At the time when I took this snapshot, 224 of 373 respondents (~60%) voted for a mini Sub or a “better” app as the next product they’d like to see Sonos launch.
Now, I live in an apartment, and I’d love a smaller sub (at a more palatable price point too). I understand the acoustic durids at Sonos know a thing or two sound design and don’t want to build a “mini Sub”, but I think this topic does merit some discussion - especially given the clear community feedback!
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To the best of my knowledge Sonos has been monitoring the Reddit community for years.
What’s wrong with the Sonos app?
It’s relatively minor but you’re manipulating the stats a bit. The data does not say 60% want a mini sub as your title implies. It’s only 33%. Also not sure if the poll allows voters to select more than one option, so it’s entirely possible the number that would buy a mini-sub if it were available, Regardless, I think it does informally show that customers are not completely happy with the current sub.
I would guess that it’s not so much that people are unhappy with the size or quality of the Sub, but are mostly interested in a cheaper sub. That’s quite understandable, considering Sonos makes a few speakers that are significantly cheaper than the sub. It’s rather odd that your only sub option for a pair of Sonos One SLs a $360 costs almost half as much as the sub at $700.
I think the problem Sonos would run into is making a mini sub that is at the right price and quality to compel people to get it with their pairs of Sonos One SLs or a Beam...without being good enough to kill sales of the original sub. If a mini sub comes out at $400, for example, I don’t think I would ever spend $700 for a sub. Particularly if I could use 2 mini subs in a home theatre setup.
Perhaps it makes sense for Sonos to add a sub through the ikea line of speakers, for below $200. I think that would sell well without many people using them instead of the original sub. Alternatively, if there is room in the margin, Sonos theoretically could just lower the cost of the sub to appeal to a larger audience. That said, it seems unlikely that Sonos is that far off in pricing of the sub to maximize their profits.
No, I was quite clear in saying 60% people picked the mini sub and better app options.
By the way the trend is just being reinforced as more votes come in (in fact the figure is now up to 65%!!)
The idea of leveraging the Symfonisk partnership to produce cheaper subs is actually thought provoking.
Either way, it’ll be great to have Sonos’ perspective on this topic and the data.
Well, isn’t it nice to know that Sonos is really listening to their customers by releasing a Mini Move and not a Mini Sub
Well, isn’t it nice to know that Sonos is really listening to their customers by releasing a Mini Move and not a Mini Sub
I don’t think reddit is the go to source for reliable marketing information. I’m not saying it’s complete junk, but Sonos likely has better marketing sources they’re working off of, that better reflect the market Sonos is looking at. Besides, Sonos tends to have around a 2 year development cycle, and this survey is 20 days old. You aren’t expecting Sonos to scrap all the work they’ve put into the Roam because some guys on reddit said they’d rather have a mini sub, are you?
That’s a pretty small sample size to extrapolate from, too.
No, I was quite clear in saying 60% people picked the mini sub and better app options.
By the way the trend is just being reinforced as more votes come in (in fact the figure is now up to 65%!!)
The idea of leveraging the Symfonisk partnership to produce cheaper subs is actually thought provoking.
Either way, it’ll be great to have Sonos’ perspective on this topic and the data.
No, 60% picked the mini sub OR better app option. After all, you can’t say “100% of voters picked Trump AND Biden” can you? Unless the poll lets people choose more than one option, but then we need to tabulate who picked both (which could potentially mean the numbers are back to around 30%).
And a mini sub has been requested and mentioned on this forum many times.
As a way of making it accessible for a wider market I can see the attraction. The current sub is a huge step up in bass from a pair of ‘Ones’ and may be over kill for many as well as expensive for many customers. But, I’m also not convinced that simply making it smaller would necessarily make it significantly cheaper at least not to the extent of it being nearer ½ of the current model cost.
My guess is that if such a thing ever materialises it will be after Sonos expand further ‘upmarket’ so they can release a beefier (and more refined if that is possible), main sub (call it Gen4) which would appeal to the higher end of the market wanting the additional all the bells and whistles and the ‘ best’ Sonos setup inc upfiring surrounds, the arc, the twin subs and fives as surrounds. Then the current design could be shrunk and sold for nearer 400 without cannibalising sales too much.
I have no evidence to back this up - only anecdotal observation from this forum. But I’d guess that many of the sub purchasers are not price sensitive and simply think of a 2+1 speaker set cost as the cost of adding a new room. Many seem to have more than one in the house and after adding the first add more to other rooms to enhance the experience. To satisfy those customers then Sonos don’t need to do anything differently.
Sonos is expending out to appeal to the mass market with much cheaper products. I’m just not sure a 300/400 cost sub factors into that as it is still a pricey combo for the price sensitive customer. The middle ground is already there for ‘more Sonos bass’ - a pair of 5s.
