Pretty please - Build a Play:Win device

CodeSlinger,

Here is a very old, very long, and sometimes contentious discussion about using a PC as a zone.

The folks I read that were contentious about this have no clue what they are talking about. You certainly would not HAVE to have the PC be a zone if you did not want it but the important features MISSING with out it are -

- I can't listen using my headphones
- I can't listen to Internet radio at my PC
- I need multiple apps beside Sonos to listen at my PC
- I have to bother other folks that may not want to listen to my or any music while I'm working in my office while I do!

The ONLY two ways to overcome this are 1) make the PC a zone or 2) come out with wireless headphones. I don't care which but both would be best!

Dave

CodeSlinger, besides the technical reasons, including the lousy timing of the pc clock, why in God's green earth would Sonos allow you to turn a pc into a zone? Raspberry Pi computers can be bought for under $100. That's half the price of a Play:1. Add cheap speakers and you have a Sonos device for under $150 with no profit to Sonos, spelling Sonos' death knell.

Don't believe me? The last multi-room streamer with a PC zone was Squeezebox. Their line is now deceased, except for the users who keep it going using Raspberry Pi computers and their old PC based software zone, all for less than half the price of the original Squeezebox hardware.

I currently have a connect hooked between my PC output and my PC speakers. That makes my PC a Sonos Zone where I can play anything from my PC to any Sonos speaker in the house and I can play Sonos music to my PC speakers (making them a zone and I could just as easily have a splitter to use my wired headphones as well.

If speakers are built into the PC you could hook the connect to the MIC/Audio input of your PC to play Sonos sound - and from the audio out to play PC sound to other Sonos units.

How does the Connect not work for you?

Well that costs a lot more but some good ideas thanks. Maybe they could sell the PC software if the issue is they would not be selling hardware.

Well that costs a lot more but some good ideas thanks. Maybe they could sell the PC software if the issue is they would not be selling hardware.

Or maybe they can just never make the PC software, and keep selling hardware. What a novel concept.

CodeSlinger, besides the technical reasons, including the lousy timing of the pc clock, why in God's green earth would Sonos allow you to turn a pc into a zone? Raspberry Pi computers can be bought for under $100. That's half the price of a Play:1. Add cheap speakers and you have a Sonos device for under $150 with no profit to Sonos, spelling Sonos' death knell.

Don't believe me? The last multi-room streamer with a PC zone was Squeezebox. Their line is now deceased, except for the users who keep it going using Raspberry Pi computers and their old PC based software zone, all for less than half the price of the original Squeezebox hardware.

You are wrong on the technical reasons and yes I know that is why they don't do it but I would like to believe they are looking at it wrong. They c/should sell the zone software to implement a zone as after all it is their intellectual property that they have every right to a profit from. And then I don't need to burn watts for another piece of gear I don't really need when I'm sitting much of the day in front of a system way more powerful, including very accurate timing and digital audio, I7, 32G etc. And I don't have to waste my time or space having additional devices and/or multiple apps on my PC to listen to all the music that Sonos can already nicely control. This could also add new sources for other zones. I just wanted to easily use my USB headset so must consider Chris' suggestion as the only possibility right now yet am going to wait a bit before going that route.

I think it makes logical and financial sense and would like to see Sonos do this and/or sell some wireless headphones. I think they can make decent $ doing both and I would like either as a consumer and it will further lock in their customer base. If folks use their software they would be hesitant to convert to other delivery systems due to the hassles of migrating off any entrenched software platform. Sonos is really in the music delivery business, not just the speaker busienss, and right now they don't easily deliver to headphones. Honestly, I'd rather have some really nice wireless headphones so while I'm reading Asimov on my Kindle in front of the linear FP I can listen to some nice instrumental w/o bothering the wife. And then I could use them sitting at the PC as well.

The folks I read that were contentious about this have no clue what they are talking about. You certainly would not HAVE to have the PC be a zone if you did not want it but the important features MISSING with out it are -

- I can't listen using my headphones
- I can't listen to Internet radio at my PC
- I need multiple apps beside Sonos to listen at my PC
- I have to bother other folks that may not want to listen to my or any music while I'm working in my office while I do!

The ONLY two ways to overcome this are 1) make the PC a zone or 2) come out with wireless headphones. I don't care which but both would be best!

Dave

No, there is a third way, plug some headphones into your pc's soundcard and listen to internet radio through a web browser.

Sonos don't make pc audio software, why should they when there's a million options out there for doing that already?

Sonos is not going to make a PC zone. It makes no technical or financial sense. If it did, they would have done it 10 years ago when it was first requested.

...and they would be out of business