone strap to hang it on a rucksack or handlebar.
Stereo mode, step by step
For stereo you need two speakers of the same model: two Pod Pros or two Pod minis. Turn both on and connect only one of them to the phone. Then start the stereo pairing on the speakers, as the manual describes; the speakers find each other and one becomes the left channel, the other the right.
From then on the phone sees a single speaker, and the sound is split between them. To separate them, end the pairing on the speakers or turn one of them off.
Stereo makes sense when you listen from one spot, say the sofa, with the speakers two or three metres apart at the same height.
Party mode with the Pod Pro
The Pod Pro can link up to 8 speakers playing the same thing at the same time. It is the mode for a garden, a terrace or a house with several rooms: each speaker fills a corner with the same sound.
Place the speakers at sensible distances from each other and not too far from the first speaker, the one connected to the phone: Bluetooth has a limited range and thick walls shorten it. Each Pod Pro has 30 W, so two or three speakers already cover an ordinary garden.
Battery with several speakers
The Pod Pro lasts 18 hours on a charge and the Pod mini 12 hours, at moderate volume. At high volume the battery runs down faster, and the speaker that takes the signal from the phone and passes it on works a little harder than the rest.
Before a party, charge every speaker fully. If one runs flat mid-party, the others carry on, but the link has to be set up again when you turn it back on.
Outdoors, by the water
Both speakers are rated IP67: dust-tight and able to survive temporary immersion up to 1 m for 30 minutes. At the pool or the beach, a splash or a fall into the water will not ruin them.
Keep them out of strong direct sun for long, though: heat is bad for any battery. Put them in the shade and off the sand, and rinse them with fresh water after a swim.
Where to place them
For stereo, put the speakers a few metres apart at ear height and sit between them. For a garden or terrace, spread them so it is not too loud next to any one. Both models are IP67, so they handle dust, sand and pool splashes.
If the link does not work
If the speakers do not find each other, turn both off, turn them on again and repeat the pairing with the speakers close together. Disconnect the phone from the second speaker: in stereo only the first speaker is connected to the phone.
Check too that both are charged and that they are the same model. If it still does not work, write to us with the speaker model and what you tried, and we will help.
The Pod mini on a hike
The Pod mini has a silicone strap that loops over a bike handlebar or a rucksack ring, and its sealed body is made to survive a drop in the pool. It has 10 W and lasts 12 hours, enough for a whole day outdoors.
On the trail, think of the people around you: in the mountains and in parks many come for the quiet. A moderate volume and the speaker pointed at you, not at the path, are a courtesy that matters.
Every model is in the shop, under Bluetooth speakers.