Retired Community Staff

Tutorial

Using Sonos as PC Speakers

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 3, 2021
135 replies
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Moderator note: This article was updated in December 2024 to account for new products.

Image provided by PaulRBoon in this thread: Beam as computer speaker

At Sonos, we don’t make speakers specifically designed for your computer. However, if you are considering integrating your computer sound into your Sonos system, we want to help you get the most out of your products. With this being said, not all computers are built equal, so your mileage may vary, therefore it’s unfortunately not something Sonos can help or support you with setting up outside the general advice here.

In this article, we are going to be focusing on the best ways to get your computer audio coming through a Sonos Playbar, Playbase, Ray, Beam, Arc & Arc Ultra, Amp, Move & Move 2, Roam & Roam 2, Era 100 & Era 300. To get this to work, there are two things to look at: how to connect the products and the settings needed.

A quick note on Play:5, Five, Connect:Amp, Amp, Port, Connect, Era 100 & Era 300

While it is possible to use these players with a PC by connecting to their line-in ports (Era models will need the USB-C adaptor), this isn’t a recommended solution if you’re planning on doing something that requires audio/video synchronization. There will be a minimum of a 75ms delay on the audio due to the signal processing performed on the line-in side. If synchronization isn’t an issue for you, you can simply connect the device to your PCs headphone or line out jack like you would a pair of regular headphones.

Move, Move 2, Roam, Roam 2 & Era 100/300

Bluetooth links via these models will experience the same delay, as Bluetooth acts as a virtual line-in and also needs buffered for network play.

Connecting:

Depending on the product you’re trying to connect, the method of connecting it to your computer will be slightly different. I’ll group the products with similar connections together to make things a bit easier to follow.

Playbar, Playbase & Ray

These products use a TOSLINK/Optical cable to receive audio, so if you’re looking to use these as PC speakers, your PC must be equipped with an Optical Out port. Most PCs don’t come with these built into the motherboard, though some higher end ones do. In most cases, you’ll likely need to use an internal sound card to provide that connection. Simply use an Optical cable to link your Playbar/Playbase/Ray to the Optical out port on your computer; just like you would to hook it up to a TV.

Playbase - use the Digital audio IN port

Beam, Arc, Arc Ultra & Amp

If you’re using a Beam, Arc, Arc Ultra or Amp as computer speakers, there’s one extra step. You’ll need to make use of the Sonos Optical Audio Adapter that is included with your product (excluding Amp). Most computers send a regular HDMI audio stream over their HDMI ports, whereas these products require an HDMI-ARC audio signal. These are not the same. Unless you are using a TV equipped with HDMI-ARC as your monitor, connecting via HDMI-ARC won’t be possible. If that does apply to you, you can check this FAQ to find out how to set up your Beam, Arc or Amp.

How to use the Sonos Optical Audio Adapter

With Amp, you also have the option to use the RCA Line-In ports, though you should be aware that there will be a minimum of 75ms delay due to the signal processing performed on this input. Therefore, it’s generally a better experience to use the HDMI ARC port with the optical adapter.

Beam - use the HDMI port with the Optical adapter

Arc & Arc Ultra - use the HDMI port with the Optical adapter

Amp - use either HDMI or Analog audio in connections

Move, Move 2, Roam & Roam 2, Era 100 & Era 300 (Bluetooth)

With Moves, Roam and Eras, things are a lot more simple. Hooking up these products is as easy as switching them over to Bluetooth mode, opening the Bluetooth settings of your PC and selecting them from the list, just like you would to connect a mobile device. We’ll show you how to do this in the next section.

Move & Move 2 - push the Mode button to switch to Bluetooth

Roam & Roam 2 - push and hold the power button for 2 seconds to switch to Bluetooth

Era 100 - hold the Bluetooth button until you hear a chime to pair

Era 300 - hold the Bluetooth button until you hear a chime to pair

Note that you only need pair a Sonos device to your PC once - from then on, you can use the computer to reinstate the link.

Settings:

Connecting via optical cable or Sonos Optical Audio Adapter

Once you are connected with an optical cable, you may need to perform some steps to get everything running smoothly. It would be almost impossible for us to list specific settings for every sound card or motherboard that has an optical port built in, but we can provide some basic recommendations.

Once the optical cable is plugged in, click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of your Windows taskbar, then click the speaker name above the volume slider to see if an “Optical” or “Digital” sound output has shown up. If it has, just click to enable it.

