Play system sounds from one computer through another computer's speakers?

Question

I have a Mac and a Windows PC at work. I use both at the same time with Synergy and SynergyKM, which is a great setup for me.

The Mac has built-in speakers and the PC has a sound card, but no speakers. I don't want to get speakers for use at work; instead I'd rather just have all sounds from both computers play through the Mac's speakers. Is there some sort of audio service I can run on each computer to accomplish that?

I would want:

• System alert sounds, like you configure in the Control Panel
• Sounds from videos in a web browser, including from Flash

Solution 1

Airfoil ($25)

Send any audio from your PC to AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, iPhones and iPods Touch, and even other PCs and Macss, all in sync!

Solution 2

You want this audio cable, from one computer's audio out or speaker port to the other's mic or line in port. Enable both from the audio properties dialogs, and you'll be fine.

Six bucks.

Solution 3

http://www.radscan.com/nas.html

The Network Audio System is a network transparent, client/server audio transport system. It can be described as the audio equivalent of an X server. Enjoy!

Key features of the Network Audio System include:

1. Device-independent audio over the network
2. Lots of audio file and data formats
3. Can store sounds in server for rapid replay
4. Extensive mixing, separating, and manipulation of audio data
5. Simultaneous use of audio devices by multiple applications
6. Use by a growing number of ISVs
7. Small size
8. Free! No obnoxious licensing terms

Solution 4

Another alternative: Stream What You Hear (opensource)

Solution 5

Being unable to comment a previous answer, @tsilb - simply connecting a jack to jack to a mac line in or mic socket isn't enough to play back audio. Certainly with my iMac i use the line in to do exactly what the op wanted, but i have to run a small piece of software that actively outputs the line in audio. It was free from the same company that make airfoil (rogue amoeba) but it has to be running for audio to come out of the mac's speakers.

Just posting in case anybody wants to use the cable method. - beside that caveat it works wonderfully for me.

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Comments

[easeout]

This looks like it's Linux only? I need something for Windows and Mac.

[easeout]

This is one that I've heard of. I think this will be the answer.

[easeout]

Haha, that's a great answer. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. In my case, and I don't think I mentioned this, the Mac is a laptop. Having one more thing to plug in when I get to work is undesirable.

[ta.speot.is]

sample server implementations VOXware/OSS (FreeBSD, Linux, SVR4.[02], UnixWare, Microsoft Windows using Cygwin)

[Sergio]

But the solution is platform-agnostic :)

[Thor84no]

Nice and simple, though it'd be nice if instead of just labelling the link "this audio cable" you'd put in a name that would allow people to search for it when your link died - which it inevitably did. Not that it's that hard to find a cable that'll work, but answers should be self-contained and valid even if linked sites stop working.

[Sergio]

Pretty much any pass-through stereo audio cable should be fine.