The last year of Sonos

Why is it that every time someone disagrees, and gives perfectly factual analysis of that disagreement, they are labeled as some sort of Sonos shill or stakeholder? You stated that Sonos will "suffer the consequences" of not supporting Hi-Res. I quite factually pointed out that this prediction has been made for 10 years, and it has not stifled Sonos sales one iota, and in addition, the competitors who did/do offer Hi-Res have so far failed miserably or are so small as to be negligible to the market (including Bluesound).

That is not being defensive, that is being factual.
Um, well, because you set-up straw man arguments. For example, the landscape in 2014 is a bit different than in 2004. It's easy to claim that Bluesound is marginal, since they are just launching. They may remain marginal, they many not.

Hi-Rez is not going to kill off Sonos. It will have an impact at the margin though. Sonos has more to worry about from competitors who will focus on the larger market segment that doesn't base decisions on Hi-Rez, but rather on ease of operation and compatibility with various equipment (i.e., open-source) and can price products competitively. Why do you have such a hard time admitting that there are more players in this market, and that is a good thing as competition makes it less likely that Sonos will rest on its laurels?

You can have the last word....

Use ignore user feature, makes your browsing experience much more enjoyable (unfortunately you still see quotes from the trolls in other user responses)

Um, well, because you set-up straw man arguments.

LOL...thanks. The other party to the conversation can't seem to get that it's not about Hi-Rez, it's about the changing dynamics in the marketplace for the delivery of digital music (e.g., streaming music), regardless of resolution. It is about being responsive to consumer demands and increased competition, especially from providers who use open-source technology as opposed to proprietary technology.

Competition is great. If Sonos is the best solution for my needs, great. If not, I'll give my business to the company that bests meets my needs.

Lol! Your first post in this thread actually was all about Hi-Rez:

IMO, there's no doubt that over time, Sonos will lose some existing customers who want Hi-Rez, along with losing out on some new customers who want Hi-Rez.

Also, IMHO, Sonos will drop the price/replace the connect/connect amp going forward to fend off competitors.

Competition is good.

Nothing about "changing dynamics in the marketplace for the delivery of digital music (e.g., streaming music), regardless of resolution" in that entire post. It was all about Hi-Rez and how many customers Sonos is going to lose to competitors because of Hi-Rez. So forgive me if I responded to what you actually posted.

Im new SONOS customer, whilst not up with the techy side, i consider myself pretty savvy when it come to consumer purchasing.

I have Bose headphones, love them. So no surprise i looked at Bose systems. I can afford them so no issue there, but just felt that after trialling and auditioning, that SONOS has the edge. The beauty for me was the simplicity at every level. Maybe this is why people think SONOS can be beaten, but i know only too well that building in simplicity is one of the hardest things to do.

As for innovation and new products etc. Well yes, you have to keep moving forward to stay still these days, but it seems that SONOS does this in a silent, simple and non fussed way. Even the moderators comments to this post are relaxed. I like that. No need to reinvent the wheel or keep changing the look every 3 months if the product just works.

Its easy to be a keyboard jockey these days. Sometimes i wonder why firms even have a forum when posts like this appear. But at the end of the day the only important thing is in the enjoyment you get from the products. True, I'm biassed. Why would i buy other systems now when I've started down the SONOS road, but truth is i could easily change but have no desire too. I work away and need to know the system operates flawlessly at home. Nowt worse that a Skype late at night to say they can't get it working, touch wood that has never happened so far.

Keep up the good work.


(All i need now is a remote way of accessing the home hifi but I'm sure that will come soon enough.)

I think Bluesound is the only current competitor for Sonos. They were just voted tops in the most recent What Hifi Magazine http://www.whathifi.com/bluesound/node/review

In any case I'm perfectly content with Sonos in the areas of my home where 16/44 is adequate, in the big system I have Auralic and Devialet to handle HiRes files..

I agree entirely with the first sentence. I am not sure that music listeners care about the latter part of the second - as long as the kit plays music reliably and of the desired quality. The number of people that decide music systems on the basis of open source is probably even smaller than those that do this on being carried away by the hires gimmick.

Unfortunately, I have to agree.

I was at a weekend conference recently where around 99% of the attendees were Open Source users and advocates, including authors of well known open source apps and distros (Redhat, Ubuntu, SuSE and Crunchbang were represented), as well as Open Source podcasts (HPR, LUGRadio, Linux Outlaws, TDTRS).

