Playing music from iPhone to PC Speakers?

October 12, 2023 8:31 PM

I'd like to play music on my iPhone through my PC speakers, but I don't know if it's possible based on my limitations. Details within.

Will try to keep this simple. I have a desktop PC with a decent sound system on it. My goal is to play music through those speakers while I am working. Simple enough, except I have the following rules:

- I must be able to control / pause the music, and adjust the volume, from my iPhone. Very preferably via Apple Music.
- I do not wish to have iTunes on my PC. I'm not anti-Apple, but IMO iTunes sucks beyond all suckage and I don't want it anywhere near my PC or Phone if I can avoid it.
- Ideally this is done via Bluetooth, but the speakers are wired and I'm guessing I'd need to throw in a BT / Wifi card, which is no problem.

The reason for controlling via the iPhone is that my PC is run through a KVM together with my work laptop, so when I get a call or need to join a webex meeting I don't have to flip the KVM switch, wait a few seconds for the sync, pause the music, then flip the KVM again to get back to my work machine; I can just pause it from my phone like I do now.

Basically, I just want my PC to be a bluetooth speaker / receiver using its wired speakers, that my phone can connect to.

Is this a pipe dream? I can't think of how I would do this but thought I would see if there's something I'm not thinking of. My current BT speaker is OK but sometimes it's just not immersing me in the music as much as I'd like.

posted by SquidLips to Technology (5 answers total)

I use a cheap Bluetooth audio transmitter/receiver for similar purposes. I set it to receive mode and pair my phone, plug it into the line in jack (or microphone jack, if you don't have a line in) on my computer, and let it play through the computer speakers.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:52 PM on October 12, 2023

I had pretty much the exact same problem and solved it with Spotify connect. If you have the app running on the PC you can control it from a phone or with the web interface on your laptop, as long as they're on the same wifi.

If you pause for more than a few minutes it can forget the device you set as output so you have to select it again but otherwise it works pretty seamlessly.
posted by Limivorous at 4:29 AM on October 13, 2023

I do this by connecting the headphone jack of my iPhone to the Line In connector of my PC. I also had to enable this in my audio settings on the PC. Instructions for audio settings for your version of Windows can be found using Google. Depending on the age of your iPhone, it may require a lightning to 3.5 mm cable, or a 3.5 mm Jack on both ends of a cable.
posted by coldhotel at 6:43 AM on October 13, 2023

I use a cheap mixer; both my PC and an AirPlay receiver play into the mixer, and the output of that goes into my sound system. You could easily use a direct wired connection from the phone to the mixer instead.

Mixer (USD$27): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QDN6Z83/

AirPlay receiver (USD$99): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094LGLJB9/

The mixer inputs and outputs are 6.5 mm / 1/4" stereo headphone jacks, so I had to buy a few adapters and cables too.
posted by Wilbefort at 8:13 AM on October 13, 2023

The best way is probably going to be adding a Bluetooth receiver to your PC (it's just a small puck, about $10-30 USD), and connect that to your PC's "line-in" input. Pair your phone to that, and it'll act as if it's a Bluetooth speaker/headphone. The rest you can adjust on the PC.

You can go directly with a cable, if you still have the headphone jack on the phone to the PC line-in, but you're obviously tethered. The cable would be cheaper, just a couple bucks.
posted by kschang at 1:56 PM on October 13, 2023