Sonos starts speaker rental service

[midian182]

In brief: It’s usually the case that if you want the best, you have to pay for it. But Sonos, maker of high-end, mostly expensive speakers, is giving residents in the Netherlands a way to try its products without handing over a small fortune, thanks to a speaker rental service called Flex.

As noted by The Verge, Flex is available in the shape of three different subscriptions. The cheapest option, called “For Every Room," starts at €15 ($16.50) per month and comes with two Sonos One smart speakers, which can be paired together or used in separate rooms.

At €25 ($27.50) per month is the “For your TV” package. As the name suggests, this consists of two Sonos One speakers and a Sonos Beam soundbar.

Finally, there’s the €50 ($55) per month “For Home Theater” subscription, which is made up of two Sonos One speakers, a Sonos Playbar, and a Subwoofer, all of which should offer some head-shaking audio for your home theater setup.

While users are only renting the equipment, the plans could be ideal for those who can’t or won’t put down so much money in one go. In the Netherlands, a Sonos One is €229 ($251), a Beam costs €449 ($493), a Playbar is €799 ($877) and a subwoofer will set you back €799 ($877), which means the “For Home Theater” package, if bought, would be €2,026 ($2,227).

Other benefits include the speakers being automatically replaced with the latest models as they’re released, subscriptions that can be altered or canceled at any time, and free delivery.

Sonos Flex is only available to 500 homes in the Netherlands right now, but it could expand globally should it prove popular.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/82226-sonos-starts-speaker-rental-service.html

 

[ZackL04]

Strange concept, I cant decide is this is a good value or not

It would take 3 and a half years to break even

Same could be said for all suckers out there that lease cars vs buying.

Id still say, if you cant afford it, you shouldnt get it.

 

[Uncle Al]

Hmmmmmm ..... speaker rental eh? I was thinking about starting up an underwear rental business and growing it into socks, shoes, and falsie's too ..... the future of "rent everything" is upon us!

 

[wiyosaya]

Hmmmmmm ..... speaker rental eh? I was thinking about starting up an underwear rental business and growing it into socks, shoes, and falsie's too ..... the future of "rent everything" is upon us!

Yes, the subscription model - everyone wants a siphon connected to your bank account.

IMO, Sonos is overpriced. I wonder if this is starting to rear its ugly head for them and they are trying to overcome this "obstacle" by letting people rent their speakers.

 

[ZackL04]

Yes, the subscription model - everyone wants a siphon connected to your bank account.

IMO, Sonos is overpriced. I wonder if this is starting to rear its ugly head for them and they are trying to overcome this "obstacle" by letting people rent their speakers.

The reason they are “overpriced” is the R&D they put into the sonos app and all their 3rd party licensing fees they have to pay to allow access in their app.

They are also the Bose of this generation, but with way more features

 

[wiyosaya]

The reason they are “overpriced” is the R&D they put into the sonos app and all their 3rd party licensing fees they have to pay to allow access in their app.

They are also the Bose of this generation, but with way more features

If features only equated to quality. For the money, there are plenty of better options out there just like there were, and still are, when it comes to choosing Bose or not. I whole-heartedly agree that they are the Bose of this generation.

 

[mshrf]

Interesting concept. I live in The Netherlands and I don't think I'll try this one out though...

 

[McMurdeR]

Even as a happy owner of a load of Sonos equipment I'd say no. An upfront investment in a good set of speakers should last years and there are too many alternative options out there.