Best value sonos gear

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mpvincent

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#181319 10-Oct-2015 16:03

Hi there

I was wondering whether anyone is aware of any cheaper sonos stockists than the likes of jb or Harvey Norman?

Is it cost effective to bring in from overseas?

Thanks

Mike.

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Webhead
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#1403581 10-Oct-2015 17:49

Have not checked, but its worth remembering that you won't have anything like the CGA helping you if you get problems with equipment you import yourself.

Also I would be wary of buying it from just any webshop, because there could be fakes out there. As a worse case scenario you could end up buying a fake and it being confiscated by customs as it comes into NZ.

For purchases of the value that the Sonos are at, I would look for a NZ shop that I thought would stay around for a while and that had a good price.

Have you checked Pricespy?

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billgates

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#1403588 10-Oct-2015 18:16

It's NZ$345 in NZ through various big reputable retail outlets with local warranty and CGA.

It's USD$199 (NZ$300) via overseas which excludes shipping and GST/Customs when it arrives in NZ as I am guessing you would be wanting more than 1 with no warranty or CGA.

Do whatever you want to do man.

dafman

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#1403599 10-Oct-2015 18:57

I'm a very happy Sonos owner - 1 play 5, 2 play 3's and 2 play 1's.

But it is expensive. You may want to give consideration to the soon to be released Chromecast Audio which will allow you to turn existing systems/speakers into a Sonos type experience for only $60 per unit.

afe66

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#1403724 11-Oct-2015 09:27

I looked into importing Sonos speakers but the cost difference isn't worth the effort once GST is included.

Look at the Chrome audio once it comes in if you have the speakers/amp already.

I suppose there is a (small) chance play 5 get cheaper when new version starts being sold.

If cost issue, try getting a Play one as first speaker. I've got one in bathroom and impressed by sound quality. Depends on size room and whether you want background music vrs rocking the room obviously.

A.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#1403750 11-Oct-2015 10:02

The Play5 should be cheap with the imminent arrival of the new version... has that happened?
Apart from that, pricing 'is what it is'.
ChromeAudio can't control your volume as it's a source, not a pre-amp or volume control... its for people who want wifi audio distribution without any of the benefits of a fully integrated system.

If you want a true wireless multi-room system, you can look at numerous different options, some simple, others fully featured. Some will be 'stream too', others 'stream from'.

eracode

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#1403758 11-Oct-2015 10:39

I have quite a bit of Sonos gear and have looked at various options as to where to buy etc. As with a lot of US gear (i.e. also Apple and Weber bbqs) it's pretty difficult to get meaningful discounts.

I bought a Playbar and a 40" Samsung smart tv from Harvey Norman a couple of months ago. The salesman was keen to get the sale but couldn't give more than a few % discount on the Sonos, so he gave me a really big discount on the tv to make the whole thing work. Doing it that way he wasn't seen to be discounting the Sonos. If I hadn't been buying the tv too, I would have got SFA. Seems the Australasian distributor has the whole thing tied up by the short and curlies.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

dafman

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#1403800 11-Oct-2015 11:54

afe66: I looked into importing Sonos speakers but the cost difference isn't worth the effort once GST is included.

Look at the Chrome audio once it comes in if you have the speakers/amp already.

I suppose there is a (small) chance play 5 get cheaper when new version starts being sold.

If cost issue, try getting a Play one as first speaker. I've got one in bathroom and impressed by sound quality. Depends on size room and whether you want background music vrs rocking the room obviously.

A.

Bang for buck. One Play 3 is $600. Two Play 1's are $700. I would recommend to stretch the extra $100 and the the 2 Play 1's. We've got two paired up in stereo and I would rate these over the single Play 3 for listening. Plus you have the added versatility to separate them into separate areas if you want to.

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P1n3apqlExpr3ss

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#1403813 11-Oct-2015 12:25

ELI5: What's the use case for these? I've noticed the similar LG Music Flows are very very cheap at Harvey Norman atm but don't have much of an idea what they're good for. Can you watch video on laptop/TV with audio from these without any audio delay? Or is this sort of stuff mostly geared for audio only?

Dunnersfella

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#1403865 11-Oct-2015 14:52

The MusicFlow gear will stream via the GoogleCast tech, so you should be fine to stream out of the Chrome browser, but in regards to delay, who knows?
It's like streaming sound to a Bluetooth speaker, sometimes you get what you get... latency is device dependant typically.

dafman

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#1404607 12-Oct-2015 19:46

Published today. The Guardian on WiFi speakers, including Sonos and LG music flow

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/12/tried-tested-wi-fi-speakers?CMP=twt_a-technology_b-gdntech

mpvincent

83 posts

Master Geek

#1408283 17-Oct-2015 16:37

Thanks very much for all the advice. I went into Harvey Norman today and they had the lg system at half price which looked like a pretty good deal. The guy was saying it's was almost identical till the sonos but much much cheaper.

Anyone got the lg model?

Mike.

Handle9

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#1408306 17-Oct-2015 17:31

mpvincent: Thanks very much for all the advice. I went into Harvey Norman today and they had the lg system at half price which looked like a pretty good deal. The guy was saying it's was almost identical till the sonos but much much cheaper.

Anyone got the lg model?

Mike.

I've got 4 of their speakers. They are decent but there is a certain amount of flakiness and it depends what source you want to use. If they had a really good pc app for multi room I'd recommend them wholeheartedly.

dafman

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#1408419 17-Oct-2015 22:06

mpvincent: Thanks very much for all the advice. I went into Harvey Norman today and they had the lg system at half price which looked like a pretty good deal. The guy was saying it's was almost identical till the sonos but much much cheaper.

Anyone got the lg model?

Mike.

Hi Mike - do you really want to make a long term purchase decision based on a shop salesman's recommendation? Read the Guardian review I posted above, there's good reason why the LG are a lot cheaper than the Sonos.

hyperman

418 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1408443 17-Oct-2015 23:00

mpvincent: Thanks very much for all the advice. I went into Harvey Norman today and they had the lg system at half price which looked like a pretty good deal. The guy was saying it's was almost identical till the sonos but much much cheaper.

Anyone got the lg model?

Mike.

only one reason that the sales rep would be suggesting the LG ..they make more money!

The reason you don't see price differences on Sonos is because the margins are so razor thin.

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer

CYaBro

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#1408476 18-Oct-2015 01:29

hyperman:
mpvincent: Thanks very much for all the advice. I went into Harvey Norman today and they had the lg system at half price which looked like a pretty good deal. The guy was saying it's was almost identical till the sonos but much much cheaper.

Anyone got the lg model?

Mike.

only one reason that the sales rep would be suggesting the LG ..they make more money!

The reason you don't see price differences on Sonos is because the margins are so razor thin.

Actually it's due to the nz distributor, playback, being very strict on who can sell Sonos and where.
They limit the resellers to mainly specialist audio installers and even jb hifi doesn't have all of the Sonos products available do they?
They don't discount the Sonos gear because they don't need to, you can't go down the road and buy from someone else because the prices will be the same.
Margins are pretty good actually.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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