I think of Roon as still in the “start-up” phase so that’s important to my following comments.
and… You’re not wrong and I can agree with what you say but I also wanted to give the counterpoints.
First, it’s only a terrible investment if the value of what you are getting makes no sense. To me, at least, $500 for whole home audio management, local file management, and streaming integration was worth it. This was far cheaper than anyone else’s solution being as most other companies, to get similar functionality, required I buy-into their hardware platform. A hardware platform that starts well north of $500. I’m also in a position where it cost me $0 in hardware to get Roon functional. I had already had everything hardware wise I needed and just needed to load software. So, for me, it was literally the purchase of the license to “go Roon”.
A company in start-up phase will generally need cash “now” more than they need cash “in the future”. A well put together business plan includes the details for generating the “now” cash as well as “future” cash. How that cash in generated can look very different. From where I sit, and I sit very far away from the inner-workings of Roon LLC so I’m playing Monday morning quarterback here, the more valuable cash for Roon right now is the lifetime cash. It’s a big influx of cash that, as a start-up, keeps them alive. Yes, maybe, they are giving up on “future” cash but that trade-off is coming with the knowledge that without “now” cash there is no chance of ever collecting “future” cash. For that reason, I personally feel that if you really wanted to support the development and sustainability of Roon as a company you’d buy a lifetime membership and give them significantly more “now” cash. It’s also why we’re speculating on when lifetime will go away. It will go away when the model shifts from dependency on “now” cash to a longer term growth plan which requires stable “future” cash.
A lifetime sub does not hold me back from using something else. If, now month 2 into using Roon, I decide there is something better than that’s $500 for software I’m no longer using. I’ve spent more on stuff and have used it for less time. As you say, expensive hobbies are expensive. I’m certainly not looking for a break-even point here…
To summarize: A $500 injection of cash to a start-up can be significant for that start-up and is an investment into that’s start-ups future. It’s nice that Roon thanks me for that injection with a lifetime license to their software. If, at some point (maybe tomorrow) I find something better and a reason to switch from Roon, I’m not doing the calculation on how much an annual membership would have saved me; I’m just moving on.
An interconnect can cost more than Roon lifetime, and they’re not rare. Roon can turn a $30 Raspberry Pi into a $3k streamer, with top functionality. Enjoy the music!
4K for a WiFi enabled (presumably Roon Ready) endpoint is insane. For shits and giggles though I’ll see if I get demo one and compare it with my lowly Odroid RoonBridge USB transport. Who knows, I may just be pleasantly surprised.
I’m sure I’m missing something here but I just don’t understand why anyone considering a lifetime subscription would care how much longer it’s going to be offered. Assuming you have gotten past the whole “will they survive” question ( 4+ years old, approaching 100,000 users ) then the best time to purchase an annual subscription is today, delaying just costs you more money.
I had this discussion with my wife who has her MBA from MIT. There’s no right or wrong answer here regarding pricing. A company like Roon will benefit from a blend of Lifetime subs and annual subs. While the annual sub breaks even with lifetime subs in just over 3 years the advantage of a annual sub is control. If my needs change I can move in another direction. We all look at Lifetime subs and want that good deal but I reasoned that if I’m still happy with Roon after 3 years then the annual cost going forward isn’t a problem and it also infuses Roon with steady income.
I just had to update my automotive software for diagnostics. A year of updates cost me $490.00
Ok, I need it for work and I can delay the next upgrade for a while, but it makes Roon life look cheap as chips…
For that price you might as well get the Vega G2 DAC streamer combo for $6k. I’ve only had one piece of Auralic equipment, a Polaris, which is a streamer, DAC and amp combo in a small table top platform. The amp failed after about a week and I returned it for a refund. It sounded good, but I decided against replacing it with the same unit. Got a Benchmark DAC instead and inserted a Bryston BDP-1 into the streamer position.
Note: I didn’t really need the Polaris amp section. It was to feed a headphone amp.
I concur. I took some time researching and once I understood the Roon proposition I plumped for the lifetime option. It is very good value. Then I bought a Nucleus, expensive but really simple and discreet. I’m done. One more thing, a pair of Kef LS50 Wireless speakers will be the icing on the cake.
Roon is more about quality something SPOTIFY does not deliver in my opinion. I was talking to an Artist today, Hannah Aldridge and she told me that her new album is not on Spotify and if people want it, they can buy a CD or digital download £12.00
Artist financial support is another reason to avoid Spotify… Just as I see it.
My view is that is a cop out. There are times for serious listening and times when you just want background music.
I have both kinds of rigs. And honestly I don’t want to deal with two different types of software for music in my house. So let me choose my quality considerations.
Also I doubt that Roon is making decisions based on artist compensation. They want to lock you into their interface and pay a subscription. Spotify wants to do the same for the most part.
Well I am afraid that (as far as I am aware) that if you want to use Spotify and another streaming source, that you are going to have to use two, or more different types of player software, regardless of using Roon or not.
However I agree, adding Spotify Connect to Roon would be beneficial for background music times with a consistent UI.
I don’t understand how or where there is a cop-out?
