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Hi all - 

I got a pair of One SL speakers and a sub. They sound great paired as a stereo setup, and I love how well it fills my room with sound. I only use the system in my office and I love the wireless setup.

My problem is that I can’t figure out how to use this thing properly.  I use Spotify a lot, I do a lot of YouTube, watch videos on Facebook from time to time, and listen to podcasts/audio right from a browser. With my old bluetooth speakers, i just set the bt speaker as the audio out for my laptop and everything is perfect.

With Sonos, every time I change to a new audio source (i.e. from Spotify to browser) I wind up having to figure out how to re-adjust the volume and make sure it’s coming from the Sonos speakers.  I thought I could set my computer to use the Airplay/Sonos as it’s audio output .but it keeps disconnecting.

For example, say I am listing to a youtube video and my OSX is using Airplay to play on Sonos. Now i move to another tab and play a video on Facebook (or anywhere), I hear nothing. I have to go back to settings, switch the audio to use the built-in speakers, then set them again to go to airplay then it works. 

Same with volume - each time I change the source I have to figure out how to change the volume. It’s making me crazy.

Is there any way to simply choose the Sonos via Airplay as my audio source and have it just work regardless of what audio my laptop is producing?

thanks!

I just tested this on my iMac. You should be able to choose the Sonos speaker you want use for Airplay under System Preferences > Sound or under the volume controls in the menu bar on your Desktop (if you have “Show volume in menu bar” selected in the Sound preferences). Once you have the speaker connected to your Mac, ANY audio you play from your Mac, whether it’s from Spotify, Facebook, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc., should play through your chosen speaker without you having to reconnect each time you switch apps or tabs in your browser. But you will have to adjust the volume.

Thats encouraging in a way, because at least it ‘should’ work the way I want it to. I tested it again, and Ill describe what happened as an example:

  1. I’m listening to Spotify, sounds great!
  2. Now I want to watch a Youtube, so I pause Spotify and put in a video. 
  3. The video is playing, but I can’t hear anything. I look at my sound settings and the laptop audio is pointed at the Sonos Airplay.
  4. I switch the audio to the built-in speakers. I still can’t hear anything.
  5. Now i realize the volume has somehow gone to zero, so i turn it up!
  6. Now I hear audio on my laptop speakers.
  7. I switch the laptop audio to Sonos Airplay.
  8. I hear audio, but surprise: the volume is very low for some reason, so I have to adjust that.
  9. Now it sounds fantastic.

But wow, this is pretty painful for every change I make.  Perhaps there is something about my setup which is making airplay fail from time to time.

After you pause Spotify and can’t hear anything playing a YouTube video, if you adjust the volume control in the YouTube video controls, does it make any difference?

Here’s an even more annoying example:

  1. I’m watching video on CSPAN, in a browser. Sounds great.
  2. I pause the video to take a call. 
  3. I finish the call and pretty play, but no audio.
  4. I check the settings, it’s still pointed to Airplay. 
  5. I have to switch again to built in speakers, then again back to sonos to get sound.

Could it be the Airplay is just timing out in this case?

After you pause Spotify and can’t hear anything playing a YouTube video, if you adjust the volume control in the YouTube video controls, does it make any difference?

No, the volume doesn’t do anything in that scenario. 

It feels as if OSX thinks that it’s playing to airplay, but Sonos has lost connectivity. 

What Mac OS version are you using?

What Mac OS version are you using?

This is 11.2.1 Big Sur

Many Big Sur users have had issues with Airplay. Try some of the solutions mentioned in this article and see if it helps: https://piunikaweb.com/2020/12/25/some-apple-users-facing-airplay-issues-after-macos-big-sur-update-but-we-have-some-possible-workarounds/

Many Big Sur users have had issues with Airplay. Try some of the solutions mentioned in this article and see if it helps: https://piunikaweb.com/2020/12/25/some-apple-users-facing-airplay-issues-after-macos-big-sur-update-but-we-have-some-possible-workarounds/

Thank you I’ll try those solutions!

Update on this:

I’ve discovered that in most cases, if I switch from one music source to another the audio will eventually start playing - there is a just a very long delay before it starts. I mean like 10 to 20 seconds.

So, at this point it looks like if go, say, from listening to spotify to watching a video in a browser, I can switch the audio to buit-in speakers, then back OR I can sit there and not hear the first 20 seconds of the audio then it’ll come in.

Seriously? This is weak. I starting to see a lot of posts that suggest others are having the same issue. I am starting to worry that sonos was a poor choice for an audio system that will primarily be driven by a computer with multiple audio sources within it.

Is it just me? It seems like non-stop fumbling with this thing.

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