Sonos Connect Pricing

[Monder]

Just an observation really but the price point of the Connect irks me. As far as i can tell the Play 1, 3 and 5 all have the same core functionality you just get bigger sound the more you pay. The connect has the the same features but no speaker or amplification, just a couple of output sockets in leui of this.

It must be by far the cheapest unit to produce but it is more expensive than the Play 3. I would buy a Play 3 but my Onkyo Mini HiFi is still going strong and I don't need two players, just a middle man to bridge the gap between my NAS and internet radio. I do really like the Android based control app and I may introduce some zones at a later date when we complete house renovations.

It just seems like a real con job to be. The Connect should be more like half the price it is now. If it was maybe two hundred and priced appropriately within the range I'd just buy it.

 

[skippy]

Totally agree, omitting the speakers and amp inbuilt in the 1, 3 and 5, the only differences I can see are the outputs on the connect unit (don't think these are costly, but what do I know)

I use all 3 on my connect to pipe music to different parts of the house, this saves me $800 on buying 2 extra units.

Certain people in these parts will tell you that's the wrong thing to do, but I must be a tight get :shifty:

 

[MajorFubar]

To be honest it's all a bit expensive imo, though I realise it's quite popular in this parish. If you want two matching Play devices that you can spread apart to get proper stereo sound, you're looking at anything from £340 (2x Play:1 @£170 each) right up to a staggering £700 (2x Play:5 @£350). For my £700 I'd rather buy a 'proper' HiFi media player like the Marantz MCR610 typically for around £450, leaving £250 for speakers that you can at least upgrade later. The Play devices are dead-end purchases.

Amazon are doing both the Play:3 and the Connect for £250, if that's at all helpful.

 

[bigboss]

Copy pasting from another forum:

It's too temptingly easy to compare "cost" with "price". Yes, the build cost of a CONNECT may well be similar to or less than a Play:3 (give or take the odd drive unit, Ethernet switch, ADC, S/PDIF output etc) but like it or not Sonos will price products at a point which the market will bear.

One could argue that the Play:3 may be pitched low to woo a new class of customer, whereas the CONNECT would be purchased by those wishing to link Sonos with existing - perhaps expensive - HiFi equipment. In the latter case $100 either way may not be a major issue.

 

[mmg]

It's true that it might seem overpriced, but the built-in DAC is actually pretty good. I compared it with a Cambridge Audio DAC and the difference in sound quality was very minor.

 

[philipjohnwright]

It's priced at what the market will pay, like everything else if you aren't prepared to pay this then don't buy it, go with one if it's competitors. The fact that there aren't really any perhaps is part of the problem. Either Sonos have got the market sewn up because of superior products and good marketing, or the market isn't big enough to justify the risk of competitors developing an alternative. I suspect in this case it's a bit of all three.

It's the same argument with any premium products (Apple, Naim, Meridian etc). Cost plus pricing is only really relevant in a commoditized market. Even then strong branding makes a big difference (I was looking at the price of fennel seeds last night, those from Schwartz, the well know brand, were 11 x the price of an unbranded alternative. And I bet they were both sourced from similar places)

 

[The_Lhc]

There are also people out there who won't buy the Connect because they claim that at £269 it's far too cheap to possibly be any good as a source for their audiophile setup.

The other point to consider is that when Sonos first came to market there were no Play units, you had two choices, the Connect:Amp (ZP100/120 at the time) or the Connect/ZP80/90 and at the time the Connect WAS the cheap alternative, it was over £100 cheaper than the Connect:Amp (and still is.). The Connect pricing may seem to be an anomoly but it hasn't materially changed since launch, it's just Sonos' strategy has changed since they were introduced, the Play:1 is now the device to draw in first time buyers (and hence priced accordingly).

 

[piper1st]

I'm totally with you here, I noticed this myself when I was pricing up! :roll: Seems like a total con! I'm no electronics guy, but forget the PLAY1's, isn't a Zone Bridge roughly the same technology and hardware as a connect, but in reverse?

