Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Hardware with Roon Application Roon Lifetime Price Increase

I think they would prefer you to be a loyal customer than a loss making customer.

As I understand it, from a conversation with the guys at Roon a year or so back, that the lifetime subscription was probably costing them money. I guess they have done some sums since. So it's easy to see why there was no pre warning.

Those two are not mutually exclusive. And "loss making" is a narrow view of a single transaction. I work in a building with very highly paid people, and, for example, had a conversation just on Friday with someone interested multi-room audio because they heard about my "system". I was going to buy my brother a subscription, as a thank-you for getting me into Meridian. I've run Roon three different ways, and got it working when Roon tech support gave up, and can help others get going.

But now I'm not a loyal "loss making" customer. Now I'm a disloyal, jaded, "profitable" customer. They rationalized that the second is better. There's plenty who disagree with me. Call me entitled. If I was entirely transactional, just ran Roon, didn't talk about it, didn't support it, sure, my reaction would be entitled. I misunderstood the relationship. So it's ok. I don't need a $499 lifetime. I'm not going to tell anyone what this software is. I'm not going to recommend it, in fact if the Friday conversation has a follow up, it'll be "F*** Roon" and left at that. I'm not going to buy my brother a sub. I'm not going to help people out when it doesn't work. It's just another faceless thing I pay $10 a month for.

And if Bluesound or any one of the big players get their [censored] together, then I'll ditch that $10 from the list of things I pay for. And that's ok, because Roon did the math. They anticipated a certain amount of negative reactions, and they've accounted for that.

Would you feel the same way if they had waited until after Christmas to raise the price without warning?

Divorce is always messy but you just have to move on. Maybe just dump Roon altogether get Tidal or Qobuz ( neither of which do lifetime rates and cost more than Roon ) and a Squeezebox or two and declare yourself a republic . Lifetime was there for 4 years and you didn’t jump so that’s not Roons fault . It’s still there now it with the bitter pill of the increase and you’ve made your call . Next year or so it will be gone forever .

As for your poor brother , his one-year gift is the same price it ever was but you’ve made your call there too .

I hope you find what you’re looking for

M

It is amazing how folks get all wadded up over what really is not a lot of money. Especially compared to what they have tied up in their hifi systems or other interests. Personally, given the explanation from Roon, I would rather that they be honest about their pricing strategy than to suddenly go belly up without warning because they were not sustainable.

I am about to go Roon (as I feel let down by Sooloos) and I’m annoyed with myself that I didn’t pull the trigger before the price rise - I’m not annoyed with Roon!

I work in the software industry (our software costs $25k per year) and like Roon we want a continuing stream of revenue to keep us going (to provide updates, new features, support for new hardware etc.). Of course the lure of quick money from a lifetime sale is attractive but it’s not necessarily sustainable. But it’s great when you are starting up. So I fully understand the thought processes and the dilemma they faced.

I view this change as a good sign that Roon is here for the long haul and not for a quick buck. I think they truly love what they do and not just the money they could earn doing it.

Chris

Well put!

I do not yet have Roon but intended to buy a lifetime sub if and when I did. As I procrastinated, I fully anticipated such increases.

For all the reasons stated, lifetime subs make sense for upfront capital, but make increasingly less sense as growth happens.

As an aside, I dug deep to afford a lifetime subscription with an advisory service some 15 years ago. I was relatively young. I worried it was far too much at the time. A lifetime subscription now is about 5 times that amount. And still considered a bargain by most estimations.

I paid for a lifetime subscription partly because it meant it was paid for, but also on the off-chance I lost my job before an annual subscription became due and I couldn't justify the cost of renewal (especially important now twins are on the way!).

That said, an annual subscription has the major benefit for customers that the provider has an huge incentive to keep you happy (and paying).

Had Sooloos been subscription based, I believe it would still be alive today. And, if I work out the maths, I think my MC200 would have cost me £2000 in depreciation over two years, if I had paid full retail.

Congratulations on the twins!

I read all of the Roon-critical comments as misdirected self-loathing, arising from a realization that they passed up an opportunity to secure bargain lifetime pricing.

I like Roon
Of course, nobody wants to pay more than before, but you have to decide what you will get for that money.
So I decide as I like Roon very much, to change from a annual subscription to a lifetime subscription.
That is the "christmas" for Roon and myself.

Sign up for a lifetime subscription and show Roon that you like it and give support for their/our project.
Keep going Roon!!