Tutorial

Using Sonos as PC Speakers

Using Sonos as PC Speakers
James L.
Badge +17

Image provided by PaulRBoon in this thread: Beam as computer speaker

At Sonos, we don’t make speakers specifically designed for your computer. However, if you are considering integrating your computer sound into your Sonos system, we want to help you get the most out of your products. With this being said, not all computers are built equal, so your mileage may vary, therefore it’s unfortunately not something Sonos can help or support you with setting up outside the general advice here.

In this article, we are going to be focusing on the best ways to get your computer audio coming through a Sonos Playbar, Playbase, Ray, Beam, Arc, Amp, Move, Roam, Era 100 & Era 300. To get this to work, there are two things to look at: how to connect the products and the settings needed.

 

A quick note on Play:5, Five, Connect:Amp, Amp, Port, Connect, Era 100 & Era 300

While it is possible to use these players with a PC by connecting to their line-in ports (Era models will need the USB-C adaptor), this isn’t a recommended solution if you’re planning on doing something that requires audio/video synchronization. There will be a minimum of a 75ms delay on the audio due to the signal processing performed on the line-in side. If synchronization isn’t an issue for you, you can simply connect the device to your PCs headphone or line out jack like you would a pair of regular headphones.

Roam & Era 100/300

Bluetooth links via these models will experience the same delay, as Bluetooth acts as a virtual line-in and also needs buffered for network play.

Connecting: 

 

Depending on the product you’re trying to connect, the method of connecting it to your computer will be slightly different. I’ll group the products with similar connections together to make things a bit easier to follow.

 

Playbar, Playbase & Ray

These products use a TOSLINK/Optical cable to receive audio, so if you’re looking to use these as PC speakers, your PC must be equipped with an Optical Out port. Most PCs don’t come with these built into the motherboard, though some higher end ones do. In most cases, you’ll likely need to use an internal sound card to provide that connection. Simply use an Optical cable to link your Playbar/Playbase/Ray to the Optical out port on your computer; just like you would to hook it up to a TV.

Playbar - use the Digital audio IN port
Playbase - use the Digital audio IN port
Ray - use the Digital audio IN port

Beam, Arc & Amp

If you’re using a Beam, Arc or Amp as computer speakers, there’s one extra step. You’ll need to make use of the Sonos Optical Audio Adapter that is included with your product (excluding Amp). Most computers send a regular HDMI audio stream over their HDMI ports, whereas these products require an HDMI-ARC audio signal. These are not the same. Unless you are using a TV equipped with HDMI-ARC as your monitor, connecting via HDMI-ARC won’t be possible. If that does apply to you, you can check this FAQ to find out how to set up your Beam, Arc or Amp.

How to use the Sonos Optical Audio Adapter

 

With Amp, you also have the option to use the RCA Line-In ports, though you should be aware that there will be a minimum of 75ms delay due to the signal processing performed on this input. Therefore, it’s generally a better experience to use the HDMI ARC port with the optical adapter.


 

Beam - use the HDMI port with the Optical adapter
Arc - use the HDMI port with the Optical adapter
Amp - use either HDMI or Analog audio in connections

 

Move, Move 2, Roam, Era 100 & Era 300 (Bluetooth)

With Moves, Roam and Eras, things are a lot more simple. Hooking up these products is as easy as switching them over to Bluetooth mode, opening the Bluetooth settings of your PC and selecting them from the list, just like you would to connect a mobile device. We’ll show you how to do this in the next section.

Move - push the Mode button to switch to Bluetooth
Roam - push and hold the power button for 2 seconds to switch to Bluetooth
Era 100 - hold the Bluetooth button until you hear a chime to pair​​​​

 

Era 300 - hold the Bluetooth button until you hear a chime to pair

Note that you only need pair a Sonos device to your PC once - from then on, you can use the computer to reinstate the link. 

Settings:
 

Connecting via optical cable or Sonos Optical Audio Adapter

 

Once you are connected with an optical cable, you may need to perform some steps to get everything running smoothly. It would be almost impossible for us to list specific settings for every sound card or motherboard that has an optical port built in, but we can provide some basic recommendations.

 

Once the optical cable is plugged in, click the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner of your Windows taskbar, then click the speaker name above the volume slider to see if an “Optical” or “Digital” sound output has shown up. If it has, just click to enable it. 

Look in this drop-down list for “Optical” or “Digital” sound output

If the speaker doesn’t show up there, right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar, click Open Sound Settings, Sound Control Panel and then the Playback tab.

Right-click anywhere in the list, then click “Show Disabled Devices.”

