Don't buy Sonos!!!!

DON'T listen to this guy!

Only 25% of the purchase price to replace an item a full year out of warranty? I dare say you just gave Sonos a free plug for their generous customer service!

Seen around the Internet a lot of people are having the same issues! Please don't buy this people!

I thought I would stay completely 'objective' here and so decided to search Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask and the Internet Archive ...and a few other search engines. I must admit, I really CANNOT find the 'LOTS OF PEOPLE', who have the 'same issues', as mentioned by Donmega884... so this looks to be a completely malicious post... or one that has been exaggerated, so as to be vindictive.

Note also that Donmega884 is shown on this forum as a 'novice user' and has never replied to a post in the past etc; so has never raised any support issue here either, probably in the past two years etc.

I think people can draw their own conclusions from this thread.

It certainly has not put me off buying any Sonos equipment and the Sonos offer of a replacement PlayBar for $200 is a remarkable bargain to replace a piece of hardware that cost $800 two years ago, for a quarter of the price.

Personally, I would have spent the further $200 and been extremely grateful for the very kind offer from the Sonos Support Staff.

Only 25% of the purchase price to replace an item a full year out of warranty? I dare say you just gave Sonos a free plug for their generous customer service!
THAT is exactly what thought first came to my mind, and from Ken's followup, I see I am not alone!

And that there is no satisfying some people.

I suppose it's at times like these then that I'm glad in the UK where we obviously have far great consumer protection laws.
While it may be that Sonos are prepared to replace the item (not with a new one I'd wager), the real issue is that an $800 item has broken in less than 2 years and no matter what some may try to say, that's poor by any standards.
My Delonghi coffee machine broke about 3 months ago. It was 2 1/2 years old but came with a 2 year warranty (although people also need to appreciate the difference between a manufacturer's warranty and your rights as a consumer - and in some cases maybe simple moral obligations of a manufacturer...).
I contacted them and they said as it really shouldn't happen after such a short time they would repair it free of charge. I sent it away but heard nothing for a couple of weeks so called them. They apologised as there had been a mix up at the repairers and two weeks was too long to be without coffee... I received a brand new one two days later.
That's customer service!

Completely agree, there's no way less than 24 months is an acceptable lifespan for an item costing as much as the Playbar does.

Perhaps Sonos should offer a longer guarantee if they have confidence in reliability, which I'm sure they do. But one common reason for failure of sensitive electronic equipment is electrical surge, and few people seem to use surge protection.

I think the charge of $200, which probably includes packaging & shipping costs abroad to another country, was a fair offer after two years ....and even as a 'protected' consumer in the UK, I would have taken that 'reasonable' option, rather than seek to battle things out in a claims court. Donmega884 had already had two years of use out the PlayBar, more than double the guarantee period.

Even if the Court ruled that such electrical items ought to last 6 years or more ... I don't think that a court would see $200 as being 'unreasonable' to cover the two years of previous usage and the shipping etc.

However more importantly, I personally don't think the 'vindictive' opening post above, is a way to begin any constructive negotiation or dialogue with any company... especially as there appears to be some 'exaggeration' or possible 'lies' in the post that's intended to cause others to avoid Sonos products.

If I were a UK Judge, I would likely find in favour of Sonos in this instance.

He said "less than two years" though Ken. I don't think it would ever need to go to court however and there's plenty of UK specific stock available to avoid the need for shipping from abroad, so I don't think that argument stands up. Less than two years is covered by UK consumer law as far as I know, it should be a no quibble replacement over here but the US is obviously different. Don't be surprised if the UK goes the same way if we vote to leave the EU incidentally. Little bit of politics there ladies and gentlemen!

Ken, I agree with you that the OP's post is no way to open any form of 'constructive' dialogue - but the rest of your post regarding 'Court' rulings and proceedings is ill informed and makes me thankful you're not a real judge 🙂. The offer from Sonos is neither 'remarkable' nor 'very kind'. Pretty unremarkable for me. In my position regarding my coffee machine earlier, I viewed the service I received as absolutely first class and will make me use and recommend Delonghi in the future - but I'm not even sure I'd use 'remarkable' there either.
A common misconception, but businesses in the UK are under no obligation at all to offer any warranty. None. All of your rights are given to you under law and no warranty can remove or reduce those rights. What a warranty can do though is give you piece of mind - and even help make a decision right at the time of purchasing. It can even give you the assurance that the manufacturer has such confidence in their products compared to others and is literally putting their money where their mouth is - but again, it doesn't actually affect your consumer rights.

Whether a court would see an offer of $200 to replace as fair would only come into play after they have answered a simple question. 'Is it reasonable for this premium branded Sonos Playbar to only last two years?' Based on your final statement, your answer is obviously 'Yes, it is reasonable to only last two years.'. As we know, the law says that for certain items that is far longer - so you haven't applied the law. - and would hopefully be struck off :)
Now for different items, the meaning of 'reasonable' can vary depending on the item and its use - for example a washing machine used 7 days a week - but for a piece of equipment such as this, it would be considerably longer than two years and I'm absolutely 100% confident any small claims court judge would agree (except you 🙂 )
As for taking the offer instead of a 'battle' in court, it really isn't any kind of battle - but believe me though, I would be astonished if it got anywhere near that far in the UK. Once you inform Sonos this is the route you would be taking (independent report - at their cost should you win) - they could not honestly say that they themselves believe two years is a reasonable life for a premium product - and would resolve the issue. When you start getting nearer the statutory limit - say five or six years, then there is room for talk and negotiation and you could maybe accept the offer of a replacement for that price - but at two years old? Seriously?
In this case I personally feel Sonos should get the Playbar back and investigate the issue and then decide on the course of action. I have no clue of the internals of a Playbar - but maybe $200 for a replacement internal fuse isn't suck a kind offer either?