Has any posting here EVER produced anything ?

Back to the original request 'Has anything posted here ever resulted in a change to the product?' and the follow up posts about the fact that individuals feel their personal requests have been ignored, let me add my 2 cents.

I am the product manager of a software company. No matter how many new features, enhancements and fixes we turn out it is the nature of the beast that a successful product will have users who can make suggestions faster than we can accommodate them. If we were able to have as many developers as we needed to keep up with the demand the price of the product would have to reflect it. If you think as I do that the Sonos kit is pretty expensive, you'd be alarmed at how much more expensive it would get.

So we are forced to make compromises and prioritize to use a scarce resource as best we can - and that inevitably disappoints.

There's also an issue with what's known as 'crossing the chasm' when your typical user moves from the early adopter to the early majority. These two audiences have very different expectations. The early adopters became used to the idea of their ideas tending to make it into the product, and to make it quickly. So they tend to be disappointed as the product matures.

The early majority expect it to work and to bea part of the fabric of life, which unfotunately means developing services to appeal to the masses. Like several who have posted here I too am only interested in my music library and radio. That's it for me but not for gen 'yy' I suspect.

All the ideas I have seen are individually brilliant but for me there is one overrriding consideration which trumps all else. Stability, stability, stability. The telecoms industry works to a principal of 99.999% uptime. In other word in a typical year a user will accept no more than 5 minutes of downtime. That when they pick up the handset they get dial tone.

That's what I want out of my music system and I would forego anything for that.

OK, I lied. There is another thing. Quality. I can hear the difference between flac and mpcrap sorry mp3. 🙂

LOL are you a lawyer?


That's different from them claiming it works in the region though.

I'm not sure what the advertising laws are in Australia, but if you (or moondy) really believe it is false advertising then you to take it to whatever advertising authority there is in Australia.

I can tell you that if you approached the ASA in the UK they wouldn't consider this as false advertising.

I will also point out that there are also civil laws that protect companies and individuals against false accusations being made against them in public. As such I suggest that people, in general, need to be more careful about what they accuse companies and others of in public. Unless they can prove those accusations to be true, they risk being sued by the company they are accusing.

I doubt that Sonos would take such a hard line, but making false accusations against companies is a dangerous pastime as some of them can overreact.

Cheers,

Keith

Hello,

Pandora is now available in Australia and New Zealand and can be added through the More Music menu.

Back to the original request 'Has anything posted here ever resulted in a change to the product?' and the follow up posts about the fact that individuals feel their personal requests have been ignored, let me add my 2 cents.

I am the product manager of a software company. No matter how many new features, enhancements and fixes we turn out it is the nature of the beast that a successful product will have users who can make suggestions faster than we can accommodate them. If we were able to have as many developers as we needed to keep up with the demand the price of the product would have to reflect it. If you think as I do that the Sonos kit is pretty expensive, you'd be alarmed at how much more expensive it would get.

So we are forced to make compromises and prioritize to use a scarce resource as best we can - and that inevitably disappoints.

There's also an issue with what's known as 'crossing the chasm' when your typical user moves from the early adopter to the early majority. These two audiences have very different expectations. The early adopters became used to the idea of their ideas tending to make it into the product, and to make it quickly. So they tend to be disappointed as the product matures.

The early majority expect it to work and to bea part of the fabric of life, which unfotunately means developing services to appeal to the masses. Like several who have posted here I too am only interested in my music library and radio. That's it for me but not for gen 'yy' I suspect.

All the ideas I have seen are individually brilliant but for me there is one overrriding consideration which trumps all else. Stability, stability, stability. The telecoms industry works to a principal of 99.999% uptime. In other word in a typical year a user will accept no more than 5 minutes of downtime. That when they pick up the handset they get dial tone.

That's what I want out of my music system and I would forego anything for that.

OK, I lied. There is another thing. Quality. I can hear the difference between flac and mpcrap sorry mp3. :)

I loved your post.

It was a perfect explanation of what has become of the product..(and my feelings towards it)

As an early adopter I am now moving on to other things like 24/192 streaming, DSD playback off SD cards and other such ventures..

I'll still keep my Sonos system, but alas, it seems to me the product's focus has definitely moved onto pleasing the masses (look at all the different speaker options coming out etc) and away from hifi quality and an absolute obsession with 100% stability.

Some of us old timers of the product like me bob up now and again on this forum and try to stere the focus back to where the product all began: As a hi end piece of hifi (in those days it was one of the first redbook streamers to compete with the old CD transort way of doing things) Sonos in those days could only be purchased at a Hi fi (ie high street) retailer.

We try and suggest ways' of doing this, (how to return the focus of the product development back to where the fundamental goals were) but invariably get shot down..

