# play to just one, or just a set of balenaSound devices?

**URL:** <https://forums.balena.io/t/play-to-just-one-or-just-a-set-of-balenasound-devices/263505>\
**Category:** balenaSound\
**Created:** [February 27, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/play-to-just-one-or-just-a-set-of-balenasound-devices/263505 "2021-02-27T06:51:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chrispitzer](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/balena/user_avatar/forums.balena.io/chrispitzer/32/5514_2.png) [@chrispitzer](https://forums.balena.io/u/chrispitzer)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/play-to-just-one-or-just-a-set-of-balenasound-devices/263505/1 "2021-02-27T06:51:02Z")

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Hi there,

I’ve got a few balenaSound instances working on a few raspberry pi 4 computers. They show up in Spotify, and I can send sound to one or to the other… but regardless of which one I choose, they both end up playing the music. Sometimes I’ll want this, but sometimes I’ll just want to play music in one room…

Perhaps I’m missing a piece of knowledge here? Do I have these set up right? Do I need to use an additional piece of software to set up groups of devices? (for instance, “Dining Room and Kitchen only”, or “whole house”, or “just my bedroom”)

Anyway, I’m fairly new to this hopefully you can help get me pointed in the right direction! Thanks!

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**Author:** ![koyaanisqatsi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/balena/user_avatar/forums.balena.io/koyaanisqatsi/32/6706_2.png) [@koyaanisqatsi](https://forums.balena.io/u/koyaanisqatsi)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/play-to-just-one-or-just-a-set-of-balenasound-devices/263505/4 "2021-02-28T05:17:29Z")

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Hi @chrispitzer ,

Welcome to the forums!

You probably want to set the SOUND\_MODE=STANDALONE environment variable on the device you want to run only locally. It will take several seconds for the device to update and start working in the new mode, after you set the variable in balenaCloud.

See here for details: [https://sound.balenalabs.io/docs/customization#multi-room](https://sound.balenalabs.io/docs/customization#multi-room)

Cheers!  
Mark-

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**Author:** ![phil-d-wilson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/balena/user_avatar/forums.balena.io/phil-d-wilson/32/3730_2.png) [@phil-d-wilson](https://forums.balena.io/u/phil-d-wilson)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2021, 9:13am UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/play-to-just-one-or-just-a-set-of-balenasound-devices/263505/5 "2021-02-28T09:13:11Z")

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Hey!

You can also learn more about the multi-room functionality and customisation here : [https://www.github.com/balenalabs/balena-sound/tree/master/ARCHITECTURE.md](https://www.github.com/balenalabs/balena-sound/tree/master/ARCHITECTURE.md)

Notice the API and “secret” UI. 🕶

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**Author:** ![rahul-thakoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de053/32.png) [@rahul-thakoor](https://forums.balena.io/u/rahul-thakoor)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 10:21am UTC](https://forums.balena.io/t/play-to-just-one-or-just-a-set-of-balenasound-devices/263505/7 "2021-03-04T10:21:16Z")

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Hey there @chrispitzer, just wondering if the instructions above helped you resolve your issue?