Don't buy Sonos!!!!

Let me start by saying that I would, like I bet all of you, be very upset if my Playbar lasted under 2 years. But let's step back. There are a lot of unanswered questions...

1) Did it truly die? Or is there potentially user and/or network error? I am NOT trying to point the finger at the OP. But it is extremely common on this and other boards to see "Sonos doesn't work" accusations only to find out that the user bought a new router, moved the speaker out of range, etc. I would assume that Sonos at least attempted to troubleshoot before making the $200 offer. But to me, it is an unanswered question.

2) What is the environment like where the Playbar is being used? Is it a bedroom directly near a bathroom, potentially exposed to humidity every day? How is the electric in that particular house, and is it prone to spikes? Were there recent brownouts or blackouts? Did someone, even if the OP doesn't realize it, spill water on it? Again, a bunch of unanswered questions.

3) Was it really "under 2 years"? Again, I am NOT trying to say that the OP is not being truthful. But when upset, stories do tend to get exaggerated. Was it new or bought used? Was it abused in any way (dropped during a move, played at 100% for hours on end, etc.)?

It stinks. It really does. But electrical components do sometimes die unexpectedly. Sonos has a very good reputation of long-lasting equipment, and this poor experience is much closer to an exception than a rule.

The fact that Sonos would replace it for $200 actually sounds reasonable to me, but that is subjective, and I won't argue that some think it is absurdly low. It ultimately might be a way for the OP to at least cut his losses and move on. $200 (total of $1,000 spent) for a working Playbar vs having an $800 paper weight seems like a no-brainer to me, even if he turns around and sells it (say $500) to recoup some money and get out of the Sonos system.

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!

My replacement Play-5 sent to me in the UK came from the Netherlands ... and my returned item (also paid for by Sonos) was shipped back to the Netherlands.

They send out a new item in a box ... You test it and then put old item in box and print out a shipping label and take it to the nearest drop off point for shipping.

That's how they did mine LHC, as there are no repair centres for Sonos here in the UK... They simply replace the items and if they are 'substantially' out of the guarantee period, then there is a set replacement charge for each product... Inside the guarantee period, the entire service is free of charge.

Wow! A year out of warranty and you're complaining about a charge of $200?

+1, $200 is reasonable imo, even more so if they are covering shipping.

Interesting dichotomy between UK and US warranty attitudes. Not critiquing either, but you could write a thesis on the societal conditioning on display.

Wow! A year out of warranty and you're complaining about a charge of $200?

No, we're complaining that an $800 premium electronic item hasn't lasted two years. That's unacceptable, however you look at it. Would you be happy having to pay $200 every 18 months to replace your Playbar if they all lasted that little time? Because that's what you seem to be suggesting.

Compared to some UK companies, Sonos are an absolute dream to deal with... I guess I have become accustomed to poor service here in the UK. Personally I cannot fault the Support I have received from them thus far ...and I am comparing that to my years of experience in dealing with large companies over here, such as Currys/PC World etc.

And do you know when I phoned a 'local' recommended engineer here in the UK about my faulty Play-5 speaker some months back, the first words out of his mouth were that it was unusual for a Sonos Speaker to suddenly become faulty... Which immediately shows the reputation the products have over here.

The turnaround time on my replacement from Sonos was first class too... and sending me a new product BEFORE I returned the faulty one, is a service almost 'unheard of' by manufacturers and suppliers here in the UK.

I both agree and disagree with a few things said here in this thread, but I can say that Sonos certainly has my vote for its after-sales service.

I would

Sorry errant thumb on mobile interface caused that post. Doh. I wouldn't be happy, but I kind of see the way they do replacement out of warranty as similar to other extended warranty programs such as Apple care. The big difference here is you only pay the fee if you need to access an out of warranty replacement and Songs seems to replace really old items too. Any cheaper could invite abuse imo

Certainly it's great when you've got a ten year old zp80 that's failed and they'll replace it with a connect cheaply, can't argue with that but a Playbar should last a lot longer than two years, end of story.