Sonos - Heads Up
Discussion
Do you think Sonos could be in trouble in the future? I think they've lost their USP a bit with chromecast and echo. I have a play 5 which is great as a speaker for it's size but the streaming can be done much cheaper now and just as easily.
Unless you are fully invested already in Sonos, I think it can be bettered now.
Unless you are fully invested already in Sonos, I think it can be bettered now.
Type R Tom said:
Do you think Sonos could be in trouble in the future? I think they've lost their USP a bit with chromecast and echo. I have a play 5 which is great as a speaker for it's size but the streaming can be done much cheaper now and just as easily.
Unless you are fully invested already in Sonos, I think it can be bettered now.
I'm wondering if it's a strategy. They've sold to the masses, now as competition comes in they're raising their prices to tactfully be selective with their customers at a higher end?Unless you are fully invested already in Sonos, I think it can be bettered now.
Personally, I'm with you, there is better/equal/better value for money out there, I've got cheap £30 wi-fi multi room streamers that are just as effective as Sonos now. And with the likes of Denon Heos, Yamaha etc etc.. everyones getting on board.
JimbobVFR said:
The Connect products have been mentioned, I'm guessing these days they are the niche products compared to the speakers. Are they also going up signicicantly?
How about £699 for a play at and £699 for the sub! Bonkers money. There have always been more cost effective ways to get better sound and similar functionality, and now they have shot themselves in both feet.Their software does seem to get worse with each release.
Personally I think they lost their focus some time ago and it's really starting to show. Their app used to be the "one stop shop" for music discovery and playback, but more and more features are missing on more and more services. Pushing users to go to the specific app from each provider kills their unique selling point.
Apple Music integration is still severely lacking. Audible support was withdrawn over a year ago, with no sign of it returning. We still have no battery-powered speaker or bedroom clock-alarm speaker. The Connect is ancient and showing it.
Personally I think they lost their focus some time ago and it's really starting to show. Their app used to be the "one stop shop" for music discovery and playback, but more and more features are missing on more and more services. Pushing users to go to the specific app from each provider kills their unique selling point.
Apple Music integration is still severely lacking. Audible support was withdrawn over a year ago, with no sign of it returning. We still have no battery-powered speaker or bedroom clock-alarm speaker. The Connect is ancient and showing it.
We have 2 x play 1, 1 x play 3, 1 x play 5 and a Sonos sound bar. Wife bought it after selling her shares.
I also have a JBL extreme BT speaker. (£230) I didn't realise that it's all Harmon Kardon inside. It sounds better than the sonos, is rechargeable and waterproof and can charge phones/MP3 players via 2xusb ports.
Obviously sonos uses wifi so has a longer range but I'm not sure I would buy sonos again and the price increase certainly in my case will kill it off for me.
I also have a JBL extreme BT speaker. (£230) I didn't realise that it's all Harmon Kardon inside. It sounds better than the sonos, is rechargeable and waterproof and can charge phones/MP3 players via 2xusb ports.
Obviously sonos uses wifi so has a longer range but I'm not sure I would buy sonos again and the price increase certainly in my case will kill it off for me.
I agree with the sentiment here. I actually thought that their next move would be to reduce prices a bit to try to compete!
Sonos didn't work for me, but it is a good brand and I still see a lot of people buying it despite the fact it costs several times the price of some of it's competitors, but there must be a limit?
The first Sonos zone I replaced had a pair of Play 3s in it and I bought a Chromecast Audio and a pair of Q-Acoustics BT3 speakers. Predictably, sound quality was much better and cost under half what I paid for the Play 3 pair. Attaching another Chromecast Audio to my main stereo was around 10% of the cost of the Sonos Connect it replaced!
Most people are looking for the lowest hassle solution with the easiest app, and that is Sonos but can it continue?
Sonos didn't work for me, but it is a good brand and I still see a lot of people buying it despite the fact it costs several times the price of some of it's competitors, but there must be a limit?
The first Sonos zone I replaced had a pair of Play 3s in it and I bought a Chromecast Audio and a pair of Q-Acoustics BT3 speakers. Predictably, sound quality was much better and cost under half what I paid for the Play 3 pair. Attaching another Chromecast Audio to my main stereo was around 10% of the cost of the Sonos Connect it replaced!
Most people are looking for the lowest hassle solution with the easiest app, and that is Sonos but can it continue?
VEX said:
I am seriously tempted to sell off all my sonos and go either Yamaha or my own Chrome Custom solution.
V.
Sounds a good plan. The upside is that the resale value of Sonos is very good, and should only be strengthened now. I persevered with Sonos for years before accepting it wouldn't work in my situation and still got more than 50% back on all of the components at 4+ years old. Some had been superseded in the range by then as well. V.
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