Manual Sync

These are temporary group players that are configured via the Player List.

Features

Players can be linked via the chain icon in the Player List
Only like player types that support synced playback are allowed to be joined. These players will then play in sync
When players are grouped in this way only the main player holds the queue. For example, player A has an existing queue and players B and C are joined to player A. If player A is turned off players B and C will stop
Some player types may pause momentarily as a new device is joined

These are permanent group players that are configured via the MA settings. These should be used when the make up of the group will rarely change.

The native player types shown (i.e. not the Universal Group option) support perfect sync (this is a requirement to be shown in the list)
In addition to playing in sync the group will hold the queue regardless of which player(s) in the group are powered off

As mentioned above the group player holds the queue rather than any individual player, however, if the group leader is lost then playback will stop but the queue can be restarted
The group will not power on if one of the child players is synced to another group

Music Assistant has support for grouping dissimilar playback devices.

All devices (except Chromecast) can be grouped but not all will play in sync. See the individual players for their limitations.

Tip

Reminder Chromecast devices must be grouped in the Google Home app for perfect sync

This type of group should be avoided if a Sync Group or Native Group can be used
Universal Groups can include sync groups but not other universal groups
Universal Groups are on a best-effort basis and might not work correctly with all player models or give unexpected results