Sonos "Play Local" through PC app option?

No, the Sonos application is not a music player, it’s a controller.  It may seem simply from the outside looking in, but I would guess it’s rather difficult to play audio in sync between Sonos speakers and a computer with all sorts of hardware differences.  And if you can’t play in sync as a multiroom system, there isn’t a lot of value in a Sonos player on your PC, since you can play files and streaming services without Sonos.

I imagine there are also licensing issues to consider.  Streaming services like Amazon and Spotify would surely prefer you use their own streamer on a PC than Sonos.

The Sonos devices are all just little computers inside… the PC is the big honking CPU with all sorts of drivers and a DAC so the Sonos “controller” software doesn’t have to do much - just like the with the speakers!

The sync can be addressed with something as simple as a “lag” delay software knob.

Please don’t mansplain to me about what my values should be - everyone has their own priorities. Mine include being able to play simultaneously through my Klipsch THX speakers on my PC while being able to walk somewhere else and have the Move playing seamlessly as I cross environments.

Any thoughts from anyone else?

If you could use any computer, like a $50 Raspberry Pi, to create a Sonos device, how many actual Sonos devices do you think Sonos would sell? 

So is the alternative you are suggesting for Amazon or someone to just start releasing high quality Echo speakers in various form factors, shut off Sonos integration, and call it a day?

Your $50 Raspberry pi (do they cost that much?) example requires high technical skills and would still require buying speakers and adapters and programming the thing and lord knows what else. Sonos provides quality and design paired with convenience, at a cost of the price - I thought that was the point.

Possibly.  I don’t know enough about all the processing that goes on to tell if that would work.  Regardless, it doesn’t exist. 

That was rather rude. You asked a question, I answered.  I said nothing about your personal values and priorities.  I clearly prefaced my statement with ‘if you can’t play the computer and Sonos speakers in sync..’.  I did not say you shouldn’t want to play in sync.  Without the ability to sync you can accomplish playback without Sonos.

You said: “...there isn’t a lot of value in a Sonos player on your PC...” hence my objection that I do value it in this context, or I wouldn’t have taken the time to post here.

What is the deal with these forums? It feels like a cult. Anybody who asks anything that Sonos cannot already do today gets dumped on within mere minutes by individuals clicking refresh all day, as though any feature Sonos cannot already do must be a bad idea for all sorts of speculative reasons, the system is perfect, and we are silly for bothering to ask.

Seriously, for example, who is suggesting that somebody with the skills, the time, and the inclination to be coding up Raspberry Pi’s would be a Sonos customer to even begin with?  And why is somebody taking the time to make up a ridiculous strawman example to dump on the original question?

Why would it require any special skills?  You are asking for the Sonos software to mimic a Sonos device on a PC.  If it does that, no programming is required.

A little history:  Only one Multi-Room music system out of the dozens around had the ability to play from the software on the PC as well as their own hardware.  That was Squeezebox.  The Squeezebox hardware was taken off the market a long time ago.  But the Squeezebox name is still around, because people are still using the SqueezeSoft PC app to create their own Squeezebox devices out of Raspberry Pi computers.

Sonos isn’t that stupid. 

Anyway, your request isn’t new, it dates all the way back to the original hardware in 2005.  If it hasn’t appeared after 15 years, I highly doubt it’s going to magically appear now.  If you really wish to hear Sonos over your PC speakers, you can purchase a Sonos Port. 

It’s not a strawman, it actually happened to Squeezebox.  

And again, you leave off the condition to that statement to give the statement proper context.

My attempt was to answer your question, and then explain why it might not be as simple as you might think.  That does not at all mean the system is perfect, or that every suggestion gets shutdown.    There are lots of good ideas on here.  I honestly don’t think being able to play on PC or phone/tablet is a bad idea, and would use it myself if available.  I just don’t think it’s going to happen.

There are several Pi proponents on these forum.  And if Sonos had free or cheap PC player software that could play in sync with Sonos speakers, it wouldn’t take much for someone to package a Pi box with the software already installed and ready to sell to those who don’t want to deal with setting it up themselves.

Look team, I’m not up on my annals of Sonos vs. Squeezebox history. I can tell you that I had built my first sound card, a Disney Sound Source (“Covox Speech Thing”) compatible 8-bit DAC out of resistors + a parallel port adapter + a soldering iron, so I’d like to think that I have a little bit of street cred on the topic here.

From the 30 seconds I spent reading up on the Squeezebox, it looks more like that some talented enthusiasts worked to keep the platform alive with raspberry pi’s, when Logitech stopped selling and caring about it. Raspberry pi did not kill off the business!  Ay caramba.

So, it looks like the free, open source, Stream What You Hear appears to be the best option, at a loss of fidelity. A shame that Sonos is incapable of just adding a checkbox to play locally -when playing in addition to- their supported hardware.