Is there an easy way to click a checkbox and “Play Local” on the PC via the Windows Sonos App, so that I can play through the PC speakers with synchronized playback on my Sonos devices? The only way I have seen to do something similar is via either: Purchasing Sonos “Port” product - hardware rube goldberg contraption, costs money, introduces lag. Or, With a software workaround like “Stream What You Hear”” - software rube goldberg, free, loss of sound quality, introduces lag, can’t use Sonos app for source selection There are a bunch of benefits of being able to do this directly within the Sonos app rather than via workarounds, and it feels like a really simple thing. Possible?

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Sonos "Play Local" through PC app option?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
April 14, 2020
33 replies
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Is there an easy way to click a checkbox and “Play Local” on the PC via the Windows Sonos App, so that I can play through the PC speakers with synchronized playback on my Sonos devices?

The only way I have seen to do something similar is via either:

Purchasing Sonos “Port” product - hardware rube goldberg contraption, costs money, introduces lag. Or,
With a software workaround like “Stream What You Hear”” - software rube goldberg, free, loss of sound quality, introduces lag, can’t use Sonos app for source selection

There are a bunch of benefits of being able to do this directly within the Sonos app rather than via workarounds, and it feels like a really simple thing.

Possible?

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Best answer by Ryan S

Hi everyone, I think we maybe can take a step back and keep it friendly in here.

@SunOS, it’s a good question, there are two big ones that come up a lot “can I use Sonos to play on my computer” and “can I play what’s on my computer to Sonos”. They come up so much that I think the most regular people on the board may be a little over answering the question.

Here’s a good thread from 2005 talking about using a computer as a zone (old name for rooms).

Ultimately, if your question is “is there an easy way to do this” than the answer is either “not at this time” or “only if you purchase as Sonos player for your computer”. There are some good software solutions out there, as you mentioned that are a bit hacked together, and there are a lot of options and workarounds, but it’s not built into the Sonos app for the computer.

If you’re asking, “why isn’t this in the app and can it be done”, the best answer I can give is that the controller is designed as a remote more than anything, all of the smarts are in the players themselves, and we haven’t taken the time to work on developing the software beyond that purpose. There are plenty of reasons, but I don’t think there’s going to be any good to come from going into any of them.

This is a very popular request, so it’s regularly in my report to the teams for what people are asking for, but that doesn’t mean it will or won’t happen sometime in the future.

This was a request of mine for a while, but I wound up picking up a Beam for myself as a computer speaker and it works great. But that might not work in your situation.

Show previous replies

jgatie

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.

As was done with Squeezebox.

https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?106782-New-crop-of-Squeezebox-hardware-players

jgatie

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.

I followed the Squeeze forum back then. There were people taking the Raspberry Pi route long before Squeezebox tanked. It was a well known secret that some even flaunted in the forum. Squeeze enthusiasts will deny it, because they don’t like to think they were part of the downfall. They all blame Logitech, but they are delusional.

melvimbe

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.

Out of curiosity, if Sonos did offer a version of the app that could play as a Sonos speaker, and play local content, would you be willing to pay $50, $75 (per device) or more for it? I’m just guessing that they would want to price it significantly high enough to cover the cost of development and support, and keep it from undercutting the speaker sales too much. Based on what you stated, I would guess that you would. Not sure that I would, but I’d consider it.

Danny

S

SunOSAuthor

For me, I wouldn’t pay extra to just “pass-through” output to the local device…

It does feel like it’s in Sonos’s benefit to offer this. They maintain “big brother” control knowing every artist, every song, every podcast, every whatever that is played through their app. When using “Stream What You Hear,” then the Sonos itself becomes just the dumb passthrough and they lose all that valuable data on what their customers are playing through their Sonos setups.

Airgetlam

But then they lose the ‘marketing’ difference of their speakers, I.e. the ability to play in sync in multiple rooms. At that point, they’re just another speaker in an already crowded market?

Bruce

S

SunOSAuthor

No, my point is it plays in sync with the Sonos devices, now with the added ability to simply play through the locally attached speakers when the Sonos system is in use

jgatie

For me, I wouldn’t pay extra to just “pass-through” output to the local device…

It does feel like it’s in Sonos’s benefit to offer this. They maintain “big brother” control knowing every artist, every song, every podcast, every whatever that is played through their app. When using “Stream What You Hear,” then the Sonos itself becomes just the dumb passthrough and they lose all that valuable data on what their customers are playing through their Sonos setups.

Nothing can be “passed through” the controller app. It’s a common misconception that the app is playing the music. It isn’t. The app is just a controller, it tells the Sonos device what to play and where to play it from. The Sonos device then fetches the music and plays it. No music stream ever hits the PC/Mac and/or mobile controller apps. In fact, you can start a stream playing, then turn your PC/Mac or mobile device completely off, toss them out the window, throw them in a fish tank, etc., and the music keeps playing.

That is another reason why you won’t see this function, it would require an entire rewriting of the PC/Mac application. Since the PC/Mac controller has recently been downgraded to secondary status, I don’t think you will see them add this possibly cannibalistic function to an app they have been removing functionality from for the past few years.

As I said, this is not a new request, it goes back 15 years.

S

SunOSAuthor

I agree that superficially it appears the PC app is treated with secondary status, but disagree that it is that difficult to load up some drivers and simultaneously play/stream locally.

Sure if they want to just sell more Port devices to be $450 rube goldberg contraptions, then sure, but it really does not seem like that is the main point or target audience of the Port device.

jgatie

I agree that superficially it appears the PC app is treated with secondary status, but disagree that it is that difficult to load up some drivers and simultaneously play/stream locally.

Sure if they want to just sell more Port devices to be $450 rube goldberg contraptions, then sure, but it really does not seem like that is the main point or target audience of the Port device.

As stated, the PC/Mac controller doesn’t play/stream anything. The music stream never goes near the controller. So it’s not a matter of loading up some drivers and streaming locally, because it has no access to the music stream at all. It would have to be completely rewritten as both a controller and a Sonos device to accomplish your request. And that’s not going to happen.

S

SunOSAuthor

Yes, I get it. Yes, I am asking to add the ability to play or stream locally because it is really not difficult. Of course they have “access” to everything.

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