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Using Sonos with a Desktop PC? Possible in 2024?

  • 21 May 2024
  • 6 replies
  • 295 views

Having read some very old threads here, I think I know the answer and it seems have provoked some emotions but is it feasible to add Sonos to our office desktop environment?

I ask as we are wall to wall Sonos now … inside and out. The only areas NOT yet having it integrated are the kids gaming environment (have posted the Q elsewhere but surprisingly no answers yet) and the office desktop PC.

In an ideal world it would be great to integrate a Sonos solution rather than a third party one. 

I have a pair of One’s that I’d like to upgrade to Era 300’s and this would be a nice chess move.

I suspect the answer is no but just to ask if it’s a possibility in 2024 …. for Sonos music  streams of course but also the normal Windows sounds. 

Many thanks in advance

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6 replies

S
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

In short, no good options exist.

With Era’s (and maybe Ones? dont know if it is possible for them), you can connect using a separately bought convertor from 3.5mm jack to USB-C, but you will get a very noticeable delay, not usable for games or movies!

You can also connect using Bluetooth (also not sure if it works on One, works for Eras) if you have it in your Desktop PC, this will be no delay, but lower sound quality and frequent reconnecting.

Third option ​​​would be connecting a Sonos soundbar via optical cable (if your Desktop PC sound card supports it), however Sonos broke this connection with their latest update few weeks ago and there is no response on information if they plan to fix it.

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

In short, no good options exist.

With Era’s (and maybe Ones? dont know if it is possible for them), you can connect using a separately bought convertor from 3.5mm jack to USB-C, but you will get a very noticeable delay, not usable for games or movies!

You can also connect using Bluetooth (also not sure if it works on One, works for Eras) if you have it in your Desktop PC, this will be no delay, but lower sound quality and frequent reconnecting.

Third option ​​​would be connecting a Sonos soundbar via optical cable (if your Desktop PC sound card supports it), however Sonos broke this connection with their latest update few weeks ago and there is no response on information if they plan to fix it.

Many thanks for the comprehensive explanation. Strangely we do have all those options I think.

The core system is a Dell Precision with a Sound Blaster Xfi 3 device attached to it which is then has a old but good Pioneer AX10is AVR and Evid external speaker system. Ironically that set up was for a party to make a load of external Hue lights dance to ‘The Blue Danube’ for a 60th birthday party! 😊 Far too OTT setup and work for one event!

But then other laptops used at the same station are much lower spec and older and would not be able to connect in all those ways.

I think in this instance we will have to avoid the pure Sonos solution in favour of some Kiipsch amplifed desktop speakers. A shame but is good to know the options and limitations before moving to that.

Very much appreciate your time explaining those options and limitations. All makes  a lot of sense now.

T
Userlevel 1

I’m using 2xFive+1xSub[gen 3] as my main driver for my office Desktop PC. The Five has a Line-In input which is connected directly to my PC’s sound card.

Barring the last disastruous update which completely removed the AutoPlay setting for Line-In, the setup seems to work just fine.

Once they restore AutoPlay (switches to Line-In as input whenever sound is detected on that port) you should have no issues using it as a driver for any non-AirPlay-compatible devices.

Cheers!

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

I’m using 2xFive+1xSub[gen 3] as my main driver for my office Desktop PC. The Five has a Line-In input which is connected directly to my PC’s sound card.

Barring the last disastruous update which completely removed the AutoPlay setting for Line-In, the setup seems to work just fine.

Once they restore AutoPlay (switches to Line-In as input whenever sound is detected on that port) you should have no issues using it as a driver for any non-AirPlay-compatible devices.

Cheers!

That’s an interesting option tipuban ….. I have a Five that’s somewhat misplaced and under used. Will have a look at that. And do we think the removed options will be coming back in another update? 

Thanks for letting me know about that. It gives options that helps a lot. Cheers.

T
Userlevel 1

I’m using 2xFive+1xSub[gen 3] as my main driver for my office Desktop PC. The Five has a Line-In input which is connected directly to my PC’s sound card.

Barring the last disastruous update which completely removed the AutoPlay setting for Line-In, the setup seems to work just fine.

Once they restore AutoPlay (switches to Line-In as input whenever sound is detected on that port) you should have no issues using it as a driver for any non-AirPlay-compatible devices.

Cheers!

That’s an interesting option tipuban ….. I have a Five that’s somewhat misplaced and under used. Will have a look at that. And do we think the removed options will be coming back in another update? 

Thanks for letting me know about that. It gives options that helps a lot. Cheers.

I presume the AutoPlay feature will return sometime in the future. Hope it won’t be too long.

In the meanwhile I’ve implemented my own AutoPlay feature that works even better than the one they had (works only on Linux for now, but let me know if that’s an option for you and I’ll put the code on github). It basically monitors my PCs audio card and as soon as it detects sound, it immediately instructs my office Sonos setup to start playing from Line-In even if one or more speakers are currently being used by another player.

 

 

Good luck!

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +11

I’m using 2xFive+1xSub[gen 3] as my main driver for my office Desktop PC. The Five has a Line-In input which is connected directly to my PC’s sound card.

Barring the last disastruous update which completely removed the AutoPlay setting for Line-In, the setup seems to work just fine.

Once they restore AutoPlay (switches to Line-In as input whenever sound is detected on that port) you should have no issues using it as a driver for any non-AirPlay-compatible devices.

Cheers!

That’s an interesting option tipuban ….. I have a Five that’s somewhat misplaced and under used. Will have a look at that. And do we think the removed options will be coming back in another update? 

Thanks for letting me know about that. It gives options that helps a lot. Cheers.

I presume the AutoPlay feature will return sometime in the future. Hope it won’t be too long.

In the meanwhile I’ve implemented my own AutoPlay feature that works even better than the one they had (works only on Linux for now, but let me know if that’s an option for you and I’ll put the code on github). It basically monitors my PCs audio card and as soon as it detects sound, it immediately instructs my office Sonos setup to start playing from Line-In even if one or more speakers are currently being used by another player.

 

 

Good luck!

That’s really interesting and impressive for sure. Unfortunately my skill base is fairly restricted, certainly in terms of Linux …. I’m pretty much a lifelong Windows guy. But what a great facility and a super offer which I appreciate. It just goes to show what can be done introducing a great product into a wider context. Nice one.

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