We had several debates on the status of Open Source software usage. The overriding opinion is that whilst we used FOSS because we cared, most people don't care. People (in general) will not use FOSS because they care about freedom, openness, etc. They will use it because it gives them specific benefits over using equivalent proprietary software.

Of course FOSS inherently has benefits over proprietary software, such as the fact you can get proper support from it, from a variety of sources; you can directly make (or sponsor) changes to software yourself rather than hoping the vendor will do them; even old versions of software can continue to be used and supported so you are not at the vendor's whim to discontinue them.

But these are meaningless to most people who take a very short term view of software.

Whatever the reason, Open Source is something that isn't on the radar for the vast majority of people, despite that fact that many people actually use more Open Source stuff (without knowing) than they do proprietary software. Open Source is simply not something you can sell to consumers.

Cheers,

Keith

Oh well.

Is the market that Sonos competed in growing? Probably - what even in the recession yes. Will the market provide suitable revenues for multiple providers? Yes again.

Therefore it is likely that Sonos will continue to grow. It is possible that they may lose % age market share due to an aggressively growing uber competitor. But gross sales will likely still grow.

See the TV market, last time I looked there are a few manufacturers of TVs and they all seem to survive.

I would go so far as to say it is probable that they will lose %age market share as any company with a high %age market share in any market finds out eventually.

Hi-Res - most end users can't be bothered.If you really think it is important then ask your wife/husband if they care - they probably don't. Do a wide cross section of you colleagues or friends care? Nope, nor will they.

Open-Source: so what. Ask questions as per Hi-Res and you will find that you are probably a geek/nerd (many of us are).

In general the bulk market cares what it looks like, what other people tell them about their experiences with it. If they can afford it. And ultimately if it works for them.

Sonos wins because of the SonosNet not despite it. It seems a bit of funny thing, why not just connect to WiFi - well when it works they don't ask questions. Not many people want to manage bandwidth on WiFi networks or go around with a WiFi sniffer. Or have to readjust their WiFi channel because a neighbour just bought a router with a conflicting channel.

They have done some work to allow users options but when they have difficulties due to WiFi issues is this a Sonos issue. These users are likely to be directed to install a boost/bridge. Sonos cannot be responsible for others networks.

I have some 10-year old Sonos boxes, they still work, they still play music, they still work with the latest software versions, tablets, phones etc. I have had a lot of new functionality for free. Is this likely to occur with open-source WiFi linked kit where the only thing the manufacturer has interest in is shifting boxes.

Yes competitors are coming - it is called being in business. I am sure Sonos are aware of this.

DG

PS. As for the guardian article - will Sonos have someone looking at Hi-Res, the mechanics of streaming it, the customer demand, the likely cost of implementation, the opportunity of this feature over others for at least some of their working time. Yes of course. And video. And HiRes 2, And a high value range, and a budget range. Yes. Will they implement everything. No.

Not convinced we'll still be saying that in 5 years time, a lot of TV manufacturers are seriously struggling at the moment.

Although some of the manufacturers are a little too large to fit the model, the TV market approaches "perfect capitalism" from an Economics 101 standpoint. The companies operate at the point of starvation and the customer enjoys the lowest price.

Some wil exit for sure. Just as many have exited the multi-room streaming market. All markets have new entrants, unsuccessful operators and operators whose market share changes.

It is even possible for the major market leader to mess up: see Nokia for details.

I think Bluesound is the only current competitor for Sonos. They were just voted tops in the most recent What Hifi Magazine http://www.whathifi.com/bluesound/node/review

In any case I'm perfectly content with Sonos in the areas of my home where 16/44 is adequate, in the big system I have Auralic and Devialet to handle HiRes files..

I was at a Best Buy yesterday and the rep for Polk Audio/Definitive Technology was there so I was able to get a much better demo and informed discussion than I would have from the Best Buy staff. I spent a good hour testing the Definitive Technology system and the rep even made some calls back to the home office to field technical questions he didn't know the answer to.

I came away very impressed and would have to disagree that Bluesound is the only real competitor to Sonos. I think Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, and soon Martin Logan, are ready to compete seriously in this space.

So, almost a year later, and guess who is still way out ahead of the pack? :D

The best thing about the internet is the same as what my father told me was the best reason to get a tattoo: "So you can look at it later and remember what an ***hole you were when you were younger." 🆒

And what's more the OP hasn't revisited since last October either. Bit of a drive-by methinks.

Perhaps he worked for Simple Audio 😃