Question

Plug 2 x PLAY:5 through line-in to a desktop computer, with stereo


  • Anonymous
  • 0 replies
Hello all,

Since line-in is not available for PLAY:1s (gosh) :

1) Can I easily connect 2 PLAY:5s to the same single desktop computer ? My sound card only has one audio output, can i use something like this : https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41nKGYhcmQL.jpg ?

2) After the connection is done, how do I enable stereo ?

3) I plan to use the speakers for music, gaming and video. Should I expect a lag in sound rendering, even if the connection is wired ?

Thanks everyone

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12 replies

Ouch. No, don't do that :)

You just need a normal stereo cable (3.5mm or headphone size) to go from your computer's headphone port (output) to one input on one of the two Play:5s.

Set the two play:5s up as a stereo pair, and then play the line in (only one line in will show up, unless you plug something else into the other one!), and you'll get stereo music out of them.

It's easier to think of the Line In on a Play:5 as something completely separate to the speaker. It just happens to be in the same box, but that's about it. There's no requirement that even the input on the line in on a Play:5 be played on the Play:5, you could easily direct it to any other Sonos speaker in your network. But for your purposes, it's a stereo input to the Sonos ecosystem, and you're going to direct that stereo input to a pair of Play:5s.
Thanks Bruce, and appreciate the quick answer.

I'm a bit confused though, won't combining line-in on one PLAY:5 with a wireless stereo mode introduce lag in sound versus what is being played on the computer ? (let's say, a game). This would be a no-go for me.
Any analog input to any Sonos device will incur a penalty of around 70 ms. Even if you're playing just it on the same Play;5 speaker you've got connected to your computer.

Some people find a 70 ms lag intolerable for gaming and lip-sync on videos, others it doesn't bother. The only way to get around that lag is to get a Playbar / Playbase, both which have a digital optical input rather than an analog input.

This is why there are so many threads in these boards from people asking similar questions to yours. I've got a Play:5 connected to my Mac, but I only use if for playing baseball games on TuneIn premium, since Sonos doesn't support TuneIn premium. I'm very careful never to use it as a 'computer speaker', since it's not really designed to be used in that way, and I'm extremely sensitive to the lip-sync issue.

If you're looking for a computer speaker, I'd suggest that Sonos is not the correct product. Look for something designed for that function. Sonos is a whole home music system, not designed to be a computer speaker at all.
Thanks Bruce.

This is terrible. I will look towards competition then, and send these back.

Have a nice week,
Thanks Bruce.

This is terrible. I will look towards competition then, and send these back.

Have a nice week,


I'm afraid you aren't going to find a multi-room music system that does not require buffering input in order to stream across multiple rooms.
Yup. That's the price that has to be paid for multiple room streaming. And as far as I am able to tell, Sonos does what they claim to be designed to do the best for me, at a cost/benefit ratio.

There are a lot of other people out there who claim to make fairly good computer speakers. I used to have several different sets, but found that I spent more time listening to music than using the speakers for gaming, etc. My tastes have changed. Neither one is "better" than the other, since neither one claims to be what they aren't. They're just different.
And makes sense. Maybe I'll just keep one PLAY:5 for casual listening.
Any good recommendation for PC speakers ? 🙂 (PM me should you have any idea)
There are so many out there, that you ought to first specify a budget.
And horses for courses is relevant here, so your call is a good one.
Thanks.
Budget is not really the main driver here, my goal is to reach similar sound quality than with 2xPLAY:1 or 1xPLAY:5.
One among many: https://www.amazon.com/Bowers-Wilkins-MM-1-Hi-Fi-Speakers/dp/B003R6U6HG
if your desktop can accommodate them, these: https://www.whathifi.com/focal/xs-book/review
Thanks Kumar !