Look in this drop-down list for “Optical” or “Digital” sound output

If the speaker doesn’t show up there, right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar, click Open Sound Settings, Sound Control Panel and then the Playback tab.

Right-click anywhere in the list, then click “Show Disabled Devices.”

Make sure “Show Disabled Devices” is checked

Once you’ve done that, a device named “digital output” or “optical output” should show up. Right-click it and click “Enable” to switch it on. Once you’ve done that, right-click it again and click “Set as default device.” You should now have optical audio enabled and be able to listen to your PC audio through your Sonos player. You may need to open your Sonos app and select TV from the browse menu if TV Autoplay isn’t enabled.

If this doesn’t work for you, double-check the cable is properly seated in the optical port (it should have a gentle bump or click when fully inserted), and make sure the latest drivers are installed for your sound card or motherboard’s audio processor. If all this checks out, but you’re still not seeing the options show up, get in touch with the manufacturer of your device for further assistance.

Connecting through Bluetooth

Connecting to Moves, Roam or Eras through Bluetooth is relatively quick and easy. Take a look at the GIF below to see how it’s done in Windows 10. Note: not all desktop PCs have Bluetooth built in, so you may need to use an external adapter/dongle.

On Mac, the process is also fairly straightforward. You can use the same method for connecting to Sonos through Bluetooth, or you can establish an Airplay stream to any Airplay 2 capable speakers. Check out our FAQ on Streaming Airplay audio to Sonos.

And that’s it! Once you’re connected in either of these ways you’ll be able to enjoy your PC’s audio on your Sonos player. If you’re using the cabled method you’ll be able to group other wireless players in with your PC connected device and have that audio all around your home, just be aware that the players treat the incoming signal as TV audio, so a strong connection is required between players in order to enjoy uninterrupted sound on a large group.

We love to see what our users do with our products, so if you have your Sonos set up in an interesting way with your computer we’d love to see it! Feel free to post your images in this thread :smile:

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

Show previous replies

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @Gutemberg Ribeiro

There will be a delay (there is always some delay), but it shouldn’t be long enough to be an annoyance (or even noticeable), though as you rightly mention, it does rely on how long it takes the Arcana to do its part.

Other than the phantom screen you mention, I don’t see any obvious problems with doing this, assuming the Mac lets you output audio to one “display” while piping the video to a different display, that is. It’s possible it won’t, but I don’t know for sure one way or another. My assumption would be that you could just choose where the audio goes.

In short, no promises, I’m afraid.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

G

Gutemberg Ribeiro

Contributor I

Yeah, it is possible. For MacOS when you add an HDMI display it also add an audio device so you can just pick it from the list:

About the delay, yeah, there is always "some". But my options for this is to either use Sonos and keep it as the rest of my house, or get a thunderbolt audio interface and plug powered speakers to it as stereo/2.1. Any interface DSP will have "some" delay anyway to convert the signal should be negligible.

The goals are to be able to (1) watch movies/music in a reasonable way (this is not my main HT, just the home office), (2) play games and (3) eventually make skype/teams/slack calls where the delay isn't noticed.

So if this is doable with Sonos rather prefer use it.

Thanks!

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @Gutemberg Ribeiro

I’m about 98% sure it will work for you, but I just can’t guarantee it.

You are most welcome!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

S

SamJones6

Avid Contributor I

I just received my Line In adapter for my Era100….

Anyone reading this thread: You do NOT want to use an Era as a PC speaker unless you:

Never watch youtube
Never watch Netflix
Only ever listen to music

The delay is a LOT more than 75 ms via both bluetooth and the Line In. Via Line In the delay is MUCH greater. So much that watching someone talk or a dialog is painful. Bluetooth is better, but there is a material out-of-sync issue.

jgatie

I just received my Line In adapter for my Era100….

Anyone reading this thread: You do NOT want to use an Era as a PC speaker unless you:

Never watch youtube
Never watch Netflix
Only ever listen to music

The delay is a LOT more than 75 ms via both bluetooth and the Line In. Via Line In the delay is MUCH greater. So much that watching someone talk or a dialog is painful. Bluetooth is better, but there is a material out-of-sync issue.

The Line-In buffer is adjustable, 75ms is the minimum. If it is set high, or compression is set to On, it will be longer.

