I just got my first pair of Sonos units - two Play:3's for the kitchen and bedroom and I absolutely love them. I'm not a huge audiophile, but the convenience and total plug 'n play nature of Sonos is what attracted me to it.
Of course the next thing that occured to me was how to get this connected up to my stereo.
What I don't understand is why the basic Connect is $349 while the Play:3 units are $299 each. I mean if anything it seems like a Connect is just a Play:3 without the speakers and amp? Why does it cost so much more for fewer features? Seems like the guts of the connect should be a $99 unit - I meant he appleTV is $99, and it does way more (At least in terms of technological capability - video/etc) than the connect.
To be honest I've been drooling over Sonos for years - and I know the quality is very high, but the expense of the units has always put me off. It wasn't until the Play:3 that I felt like there was enough bang-for-the-buck to justify diving in... I'm probably going to get at least 2 or 3 more Play:3's for elsewhere in the house, but it's going to be hard to justify the Connect until the price comes down further. It's still cheaper to just put a Play:3 in the same room as my stereo - it's small and powerful enough to just sit near my existing speakers.
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Yes and no, it still isn't a no brainer if you need the hardware buttons on the unit for quick/easy volume change and stop/start. Or if you need the slicker Sonos user interface. Over the years, the extra price for the Connect delivers value.
Yes, because the CC does now ask valid questions of the Connect price.
Yes, because the CC does now ask valid questions of the Connect price.
Hi All, I thought I give some insight from a potential Sonos customer as a courtesy. I'm a music lover with an investment in Airplay. I have multiple B&W airplay speakers around the house as well as a few Lirbatone products. I'm also a budget audiophile with several more traditional music systems around the house. It's not crazy pricey stuff but gear that I purchased intending to keep it forever. I'm very attracted to the Sonos system. The quality of the $199 Play:1 is perfect for the price and I could see putting 5 or 6 around the house. (Scrapping the airplay stuff) The mesh network is also a big selling point. Unfortunately I just cannot get into the system with the Connect unit priced the way it is. I have 3-4 systems around the house that would need one, and I can see adding more in the future. Between a home theater, a living room listening setup, powered monitor speakers in my office that I won't part with and a headphone amp/DAC rig (and plans for a second headphone setup), I'm looking at the better part of 2k to integrate gear I already own into the Sono's environment. This isn't workable. I'm currently driving this gear with Airport Express's at $99 each.
So just an FYI, if you guys can get the cost of a bridge to existing gear into the $100-$150 range, I'd be in for a handful of those and a handful of speakers. As it currently stands the price/performance ratio of the system for someone with a bit of existing gear isn't something I can justify.
So just an FYI, if you guys can get the cost of a bridge to existing gear into the $100-$150 range, I'd be in for a handful of those and a handful of speakers. As it currently stands the price/performance ratio of the system for someone with a bit of existing gear isn't something I can justify.
Whilst it might be feasible to build a CONNECT replacement quite cheaply, the development cost would be substantial and would detract resources from projects with much better investment return. CONNECT is believed to have the lowest sales volume of all the models.
In fact the build cost of the current model might not be that great, since tooling costs must have been amortised long go, but Sonos will price it at what the market will bear. For those with, say, a $5k stereo system the addition of a CONNECT is relatively small change.
If you have budget kit around the house which you wish to Sonos-enable then one can understand that the CONNECT cost could grate. Why not try eBay. The ZP90 is functionally the same as CONNECT. Even the venerable ZP80 could well suffice, since the only major difference compared to the CONNECT is that it uses SonosNet 1.0, with slightly less range than the current SonosNet 2.0.
Thanks, that's helpful. I will check out the parts you mentioned. I hadn't heard of them but they sound like an option... Your point on profitability of the Connect is well taken, and I understand the reality of selling a low volume product (I actually work in audio hardware manufacturing, but in the pro-audio field). It's still true that lack of availability of a Connect like product at a price I can bare is preventing me from purchasing what I assume are speakers with better margins in them. Don't take this as a rant, I'm just trying to provide some feedback from someone who's interested but not yet a customer
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