 

Make sure “Show Disabled Devices” is checked


Once you’ve done that, a device named “digital output” or “optical output” should show up. Right-click it and click “Enable” to switch it on. Once you’ve done that, right-click it again and click “Set as default device.” You should now have optical audio enabled and be able to listen to your PC audio through your Sonos player. You may need to open your Sonos app and select TV from the browse menu if TV Autoplay isn’t enabled.

If this doesn’t work for you, double-check the cable is properly seated in the optical port (it should have a gentle bump or click when fully inserted), and make sure the latest drivers are installed for your sound card or motherboard’s audio processor. If all this checks out, but you’re still not seeing the options show up, get in touch with the manufacturer of your device for further assistance.




Connecting through Bluetooth


Connecting to Moves, Roam or Eras through Bluetooth is relatively quick and easy. Take a look at the GIF below to see how it’s done in Windows 10. Note: not all desktop PCs have Bluetooth built in, so you may need to use an external adapter/dongle.

On Mac, the process is also fairly straightforward. You can use the same method for connecting to Sonos through Bluetooth, or you can establish an Airplay stream to any Airplay 2 capable speakers. Check out our FAQ on Streaming Airplay audio to Sonos.

 

And that’s it! Once you’re connected in either of these ways you’ll be able to enjoy your PC’s audio on your Sonos player. If you’re using the cabled method you’ll be able to group other wireless players in with your PC connected device and have that audio all around your home, just be aware that the players treat the incoming signal as TV audio, so a strong connection is required between players in order to enjoy uninterrupted sound on a large group.

We love to see what our users do with our products, so if you have your Sonos set up in an interesting way with your computer we’d love to see it! Feel free to post your images in this thread :smile:

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

109 replies

melvimbe

I Bluetooth my Roams to my laptop from time to time and there is a very slight lag but I don’t notice it too much when watching YouTube on the PC

 

I tried this with my TV and the lag was too much for me.  It could very well be that the TV isn’t very efficient at transmitting bluetooth as your PC. 

Or, as @Corry P explain it, my brain is not as evolved as yours. 🙄 

 

Anyway, I’ll be interested in trying out the TV to Era 300s via bluetooth  when the speakers arrived to see if my Neanderthal brain can handle it.  I’ve realized I pretty much never watch TV in that room, and when I do, stereo is just fine.  If BT works, I’ll be getting rid of the Beam G1 and play:1s.  If it doesn’t work, I’ll keep the Beam.

Danny
O
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

This is not how optical works. There is no communication between the source and sink, the Sonos device cannot communicate with your Mac. This is a feature only used by HDMI. The Mac might detect it by checking if an optical cable is connected or there might be some advanced settings somewhere. 

J

Hi @skho01 .  The adapter looks like the right sort of thing.  It appears that you would need a 3.5mm jack to RCA (red/white) cable to connect the TV to the adapter. then a standard optical cable from adapter to Ray.  

I cannot see you getting anything better than stereo out of this, which may be adequate for your purposes. If not, then a sound card with optical out would give you multichannel output.

I think you may have to settle for an unrecognisable Chinese brand.

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Gutemberg Ribeiro 

Apologies for mixing up Apple TV and Mac Studio (typing “Apple TV” is just habit at this point), but it doesn’t really change my earlier answer.

What @Outburst said is spot on; SPDIF/TOSLink is one-way communication only. 

My suspicion is that, just like with Windows, your Mac Studio is only willing to output surround sound if the interface does not require compression, i.e. MultiChannel LPCM 5.1 or 7.1 via HDMI. When it comes to the optical connection you are using, any surround format must be pre-prepared (compressed), which effectively means that it is only available with recorded media playback and the Passthrough option on the playback software (not in system settings) must be activated. Creative Labs make a USB soundcard that will compress Dolby Digital in real-time using a hardware encoder (Dolby Digital Live, they call the feature), but it is not compatible with macOS, unfortunately. There may be alternate options available for your Mac Studio, however, including software-only ones.

Just in case you are now thinking of connecting your Beam to your Mac Studio directly with an HDMI cable, that will not work - the Beam must be connected to an HDMI-ARC socket, not an HDMI one. If you do connect via a TV, it will need to be one with eARC support to handle uncompressed MultiChannel LPCM. Whether or not your Mac Studio will be willing to then output surround sound at the system level, I’ll leave for someone who has actually tried it to answer.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J

Hi.  I imagine this may vary between laptops, but I think the speaker selected in the sound settings is irrelevant once you are paired over Bluetooth.  Or rather, you would select the laptop speakers, and Bluetooth would redirect that to the Roam.

My other point is that if the Roam is connected to your your WiFi as part of your Sonos system then you will be able to play your music to it just as you cab to your other Sonos speakers.