S

SamJones6

Avid Contributor I

The Line-In buffer is adjustable, 75ms is the minimum. If it is set high, or compression is set to On, it will be longer.

Ahhhh, yes, now that you suggest it, I see that it defaulted (on my system, anyway) to 2000ms! That is TWO SECONDS!

75ms should be fine, I am going to test it now… now this seems workable.

The default is quite the problem. I had started shopping for a powered speaker to replace what I intended for the Era100…. now it looks like the Era100 has me covered.

S

Smartypants1138

Contributor I

(This is a repost)

Hello all -

I was hoping to use my new Era 100s as computer speakers, clearly I didn’t do enough research.

I now understand how the system works - one line-in supports both speakers, the line-in connects to the other speaker wirelessly. This is the source of the delay problem as I understand it.

What if, for the computer speaker use case, Sonos creates an option to use a line-in on each speaker - R/L from the computer. No wireless sync. Of course, I realize that wireless is the Sonos magic, but two use cases in one - computer and multi-room wireless audio, that would be true magic. Plus, Sonos, you get to sell one more line-in dongle. :)

jgatie

(This is a repost)

Hello all -

I was hoping to use my new Era 100s as computer speakers, clearly I didn’t do enough research.

I now understand how the system works - one line-in supports both speakers, the line-in connects to the other speaker wirelessly. This is the source of the delay problem as I understand it.

What if, for the computer speaker use case, Sonos creates an option to use a line-in on each speaker - R/L from the computer. No wireless sync. Of course, I realize that wireless is the Sonos magic, but two use cases in one - computer and multi-room wireless audio, that would be true magic. Plus, Sonos, you get to sell one more line-in dongle. :)

Bolded is incorrect. The delay is to buffer the input for any multi-room use, in addition to a stereo pair, and it is unavoidable. As to giving an option to not delay, it has been requested for going on 2 decades, to no avail. I don’t see Sonos adding it now, especially when switching from one to the other in mid-stream would invariably lead to dropouts. And if you don’t think the very first complaint would be an inability to switch from single use to multi-room without a dropout, you’ve not been around here long.

S

Smartypants1138

Contributor I

Gotcha on the delay. To simplify, I'm proposing that Sonos enables using line in speakers as standard active speakers. So, right line-in plays right signal, left follows the same pattern. This way the speakers work as great, no compromise computer speakers. They also work as great Sonos speakers. Bonus for Sonos, they can sell an additional line-in dongle. I'm envisioning configuration as a toggle that allows the user to ignore stereo paring when using line-in.

melvimbe

Gotcha on the delay. To simplify, I'm proposing that Sonos enables using line in speakers as standard active speakers. So, right line-in plays right signal, left follows the same pattern. This way the speakers work as great, no compromise computer speakers. They also work as great Sonos speakers. Bonus for Sonos, they can sell an additional line-in dongle. I'm envisioning configuration as a toggle that allows the user to ignore stereo paring when using line-in.

Have you tried connecting the Era 100s to your PC via bluetooth? You may find that solution works a little better.

I am doubtful that Sonos will ever removing the line in delay as you suggest, even as a option. It’s designed for multiroom audio use and not to be in sync with any video screen. Sonos has different products for that purpose. And there are unintended consequences from such a feature.

1 - Some users may not understand why there multiroom audio system isn’t playing in perfect sync as advertised. It will appear as a flaw rather than a feature. Yes, the issue already exists when playing TV audio, so you could argue this isn’t really a concern. However, I think people do not group with TV audio that often and it’s somewhat easier to understand. People do connect their turntables, 3rd party systems, etc, and expect to use it for multiroom audio.

2 - The feature would encourage a lot of users to forgo an actual Sonos home theatre setup in favor of just using the line-in to play a stereo signal from their TV. You just want it for your PC, but there is no way to limit the feature to just PC use.

After writing that though, I suppose those consequences are not that severe. Maybe it does make sense from a business perspective. Regardless, it doesn’t exist now.

Danny

Show more replies

A quick note on Play:5, Five, Connect:Amp, Amp, Port, Connect, Era 100 & Era 300

Move, Move 2, Roam, Roam 2 & Era 100/300

Connecting:

Playbar, Playbase & Ray

Beam, Arc, Arc Ultra & Amp

Move, Move 2, Roam & Roam 2, Era 100 & Era 300 (Bluetooth)

Settings:

Connecting via optical cable or Sonos Optical Audio Adapter

Connecting through Bluetooth

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