Sonos price rises

[eggontoast]

So Sonos is increasing their prices due to the drop in the £ against the $ which is fair enough, they are a business after all. One thing which is not clear though is, since the $ and £ exchange rate is a constant (lets say about a 13.5% decrease over the last year) how come the price changes are product specific and variable ?

Sonos play 1 - 15% increase

Sonos Play 3 - 13.4% increase

Sonos Play 5 - 14% increase

Sonos Playbar - 14.3% increase

Sonos Sub - 14.3% increase

Connect - 20% increase

Connect amp - 20% increase

 

[Al ears]

So Sonos is increasing their prices due to the drop in the £ against the $ which is fair enough, they are a business after all. One thing which is not clear though is, since the $ and £ exchange rate is a constant (lets say about a 13.5% decrease over the last year) how come the price changes are product specific and variable ?

Sonos play 1 - 15% increase

Sonos Play 3 - 13.4% increase

Sonos Play 5 - 14% increase

Sonos Playbar - 14.3% increase

Sonos Sub - 14.3% increase

Connect - 20% increase

Connect amp - 20% increase

Unusual. I might suggest it reflects the components in said devices and the related price increases for each component, some of which may not be used in all those devices.

To be honest though, looking at those figures there seems to be little variation from a mean figure of 14 percent.

 

[eggontoast]

To be honest though, looking at those figures there seems to be little variation from a mean figure of 14 percent.

For the most except, 20% for the connect devices, crumbs I thought they were already expensive for what they are. Be interesing to see how quickly they reduce the price when the currency stabilizes lol

 

[Frank Harvey]

My maths are nearer 25% for the Connect and Connect Amp, just two I double checked...

These guys seem to agree http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/sonos-announces-brexit-price-hikes-on-seriously-old-speakers

 

[eggontoast]

Your right, just checked them with http://www.whathifi.com/news/sonos-price-rises-are-way

17.8%, 15.4%, 16.3%, 16.7%, 16.7%, 25% and 25%

Not completely down to the exchange rate then!

 

[manicm]

To be fair, the Sonos 1, 3 and 5 were actually updated to include room correction - was this in 2015/16?

The Connects are indeed as old as stale chips though.

 

[insider9]

When you look at these devices from a hardware point of view then I'd agree, they are expensive. Once you factor in software and what can be achieve as whole and with what ease of use, then they represent a very good value.

 

[Al ears]

To be honest though, looking at those figures there seems to be little variation from a mean figure of 14 percent.

For the most except, 20% for the connect devices, crumbs I thought they were already expensive for what they are. Be interesing to see how quickly they reduce the price when the currency stabilizes lol

I think the currency thing is simply an excuse.... ;-)

 

[Gray]

Sonos (and Apple) today got special mentions in an inflation story on BBC R4 radio news.

They're certainly getting noticed.

 

[Gray]

 

[bigboss]

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/network-players/sonos-prices-set-to-increase-due-to-exchange-rates

 

[MajorFubar]

To be fair, the pound is pretty much collapsing. Why I don't know, I'm not an economist, Brexit hasn't happened yet so I don't really know what's causing it, but I don't remember it falling much below $1.40 or thereabouts in recent years and it doesn't seem long ago that it was $2 or more to the £1. Now it's $1.25. Same with the Euro. When the Euro first launched we could buy half of France for about hundred quid, today a pound gets you €1.18.

 

[jonathanRD]

Thanks to a 'heads up' from a forum member I took delivery of a connect today, thankfully at least £100 less than the increase price. It's been running only an hour but already there's an obvious improvement over the CCA it replaced. I'm glad I acted quickly *smile*

 

[Gazzip]

Your right, just checked them with http://www.whathifi.com/news/sonos-price-rises-are-way

17.8%, 15.4%, 16.3%, 16.7%, 16.7%, 25% and 25%

Not completely down to the exchange rate then!

No it won't be. You also have to factor in inflation in the country of manufacture. China's producer price inflation (PPI) is running at nearly 7% per annum at the moment. We are caught between a rock and a hard place in the UK buying electronics at the moment...

 

[bigboss]

Your right, just checked them with http://www.whathifi.com/news/sonos-price-rises-are-way

17.8%, 15.4%, 16.3%, 16.7%, 16.7%, 25% and 25%

Not completely down to the exchange rate then!

No it won't be. You also have to factor in inflation in the country of manufacture. China's producer price inflation (PPI) is running at nearly 7% per annum at the moment. We are caught between a rock and a hard place in the UK buying electronics at the moment...

 

So, is this a worldwide price increase? Surely, China's inflation should affect worldwide prices.

 

[Gazzip]

Your right, just checked them with http://www.whathifi.com/news/sonos-price-rises-are-way

17.8%, 15.4%, 16.3%, 16.7%, 16.7%, 25% and 25%

Not completely down to the exchange rate then!

