Want to switch to multiroom without forgetting your current equipment? With Google Assistant speakers and Chromecast Audio modules, this is possible.
Multiroom is the ability to listen to the same song simultaneously on two or more speakers, placed in the same room or in different rooms. To take advantage of it, two solutions. The first is to go through a proprietary system, as offered by Sonos, Samsung or LG. This solution implies that you acquire a complete set of loudspeakers from the same brand. Two drawbacks: your existing hardware will not be able to communicate with this new proprietary ecosystem … and you become dependent on the brand’s development capabilities to benefit from new functions and new services.
The other solution is to go through Google’s ecosystem, made up of both Google Assistant-compatible smart speakers and Chromecast audio modules. These allow you to transform any speaker or amplifier equipped with an auxiliary input into a multiroom satellite.
Be careful, the Google style multiroom is not without constraints. You can only stream your favorite tracks through a streaming service, or from the cloud. For example, you cannot stream MP3 files stored on your phone. You must first transfer them to the Google Play Music service. This feature is free and allows you to store up to 50,000 songs in the cloud. The other constraint, remember, is that Google’s multiroom is based on Chromecast technology, which necessarily requires an internet connection.
Step 1: Install the speakers
Whether it is the enclosure Google home, models JBL Link or Sony connected model, the installation of a new Google Assistant speaker necessarily requires the Google Home application (compatible with iOS and Android). Once the application is installed, place your smartphone near the speaker and launch it. Select your product from the list of speakers identified by the application, then follow the various configuration steps.
To integrate your existing equipment into your multiroom installation, you will need to go through modules Chromecast Audio. Connect Chromecast Audio to the auxiliary input of your speaker or amplifier via the supplied jack or a male jack to RCA adapter (on sale here). Connect your smartphone or tablet to the home Wi-Fi network then launch the Google Home app. Let the application guide you through the various stages of the installation.
Step 2: Create groups
Once all the speakers have been installed and recognized in the Google Home app, go to the menu then to Devices. To create a group, tap in the upper right corner of one of the devices in the list and then select Create a group.

Name your group, check the box of the speakers you want to include in the group, then save. Your group now appears in the list of devices. You can rename the group name at any time and change the speakers that are part of it. All you have to do is create as many groups as there are zones you want to control! Note that it is obviously possible to create a global group that includes all the compatible devices in your household.
Step 3: Link your music app with your Google Assistant account
Google’s multiroom only works with online music services. Today, three streaming services are supported: Spotify, Deezer and of course Google Music. To use them through Google Assistant, open the Home app, then select Music in the main menu. Tap the icon of the service you want to use, then enter your login details.

Once the service is associated with your Google account, check the box of the provider you want to use by default or select No default provider. This choice impacts the way you formulate your voice requests, as we will see below.
Step 4: Master the essential commands
Everything is ready ! All you have to do is master the essential controls. If you have not chosen a default music provider (see above), you should always include the name of the desired service in your request. For example: “Listen to the last Parcels album” or “Listen to the last Parcels album on Spotify”
The essential commands:
Listen to a particular track:
“Ok Google, put [titre]”
“Ok Google, put [titre] of [artiste]”
Listen to an artist:
“Ok Google, put [artiste]”
Listen to an album:
“Ok Google, put [album]”
Listen to a playlist:
“Ok Google, play some catchy music”, “Ok Google, put on some quiet music”, “Ok Google, put on some thrash metal”
Skip to the next track:
“Ok Google, next”
Stop or pause music:
“Ok Google, pause”
“Ok Google, stop” (then “Ok Google, resume” to resume reading)
Adjust the volume:
Increase or decrease the volume by 10%:
“Ok Google, turn up the volume”, “Ok Google, turn it down”
Increase or decrease the volume by 20% or more: “Ok Google, turn up the volume [xx]% ”, “Ok Google, turn down the volume [xx]% ”
Define a specific volume: “Ok Google, turn the volume to [xx]% ”