Using Sonos One As Wirless PC Speakers on Windows 10?

Not really. There are some software solutions but they all introduce unusable amounts of lag into the system. Get a Play:5 (used Gen 1s are ~$100) and use a 3.5mm cable, it works well and is reliable.

Not very good really is it? Why can’t either Sonos or Microsoft make a Windows 10 driver? The Spotify PC app works perfectly with my Sonos One’s Gen 2. I’m not buying more speakers as the two I’ve got were only purchased in April this year.

Since controlav isn’t a Sonos employee, it would be hard for him to answer your question. 

Not sure the numbers of users that would use such a driver would interest Microsoft, to be honest. 

Sonos has never been marketed as a computer speaker, for a reason. It’s unfortunate that it’s challenging, as they are great speakers, but due to the design of the way the system works, it’s a reality.  Sonos isn’t just a “speaker”, but it’s a whole home environment, playing in sync. In order to make that happen, there are things that needed to be given up. Acting as computer speakers was one of those things, I’d imagine, and why they’ve never been promoted as such, despite the fact that it would increase hardware sales for Sonos. 

It really wouldn’t be difficult for Sonos to make a Windows 10 driver. Their PC app already connects to the SONOS One’s as does the Spotify PC App. I really don’t see any reason for them not to do it really?

These apps control the speakers, they don’t stream audio to them.

Network latency, for one. Most people expect their PC speakers to make a sound in sync with whatever’s happening on the screen. 

And plugging into the Windows audio framework is a whole lot different from sending and receiving the occasional control packet, which is what the Sonos desktop controller does. 

So even if I bought a beam, playbar or arc and connected it to my TV HDMI, optical or arc port, and with my PC already plugged into another HDMI slot, I’m still not going to be able to play my PC through SONOS?

There will be a lag from the soundbar – this can be adjusted in the Sonos app but not eliminated.

I’ve used a windows plugin that “streams” to my Sonos speakers but the timing is delayed by about 3 seconds

You’ve changed parameters from Sonos Ones, to soundbars. A raft of different issues there.

Yes, if the sound bar is connected to the TV, anything you send to the TV will be played by your sound bar, and because of the digital connection, with almost no latency. However, if you were to ‘group’ the Sonos Ones as another room to the soundbar, the Ones will still experience the delay. If you ‘bond’ the Ones to the soundbar as surrounds speakers, they won’t have the delay, but also will only play surround information. 

There are two types of connections for a Sonos soundbar. Either optical, in the case of the PLAYBAR, PLAYBASE or Beam, or ARC in the case of the Beam and Arc. 

Your PC doesn’t generate an ARC signal, that requires the electronics in a TV set. It can, depending on the sound card and ports in your PC, generate an optical signal. There are some forum members who have used the optical adapter that comes with the Beam to connect to their PCs via optical to the HDMI ARC adapter,  and have reported it works well. The key here is to ensure the PC is generating a Dolby Digital signal via the optical port. Many sound cards default to DTS, which Sonos can’t interpret. 

Note, much of the same information around the Beam can be applied to the Sonos Amp, if you purchase the optical to HDMI ARC adapter, and power two ofyour own speakers.

@Airgetlam Thanks for the replies and info. I don’t understand what you mean by If you ‘bond’ the Ones to the soundbar as surrounds speakers, they won’t have the delay, but also will only play surround information. 

I don’t know if I should buy a beam, playbar or arc? It would be used to connect to a new 65” wall mounted TV (currently got a 55” TV) I don’t watch much TV really, prefer listening to music and gaming, hence the reason I want to connect my Sonos system to my PC.  I’d also be looking to buy a sub if necessary. The room is 26ft x 11ft.

Looking at soundcards are external ones ok? https://windowsreport.com/best-sound-card-optical-output/

‘Bonding’ Sonos devices defines how they exist in a Sonos ‘room’. When speakers or an Amp are ‘bonded‘ to a Sound bar, they are defined as ‘surround’ speakers in a 5.0 or 5.1 ‘room’. That means that when a Dolby Digital signal is sent to the system via the digital input, they play the surround parts of that 5.0 or 5.1 signal. Not the same signal as the front speakers at all. If you’re streaming music, instead of using the digital input (from your PC or TV) there is a setting in the Sonos software that allows you to set them as duplicates of the front stereo speakers.

I am still confused though. You started off asking about PC speakers, but now you’re talking about a sound bar connecting to a TV set. These are wildly different situations.