No it won't be. You also have to factor in inflation in the country of manufacture. China's producer price inflation (PPI) is running at nearly 7% per annum at the moment. We are caught between a rock and a hard place in the UK buying electronics at the moment...

So, is this a worldwide price increase? Surely, China's inflation should affect worldwide prices.

I would guess that the 7% inflational increase on goods produced in China is worldwide if you buy from China, as we know Apple does and I suspect Sonos will as well. The rest of the UK increase is down to the 15% post-brexit pound slump against the dollar. ...and she hasn't even triggered Article 50 yet!

 

[tino]

Seeing that my Play:1 gets so little use, I think post 23 Feb might be a good time to sell it. Current 2nd hand prices tend to hover around £120-130, so maybe they'll go up accordingly.

 

[Al ears]

Your right, just checked them with http://www.whathifi.com/news/sonos-price-rises-are-way

17.8%, 15.4%, 16.3%, 16.7%, 16.7%, 25% and 25%

Not completely down to the exchange rate then!

No it won't be. You also have to factor in inflation in the country of manufacture. China's producer price inflation (PPI) is running at nearly 7% per annum at the moment. We are caught between a rock and a hard place in the UK buying electronics at the moment...

So, is this a worldwide price increase? Surely, China's inflation should affect worldwide prices.

I would guess that the 7% inflational increase on goods produced in China is worldwide if you buy from China, as we know Apple does and I suspect Sonos will as well. The rest of the UK increase is down to the 15% post-brexit pound slump against the dollar. ...and she hasn't even triggered Article 50 yet!

I'd agree most of the knee-jerk reactions we have seen by certain companies thinking they can blame a non-existent Brexit as a reason to massively increase pricing are the ones we should avoid like the plague.....

Talk with your money guys!

 

[bigboss]

It's not Brexit per se, but the outlook of Pound value that is taken into consideration.

 

[drummerman]

I believe many non hifi companies are absorbing their increased cost at the moment rather than passing it on to customers.

This time round it will affect foreign made hifi more than home made stuff though the ripple effects will reach our home grown firms too. Hifi being what it is, a luxury, I am sure they will follow suit soon.

How long ...

 

[Frank Harvey]

I believe many non hifi companies are absorbing their increased cost at the moment rather than passing it on to customers.

Maybe because many other industries work on higher margins, so they're able to.

 

[drummerman]

I believe many non hifi companies are absorbing their increased cost at the moment rather than passing it on to customers.

Maybe because many other industries work on higher margins, so they're able to.

Perhaps more a question of not wanting to loose customers? I am merely reflecting an economic report aired on sky news yesterday.

I am pretty certain the comparison between a milk producing farmer squeezed to a inch of his life on price and a hifi company's margins is not a similar one.

Perhaps it is?

 

[Gazzip]

I believe many non hifi companies are absorbing their increased cost at the moment rather than passing it on to customers.

Maybe because many other industries work on higher margins, so they're able to.

Perhaps more a question of not wanting to loose customers? I am merely reflecting an economic report aired on sky news yesterday.

I am pretty certain the comparison between a milk producing farmer squeezed to a inch of his life on price and a hifi company's margins is not a similar one.

Perhaps it is?

Pull the udder one. They are milking the situation.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Perhaps more a question of not wanting to loose customers? I am merely reflecting an economic report aired on sky news yesterday.

Maybe Sonos are confident they'll retain their customers, and also confident they'll continue to sell at the newer prices. I'm not so confident, as they were on a knife's edge already with regards to what they were charging for technology. Everyone else has moved forward, now it's time for Sonos to do so. The only thing Sonos has going for it is easy set up (which everyone pretty much has now) and a great app (which some others do now). With regards to sound quality, they're lagging behind (other than the Play 1 and Play 5 - the Play 3 doesn't sound great, for some reason).

For example. I've owned a ZP90 (Connect) for quite a while, around 5 years now. The DAC in it is average/below average, so I've always used it digitally into something else anyway. I've done a lot of listening recently at work with the Bluesound Node II. Granted, it is £220 more than a Connect (£150 at the new prices), but the DAC in it is pretty damn good. All of my listening this week has been with the Node II through a Primare I22 (using Audioquest Golden Gate interconnect) and Ophidian Mambo speakers (AudioQuest Type 4 cable), and the system sounds stunning. This is where the Connect falls down.

 

[drummerman]

I believe many non hifi companies are absorbing their increased cost at the moment rather than passing it on to customers.

Maybe because many other industries work on higher margins, so they're able to.

Perhaps more a question of not wanting to loose customers? I am merely reflecting an economic report aired on sky news yesterday.

I am pretty certain the comparison between a milk producing farmer squeezed to a inch of his life on price and a hifi company's margins is not a similar one.

Perhaps it is?

Pull the udder one. They are milking the situation.

Pound is weak, inflation, whilst still relatively low, is continuing to rise.

It is normal that prices are going up though I am sure some are taking advantage. Luxury goods ie. Hifi will probably see it more than others ie. essential items.