Sony XB41 Pairing Two Speakers

The key to pairing two Sony XB41 speakers together is the ADD button. It lets you join two XB41s for Stereo or Double modes. It’s the button closest to the bottom in the three button row inside the back port compartment.

Picture of the ADD button on the Sony XB41. — The Sony XB41 ADD button.

Sony XB41 Pairing Two Speakers , Explained

The Stereo Pairing function lets you join two XB41s such that one plays the left channel of the stereo program, while the other plays the right channel. Now to create a stereo pair, you need two SRS XB41s. Pairing the 21 with speakers other than an identical model did not work in our tests, and the Sony documentation states that you must have two of the same model in Bluetooth range of each other for connecting the two as a stereo pair to work.

Picture of the ADD light glowing on the speaker. — The ADD lamp glowing.

Now to form a stereo pairing of two XB41 speakers, do as follows.

Preparing the First Speaker

1. Power up the first speaker. We’ll call this XB41 Speaker One.
2. Briefly press the ADD button on Speaker One. The ADD lamp on the same speaker will then start blinking white. E.g. See this light in the last picture above. It’s located inside the ADD button. After a few seconds, the light stops flashing, and begins glowing solid white.

Preparing the Second Speaker

1. Next, turn on the second XB41. I.e. Speaker Two.
2. As you did on Speaker One, press the ADD button on Speaker Two . Again, the ADD light will begin flashing on that speaker just as it did on the first one. And again, it assumes a steady white glow after several seconds. Both speakers also then announce, “Double mode.”

Create the Stereo Pairing Between the Sony XB41s

As far as your source device knows, this two speaker pairing acts just like a single Bluetooth speaker. So you pair your device to it just like you would a single wireless speaker.

Screenshot of the iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB41 as Discovered but not Connected. — iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB41 as Discovered but not Connected.

1. Put this stereo pair into Bluetooth pairing mode if it is not already, by pressing and holding in the Power / Pairing button on Speaker One. Then after a second or two, the Bluetooth lamp on that speaker should fast flash, and the speaker plays a rising pitch tone and announces, “Bluetooth pairing.”
2. Now go to your Bluetooth source device, and connect it to the speaker pair, called “SRS-XB41”. If you do not see this device, the move your phone / tablet closer to the speakers.
3. After the pairing to the source device occurs, press the ADD button to take the speakers out of Double Mode and put them in Stereo mode. Hold it in until you hear the speaker announce Stereo Mode.
4. Finally, you can start playing music on your source device. Then it will stream to that speaker pair, and you’ll hear the program in STEREO!

Screenshot of the iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB41 as Connected. — iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB41 as Connected.

Sony XB41 Pairing Two Speakers: Reversing the Stereo Channels

When in Stereo Pair mode, each speaker is assigned one of the two stereo channels (either L or R). Now drawing on our example above, let’s say that Speaker One is playing the left channel, and Speaker Two is playing the right. In that case, briefly press the ADD button once, and Speaker One will then play the right channel while Speaker Two plays the left channel. To change channel assignments again, simply press and release the ADD button. You can do this repeatedly on either speaker until the channel configuration you wish takes effect on each speaker.

Ending the Pairing Between the Two Sony XB41s

When you’re ready to break the pairing (either stereo or double), briefly press the ADD button on one of the speakers. A tone then sounds and ADD lamp goes out, indicating that this two speaker pairing is now over.

Sony XB41 Pairing Two Speakers, in Double Mode

When two XB41 speaker operate in Double Mode, both speakers play a monaural version of the music. I.e. They both play the sum (L + R) of the left and right stereo channels.

Now Double Mode is the mode that the speakers initially pair in when you connect them together as we described above. But if you have since then switched to stereo mode and want to get back to Double Mode, you briefly press and release the ADD button on one of the speakers during the pairing session. Furthermore, keep pressing this button until the speaker you’re working with announces Double Mode. Thus when that happens, your speakers are now operating in Double Mode.

References for Sony XB41 Pairing Two Speakers

1. Official Sony XB41 Support Page
2. Where to Buy the Sony XB41

Revision History

- 2023-03-28: First published.