I could be wrong on this - I never play from my laptop.

B

The article says that to connect a Playbar, Playbase, or Ray, your PC must be equipped with an Optical Out port. To connect the Ray to my laptop which only comes with a 3.5” headphone jack, I purchased a $15 analog to digital converter on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W5GNZX5. This works great to connect my laptop to the Ray and the converter box is very small (2.3” x 2.1”). The converter box gets power from a laptop USB A port. No need for a separate AC plug.

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Gutemberg Ribeiro 

There will be a delay (there is always some delay), but it shouldn’t be long enough to be an annoyance (or even noticeable), though as you rightly mention, it does rely on how long it takes the Arcana to do its part.

Other than the phantom screen you mention, I don’t see any obvious problems with doing this, assuming the Mac lets you output audio to one “display” while piping the video to a different display, that is. It’s possible it won’t, but I don’t know for sure one way or another. My assumption would be that you could just choose where the audio goes.

In short, no promises, I’m afraid.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Gutemberg Ribeiro 

I’m about 98% sure it will work for you, but I just can’t guarantee it.

You are most welcome!

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
S
Userlevel 1
Badge +2
 

 

The Line-In buffer is adjustable, 75ms is the minimum.  If it is set high, or compression is set to On, it will be longer.

 

Ahhhh, yes, now that you suggest it, I see that it defaulted (on my system, anyway) to 2000ms! That is TWO SECONDS!

75ms should be fine, I am going to test it now…  now this seems workable.
 

The default is quite the problem. I had started shopping for a powered speaker to replace what I intended for the Era100…. now it looks like the Era100 has me covered.

jgatie

(This is a repost)

Hello all - 

I was hoping to use my new Era 100s as computer speakers, clearly I didn’t do enough research.

I now understand how the system works - one line-in supports both speakers, the line-in connects to the other speaker wirelessly. This is the source of the delay problem as I understand it.

What if, for the computer speaker use case, Sonos creates an option to use a line-in on each speaker - R/L from the computer. No wireless sync. Of course, I realize that wireless is the Sonos magic, but two use cases in one - computer and multi-room wireless audio, that would be true magic. Plus, Sonos, you get to sell one more line-in dongle. :)

 

Bolded is incorrect.  The delay is to buffer the input for any multi-room use, in addition to a stereo pair, and it is unavoidable.  As to giving an option to not delay, it has been requested for going on 2 decades, to no avail.  I don’t see Sonos adding it now, especially when switching from one to the other in mid-stream would invariably lead to dropouts.  And if you don’t think the very first complaint would be an inability to switch from single use to multi-room without a dropout, you’ve not been around here long.  

jgatie

As has been stated before, Sonos uses digital amplifiers in all their systems.  Volume control is also digital.  So the conversion to digital and subsequent buffering is unavoidable.  There is no way to get rid of it, it is part and parcel to how Sonos operates.

melvimbe

“However, if you are considering integrating your computer sound into your Sonos system, we want to help you get the most out of your products”

So why not enable streaming over wireless from PC to Sonos?

 

 

Enable in what way?  Bluetooth?  Sonos has that available via Roam now. 

Are you asking for Sonos to write software to transmit audio from a PC to Sonos speakers over WiFi?  It’s not really ‘enabling’ streaming since streaming doesn’t exist.  Semantics, yes, but an important aspect to consider.  Also need to consder the various audio formats that audio could be in, including stereo 2.0, 5.1, atmos, etc, and the codecs possibly to consider who that will be properly handled.  Also need to factor in that PC audio will often accompanied with video, so the normal multiroom buffering with Sonos will not suffice.

 

 

 

 

Danny
controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Support, could we please get an update on this article covering using the USB line-in on the new Era models?

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @zipuni 

Roam (with or without a stereo pair) can expect 200ms latency. There may be additional latency from the source device, however (the time it takes to encode the audio and transmit it).

Move cannot play Bluetooth in a stereo pair. I couldn’t find any figures for the latency, but I presume it would be lower as the Move can’t share it’s Bluetooth feed and therefore doesn’t need to prebuffer it.

I couldn’t find any information on which codec would be negotiated.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
jgatie

Not true. What everyone wants is to have the “local” pair of speakers play with minimal delay. The same way a Ray/Beam has minimal delay when it is directly connected to a TV.

Think about it. Can you imagine if Sonos were to launch Beam/Ray/Arc with a *minimum* of 75ms delay and said “we can’t do less because it goes against our marketing”?  No-one would buy them as lip-sync problems would be unbearable.

