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lagerratrobe
Contributor I
September 13, 2018

Alternative to SONOS app for streaming to speaker

  • September 13, 2018
  • 17 replies
  • 14584 views
I would like to stop using the Sonos app completely with a SONOS 1 that I own. Is it possible for me to overwrite the firmware and use the device with other software to stream audio? I'm thinking of some sort of service running on a separate device that the SONOS can pick up, similar to bluetooth streaming.
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    17 replies

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    amun
    June 5, 2019
    I'm confused - why couldn't the OP use something like Hifi Cast to stream his music direct to the Sonos player? I only have a Play5 here, but I'd have thought that they's have worked the same...
    jvanostrand
    Lyricist I
    January 22, 2020

    If you’re a programmer, there’s the Python library “soco” and a command-line tool called “socos” that you can use to control the speakers.

     

    mrgrieves
    Avid Contributor I
    January 26, 2020

    There are a few NodeJS based Sonos libraries, including a web based controller (https://github.com/jishi/node-sonos-web-controller).  I found it a tad unpredictable when I tried it before (it kept setting my volume levels to 0) but it might hav improved.  There’s also a rest api (https://github.com/jishi/node-sonos-http-api) which I use to do some menial tasks (like capture what I was listening to at the end of the day).

    Only worth a go if you’re happy dabbling with node.

    Also, I saw Macronos for Android on the google play store.  It’s not a replacement for the Sonos controller, but it has some other functionality.  (It isn’t free so I’ve not yet tried it).

    I get the impression you want more than a new controller though?

    controlav
    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    January 26, 2020

    You cannot change the code in the players, obviously. However you are free to write controller code, as many of us have already done. Third party alternatives are available for all platforms if you can’t write your own.

    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
    Forrest
    Chromatic Producer I
    April 21, 2020

    The Sonos player for the Mac is a terrible application, lacking in intuitive controls and a bizarre UI.   I’ve asked Sonos, repeatedly, if they plan on making this better -- met by silence.   


    They need to listen to their customers and improve these interfaces, for the price we pay for the speakers and the proprietary nature of how their sound gets balanced for playback, I expect a lot more from this.

     

      DaveInSidney
      Contributor I
      April 22, 2020

      I may be missing the point here, but since the speakers are all DLNA compliant, then any DLNA controller would work for you.

      I use SONOS for my no-critical listening environments and for historic reasons continue to use a Squeezebox in my main listening system. I control the Squeezebox with Logitech Media Server (7.9.3) and it can also control all of my SONOS systems (2 mono PLAY:1 and 1 stereo PLAY:3 pair) that way. As a further benefit, as I have over 170K tracks in the library, I am not bound by the 64K SONOS limit. YMMV.

      chicks
      chicks
      April 23, 2020

      Yep, lots of UPnP/DLNA apps out there that can use Sonos speakers as targets. Most won’t recognize stereo pairs, sadly, but LMS will. 

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