We try to drum up some of the 'ol excitement but alas...

Anyway. Loved your post. It was eloquently put. It sums up my opinion of where Sonos is now as well. Certainly in my eyes anyway. Cheers.

We try and suggest ways' of doing this, (how to return the focus of the product development back to where the fundamental goals were) but invariably get shot down..

The fundamental goal of Sonos is to make money and grow the business, you don't do that by targeting 1% of the market.

The fundamental goal of Sonos is to make money and grow the business, you don't do that by targeting 1% of the market.

That's OK, I'm pretty sure it was not noticed that the "I loved your post" was in reply to a poster who values overall the current functionality and "Stability, stability, stability", and isn't interested in stuff for "gen 'yy'". 😃

Back to the original request 'Has anything posted here ever resulted in a change to the product?' and the follow up posts about the fact that individuals feel their personal requests have been ignored, let me add my 2 cents.

I am the product manager of a software company. No matter how many new features, enhancements and fixes we turn out it is the nature of the beast that a successful product will have users who can make suggestions faster than we can accommodate them. If we were able to have as many developers as we needed to keep up with the demand the price of the product would have to reflect it. If you think as I do that the Sonos kit is pretty expensive, you'd be alarmed at how much more expensive it would get.

So we are forced to make compromises and prioritize to use a scarce resource as best we can - and that inevitably disappoints.

There's also an issue with what's known as 'crossing the chasm' when your typical user moves from the early adopter to the early majority. These two audiences have very different expectations. The early adopters became used to the idea of their ideas tending to make it into the product, and to make it quickly. So they tend to be disappointed as the product matures.

The early majority expect it to work and to bea part of the fabric of life, which unfotunately means developing services to appeal to the masses. Like several who have posted here I too am only interested in my music library and radio. That's it for me but not for gen 'yy' I suspect.

All the ideas I have seen are individually brilliant but for me there is one overrriding consideration which trumps all else. Stability, stability, stability. The telecoms industry works to a principal of 99.999% uptime. In other word in a typical year a user will accept no more than 5 minutes of downtime. That when they pick up the handset they get dial tone.

That's what I want out of my music system and I would forego anything for that.

OK, I lied. There is another thing. Quality. I can hear the difference between flac and mpcrap sorry mp3. :)
Well said Sir! Agree with EVERYTHING in your post.

OK, I lied. There is another thing. Quality. I can hear the difference between flac and mpcrap sorry mp3. :)

Me too. I'm getting on in years (:() but I have no difficulty in telling the difference between a well encoded 256 mp3 and a lossless rip, or the original CD. At 320 I don't get it right 100% but the large majority of the time.

There are one or two websites* which will serve tracks in a random blind way which are quite fun to try. One of my kids was astounded recently that I was able to get so many right where he could hear no difference :D

*[SIZE="1"]I have a very high end soundcard/speaker combo on my PC by the way.[/size]

Interesting thread and one that people who grew up with early 'Hi-Fi' might well smile with wry amusement.
When I was much younger with a Garrard sp25 with SME arm, a Cambridge p40 a couple of AR speakers and a stack of black vinyl, the way to improve was to buy something else on the upgrade path to Neverland.

Now it seems that although people don't expect their hardware to be upgraded for nothing, they do expect all software upgrades and enhancements (which does carry hefty development costs) must be free and the cost of development is paid for by future customers irrespective of the shoot for the moon wish list.
Sonos could take a leaf out if Microsoft's book, although please Sonos i'm not advocating this, and charge when they release an upgrade or improved desktop controller.
If you don't want to pay for it then stick with what you bought originally.

If I build someone a house I don't expect to keep going back at no cost to add new bits to it just because the owner wants them.
But then just call me old fashioned

Interesting thread and one that people who grew up with early 'Hi-Fi' might well smile with wry amusement.
When I was much younger with a Garrard sp25 with SME arm, a Cambridge p40 a couple of AR speakers and a stack of black vinyl, the way to improve was to buy something else on the upgrade path to Neverland.

Now it seems that although people don't expect their hardware to be upgraded for nothing, they do expect all software upgrades and enhancements (which does carry hefty development costs) must be free and the cost of development is paid for by future customers irrespective of the shoot for the moon wish list.
Sonos could take a leaf out if Microsoft's book, although please Sonos i'm not advocating this, and charge when they release an upgrade or improved desktop controller.
If you don't want to pay for it then stick with what you bought originally.

If I build someone a house I don't expect to keep going back at no cost to add new bits to it just because the owner wants them.
But then just call me old fashioned

+1
Strange some people take it for granted that a product needs feature updates all the time after purchage and at no costs.
I'm happy Sonos focus on reliability improvements and I see each new feature that comes along as a bonus.