Desktop speakers, same as TV surround, is a minimal delay application and they are choosing not to support it.  It sure beats me why as I really don’t want to have sound bar below my “floating” arm-mounted display.

 

Sonos users expect to group/ungroup on the fly, it is a core functionality.  Making the “local” speaker impossible to group because it is used as a computer speaker takes away from that.  You might as well make it a standalone computer speaker (which is what everyone says to get in the first place).

Also, the Arc/Beam has minimal delay because it is using an ad hoc private 5 GHz network to connect directly to the Sub/surrounds.  This configuration can be low latency because it is not expected to go through walls/floors like the regular grouping of rooms, which uses a greater buffer (hence the delay) and the more penetrating 2.4 GHz band.  

melvimbe

And the reason they can’t do what you describe using 5 GHz is because the low-latency 5 GHz connection cannot penetrate the walls/floors as well as the buffered 2.4 GHz signal, so once again, grouping is impossible.

So what it comes down to is you want dedicated computer speakers that cannot be grouped with the other Sonos speakers in your home.  There’s plenty of those around, go buy some.  

What I am describing is two different modes:

  1. PC Mode: no delay, line-in mode where Left and Right speakers are connected over ad-hoc 5GHz (not grouped over walls/floors)
  2. Regular/Current Sonos Mode: 75ms+ delay, desktop pair can be grouped / ungrouped with the rest of Sonos ecosystem

I hope that makes sense

 

I can think of two related reasons why Sonos doesn’t offer both of these mode options for line aux sources.  One is that it allows users to connect Play:5, Port, and now the Era 100 and 300, to TVs for audio instead of the products specifically designed for TVs.  I think they would rather sell you a soundbar for that, that gives you the option of using home theatre audio channels, etc.

Second, and maybe more importantly, Sonos tries to keep their system simple, and this feature adds a lot of complications.  User would need to understand why the speaker isn’t playing in sync when grouped for turntable audio sometimes (because of the new mode switch).  Why the Era 300 plays atmos music, but not when connected to your TV...and you can’t connect surrounds. Why you can’t connect your rear Era 100 to a projector to get TV audio for the whole system. Why you have a switch for delay with aux input, but not for TV input (sounds nuts, but some would want that).  Yes, some of these are questions and points of confusion already, but not sure making a switch really helps.  Having flexibility can be great for the more power users who have a better understanding of what’s happening, but a lot of people don’t will just consider basic functionality (multiroom audio) as broken, when they just don’t have it set right for their needs.

A third point if I may, the aux input connection currently allows you to play the audio in any room in your system without playing it in the room that it’s actually connected to, unlike the digital/TV connection.  It’s not confusing when the lag is permanently in place, as the audio plays the same no matter what room you are listening in.  However, if you wanted to say have your TV connected to a Port, but play audio on a pair of Sonos Ones (separate room), there would be no way around the delay.  Something I don’t think would be easily understood by casual customers.

 

Honestly, a lot of people come in here with the expectation that the speakers can be used in any combination or method they imagine.  Want to have 12 Sonos Ones in a home theater, 4 of them strapped to the ceiling?  Why not.  Want to use 2 playbars for left and right front channels?  Sure.  Want to have a single sub play bass for every sonos room in the house?  You should be able to!  But all of these options need to be coded and tuned for, and Sonos wants them to sound good, easy to use, and not destroy their business.

Danny
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @yorkiepork 

Bluetooth 5.2 does have lower latency than the earlier versions (Era speakers use 5.2), but there will certainly still be a delay. I don’t however have any figures I can quote for you, as of yet.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
melvimbe

I can guarantee there is not a 70ms (I think you mean 75ms) delay in grouped tv audio sent to other zones…

I just tested this, watching a lip sync vid on youtube via ATV4K…  played out Arc (that is paired with L/R rears and a sub for a fulll 5.1 setup) and then grouped via the Sonos app to a Move I sat next to the TV to test this.  

 

 

Is this actual TV audio, where the source is coming in through the Arc HDMI port (HDMI-ARC) are were you getting audio from the ATV4K via airplay?  Airplay would limit you to stereo only and would not have any latency, as you are claiming to see.  An HDMI connection would have show a latency in group rooms.

 

They were in sync… and definitely not 70ms delayed from the video… which is what I would expect if Sonos adds 75ms to it because its grouped with another zone.  I could group and ungroup and it stayed in sync.

No argument that Sonos adds 75ms (minimum) to RCA line-in, but they do not do so to their hdmi line-in source.  Maybe because its all digital and can be fed wirelessly right away without building a buffer i don’t know…

Sorry, but this is just wrong.  I’m not trying to claim you aren’t hearing what your hearing, but Sonos official statements, my personal experience, and others,  contradict yours.  If you aren’t using airplay, then perhaps you’re brain isn’t recognizing a difference and blending it together.  That’s certainly been the case for other people who don’t even notice a lag with line audio.  Others absolutely do.

