I feel EXACTLY the same way…I love Roon…for 6 years too…The lovely software has got me to listen to way more music than I use to. Outside of being able to use Siri to load my choices, I cannot think of another improvement that would make me happier.
I will be a happy Lifetime member for as long as I can breathe!
For me it didn’t matter really. But I didn’t want yet another subscription.
If I stop using Roon after 3 years it’s just a kinda expensive software. If I use it more than 5-6 years I’m happy enough and I don’t care if they drop support after that.
But I hope Roon becomes widely used and developed further
I bought my lifetime when Roon was just getting off the ground, when it cost somewhat less, well over 5 years ago. My main motivation was to help with startup capital for a project that looked well worthwhile to me. I considered the risks, but it’s still standing. A couple of years ago they announced a price increase for the lifetime, and that they would be phasing it out.
I’m happy to have spent the money when I did. My enthusiasm for Roon (and for digital music files in general) waxes and wanes, but it’s always there for me when I want to use it.
While Roon is great, a big threat is the absence of traction with streaming companies.
Only two are supported, if one or the other or both go down, there is no need for those with small libraries to use Roon.
Math on life or otherwise is easy but there are more factors…
One of the things with lifetime subscription is that you don’t really have a voice as a customer anymore. Quitting has no negative impact on Roon; you might say on the contrary.
As a longtime lifetime user, I found the opposite, I’ve had good responses on multiple issues and suggestions from Roon staff over the years.
Do you think Roon is treating lifetime subscribers better than the rest? That would be really bad.
Not to speak for @Fernando_Pereira but he simply seems to be saying that it’s the opposite of being ignored, i.e. just being treated normally
I’m not saying that you’ll be treated any differently based on subscription; just that, in theory, you loose the leverage that comes with the ability to quit as a last resort.
Maybe he understood it wrongly. As a lifer, I have no complaints. While you are of course right that leaving does not take income away, on the other hand the company would be losing a committed customer and potential ambassador, I’m sure they don’t want that either.
No, just that positive engagement has worked better for me in many settings than threats like “I’ll cancel my subscription.”
When you get what you want, it’s easy to stay positive and engaged. But if you don’t, and if what you want is a deal breaker for you, then the only option is to quit. That should have a financial impact on the seller if the free market principles are to apply.
Referring to some of the posts above, I would not consider that lifetime subscribers continuing to have access to the software if Roon folds to be much advantage. The licensed metadata and images will be gone. No interconnect with streaming services. No updates, bug fixes. Obsolete with future OS releases. Very limited utility.
Kinda curious here. Multiple people above mentioned buying multiple lifetime subscriptions. Why?
I am new to Roon, probably as of two months ago. I signed up for the free trial and as soon as I determined it was great for me, I bought the lifetime subscription. That’s my choice and I hope to use it for 10+ years, if not 20+.
If they go out of business next week I might be a bit upset. But that seems quite unlikely…
I think it’s great that they offer so many options. Monthly, yearly, once in a lifetime.
Multiple locations that may be occupied concurrently? Just convenience so that they don’t have to carry a core between them (as I do so that my listening history stays in sync) or deactivate one core or the other.
Thanks. So the license we buy is per core then. (I’m so new and was distracted by some family matters when I signed up, so I didn’t realize that’s the license model.)
True, but I’m assuming that RAAT would still work as would DSP, that would be enough utility for some. Metadata ain’t the whole deal.
Mike, the license is actually per active Core. With a single license (lifetime, annual, monthly, it doees not matter), you can have as many Cores as you need or want, but only one of them can be active (online) at a time. I have two cores, one on a Mac and one on a Windows 11 PC, but I use only one of them at a time unless I purchase another license. This is what people mean when they de-activate their Core when moving between locations or uses, and then activate a different Core for that purpose or location.
I must say this has been a great conversation amongst Roon members. It has been interesting to read everyone’s 2 cents on the issue.
Those that got in early have certainly reaped the rewards. I was an original PLEX Pass member. I think I paid $59 or $69 for lifetime. Some of the best money I have ever spent.
A comment in this thread I found interesting is what happens if Qobuz or Tidal stops allowing Roon access. After all, Apple doesn’t allow access even though you need a subscription so why would they restrict Roon?
Roon just aggregates info in libraries and music services. It doesn’t cost Apple any money, you still need a subscription to access. What happens if Qobuz or Tidal do the same?
Yes, I have done the math. I find it much more likely that the monthly price will increase over Roon going bust. $700 seems like an excellent value. IMO the DSP alone is worth way more than the lifetime subscription price, not to mention the organization of our collection, seamless integration with Qobuz, zones, and on and on. Then there is giving us an operating system for our NUC so our Roon Rock can run as a utility. I also like the idea of showing my confidence in the product and protecing myself from price increases. I purchased when the lifetime subscription was $500.