I am in the market for a multi room music system at the moment, and I have spent a lot of time, money and effort laying A/V + network cables all round my flat during our renovation, leading back to a central media cupboard. I will need mainly Connect's and a Connect AMP.

Zone Bridge - £35

Living room - Connect £279

Kitchen - Connect £279

Bedroom 1 - Connect £279

Bedroom 2/Hall - PLAY5 £349 (movable between rooms)

Bathroom - Connect Amp £399

TOTAL: £1,620 (richer sounds website)

Its no small amount! But I think multiroom audio is all about the user interface, and Sonos really seem to have this bang on, which is the only reason I would even entertain it. :wall:

 

[Dave_]

isn't a Zone Bridge roughly the same technology and hardware as a connect, but in reverse?

No.

The bridge is really just a (Sonos proprietary) Wireless AP

I am in the market for a multi room music system at the moment, and I have spent a lot of time, money and effort laying A/V + network cables all round my flat during our renovation, leading back to a central media cupboard.

Therefore you don't need one.

 

[piper1st]

I am in the market for a multi room music system at the moment, and I have spent a lot of time, money and effort laying A/V + network cables all round my flat during our renovation, leading back to a central media cupboard.

Therefore you don't need one.

Really? Can you offer me a cheaper option with the same ease of interface (i.e. user friendly iphone + ipad app's?). I am not being sarcastic and would appricate the help. I've looked at other alternatives, but they all involve control boxes and software programming etc (well beyond me), or complicated to use interfaces?

 

[piper1st]

I have started a new thread about my above conundrum so as not to hijack this one ...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/network-players/hardwired-multi-room-audio-sonos-alternative

 

[The_Lhc]

I am in the market for a multi room music system at the moment, and I have spent a lot of time, money and effort laying A/V + network cables all round my flat during our renovation, leading back to a central media cupboard.

Therefore you don't need one.

Really? Can you offer me a cheaper option with the same ease of interface (i.e. user friendly iphone + ipad app's?). I am not being sarcastic and would appricate the help. I've looked at other alternatives, but they all involve control boxes and software programming etc (well beyond me), or complicated to use interfaces?

He means you wouldn't need a Sonos Bridge because you'll be wiring the other Sonos devices. If you do go for Sonos make sure your network devices support STP otherwise you may get a network storm due to the network loops as Sonos won't disable its wireless connections even if they're wired.

 

[The_Lhc]

isn't a Zone Bridge roughly the same technology and hardware as a connect, but in reverse?

No.

The bridge is really just a (Sonos proprietary) Wireless AP

Exactly, the Bridge has no audio capabilities at all. Not sure what "in reverse" even means in this context?

By comparison the equivalent Bluesound Node device is £130 MORE than the Sonos Connect, so it's perhaps not as expensive as it first appears.

 

[piper1st]

LoL ... forget the bridge thing! Haha! I thought it took the audio source and sent the wireless signal to the other devices (i.e. a Connect, or PLAY3, etc), and so in reverse, it would receive the wireless signal. Embarressed now!

 

[The_Lhc]

LoL ... forget the bridge thing! Haha! I thought it took the audio source and sent the wireless signal to the other devices (i.e. a Connect, or PLAY3, etc),

Well it does but it's only sending network data, there is no "audio" at that stage, that's what the Connect and Play devices do, convert the data into audio.

and so in reverse, it would receive the wireless signal.

Well, ethernet networking is obviously a two-way system but the Bridge is entirely missing all the audio equipment in the Connect.

 

[Monder]

Well as a follow-up to my original post in the end I decided to go for the cheaper but perfectly functional option of a Logitech wireless Bluetooth adaptor to bridge the RCA sockets. I can connect my phone and tablet to it, play Deezer, local mp3's and use apps to stream internet radio and files from my NAS.

It's a stop gap and for £28 I'm happy with it. Maybe once my renovations are complete I'll get a proper multi-room system. I'm going to wait for the market to become more competitive before jumping in with Sonos right now.