How to Stream Your Computer Audio Output to Sonos Speakers

Sonos speakers are one of the best ways to fill your home with music. They’re entirely wireless and controllable from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Sonos speakers also sync with dozens of music streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.

However, there’s one area where Sonos falls short: there’s no way to listen to your computer’s audio output with it.

It might not sound like a big deal, but it is. If you’re an audiophile, you probably use a dedicated music manager like MusicBee or MediaMonkey to keep your tunes organized.

Specialist apps such as these include a vast number of features, tags, metadata fields, and everything else that music fanatics love. In contrast, the Sonos app is bare-bones. You can see the artist, song, album, and artwork—but not much else.

How to Stream Your PC’s Audio Output to Sonos

To play computer audio through Sonos, you’ll need to use a third-party app called Stream What You Hear (SWYH). But before we get into the setup instructions, allow us to list a few caveats:

• You need to perform the entire process on a Windows computer. The SWYH app is not available on macOS or mobile operating systems.
• The speaker’s audio output will lag behind your computer by a couple of seconds. As such, this method is only suitable for listening to music, not watching videos.
• The SWYH app has not been updated since 2016. It still works perfectly, but the more time that passes, the more likely it is to break.

That said, let’s look at the process. To use your Sonos as a PC speaker, follow the step-by-step guide below.

1. Download and install Stream What You Hear.
2. Launch the app using the Start menu shortcut.
3. Right-click on the app’s icon in the system tray.
4. Go to Tools > HTTP Live Streaming.
5. Copy the on-screen URL.
6. Open the Sonos app.
7. Go to Manage > Add Radio Station.
8. Paste in the URL and give the link a name.
9. Click OK.

To use your new “radio” station, go to Radio > My Radio Stations. Make sure your computer is playing audio before launching the station, or it will fail to connect.

Do you use Sonos to stream local audio or do you prefer to use one of the best music streaming services? Remember, there are multiple ways to stream music to your Sonos speaker.

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