Regardless, any body attempting to group TV audio across multiple rooms should know that the rooms will not play in perfect sync.  Whether that bothers them personally or if they even notice it is a different matter, but a significant, perhaps majority, of people do notice and find in doesn’t work for their needs. 

Danny
Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @EP87 

If your PC is a desktop PC, it should have an optical port - if so, you just want to connect your Ray directly to this port. Limit the output formats to PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS.

  1. If there is no optical port, however, you will need a 3.5mm to optical converter (and that device will need to be an ADC) assuming you want to use a headphone or line-out 3.5mm socket on the PC. Or...
  2. A USB device that has an optical output would also work, but in this case it would basically be an external soundcard, and you would need to choose the correct sound device in Windows(?) for it to work. This will be (at least in theory) a better option as there is no unnecessary analogue stage, but also potentially more expensive (but should still be very affordable). There would be no DAC or ADC, however - just an external sound “card” with a digital connection straight to your Ray via optical.

I hope this helps.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23


Side note, The bars that work without the delay also have the ability to pair with other devices so I take it the bar handles all the live encoding to sonos format and sends it to the otherwise “delayed” devices alowing a full undelayed setup?

 

Soundbars work without delay only to Bound speakers ie surrounds & subs as they use the private 5GHz channel for audio. If you Group something to them the delay will kick in for the same reasons.

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
E

Hi @EP87 

If your PC is a desktop PC, it should have an optical port - if so, you just want to connect your Ray directly to this port. Limit the output formats to PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS.

  1. If there is no optical port, however, you will need a 3.5mm to optical converter (and that device will need to be an ADC) assuming you want to use a headphone or line-out 3.5mm socket on the PC. Or...
  2. A USB device that has an optical output would also work, but in this case it would basically be an external soundcard, and you would need to choose the correct sound device in Windows(?) for it to work. This will be (at least in theory) a better option as there is no unnecessary analogue stage, but also potentially more expensive (but should still be very affordable). There would be no DAC or ADC, however - just an external sound “card” with a digital connection straight to your Ray via optical.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks a lot Corry for the explanations. Finally I decided to go for option 2, to get USB device that has external soundcard. Works like a charm! Sonos rocks! Thank you for your help 

controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23

I bought beam 2 and want connect with PC (mainboard: TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI + VGA: ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti) but no sound can hear from HDMI port base on mainboard or VGA, i change to use sonos HDMI to optical but still silent, what I have need to config or doing something to beam 2 working? Thanks a lot.

Deleted reply as there is a whole thread from the same person elsewhere.

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
jgatie

hello,
has anyone been able to connect the ray to macbook air m2 as a speaker? i have tried but failed.

 

Could you describe how you “tried but failed”?  

J

@TJMill . HI. Could you explain what you mean by ‘set as the active speaker’?  Do you mean Bluetooth paired?

Alternatively If you want to play music files that are stored on your laptop using your network then you need to set up and use a Sonos Music Library.  Have you done that?

melvimbe

Gotcha on the delay. To simplify, I'm proposing that Sonos enables using line in speakers as standard active speakers. So, right line-in plays right signal, left follows the same pattern. This way the speakers work as great, no compromise computer speakers. They also work as great Sonos speakers. Bonus for Sonos, they can sell an additional line-in dongle. I'm envisioning configuration as a toggle that allows the user to ignore stereo paring when using line-in. 

 

Have you tried connecting the Era 100s to your PC via bluetooth?  You may find that solution works a little better.

 

I am doubtful that Sonos will ever removing the line in delay as you suggest, even as a option.  It’s designed for multiroom audio use and not to be in sync with any video screen.  Sonos has different products for that purpose. And there are unintended consequences from such a feature.

1 - Some users may not understand why there multiroom audio system isn’t playing in perfect sync as advertised.  It will appear as a flaw rather than a feature.  Yes, the issue already exists when playing TV audio, so you could argue this isn’t really a concern.  However, I think people do not group with TV audio that often  and it’s somewhat easier to understand.  People do connect their turntables, 3rd party systems, etc, and expect to use it for multiroom audio.

2 - The feature would encourage a lot of users to forgo an actual Sonos home theatre setup in favor of just using the line-in to play a stereo signal from their TV.  You just want it for your PC, but there is no way to limit the feature to just PC use.

After writing that though, I suppose those consequences are not that severe. Maybe it does make sense from a business perspective.  Regardless, it doesn’t exist now.

Danny

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