LOL, yes please, Chris! The comment of the day.
1 Like
Pretty sarcastic considering most people are not clairvoyant.
Only Roon insiders could anticipate that with release 1.7 there is also an upgrade in lifetime sub. pricing.
So how are customers supposed to be as visionary that a high price tag turns into even a more expensive one, when they are used to that things get cheaper with time?
There is one thing I don’t understand in a lot of posts here. Quite a few people are dissapointed/angry because they budgetted a lot of hardware to build there ideal Roon universe, in other words a system build around this software. But actually spending money on the software itself came last on the list? No offence to anyone but I just don’t understand this.
10 Likes
I have not bought Office for Windows, I have bought Windows for Mac.
Who would buy the software without the hardware in place?
James
Well this James went the other way minimal software and invested in hardware 
Well maybe the people that came from a CD player or record player and only had a typewriter in their home, but all others probably allready had all of the hardware to get started with Roon.
Actually I did have the hardware (2016), but needed to wait for Bryston to make their BDP-1 Roon Ready. In the meantime, I was able to use the Squeezebox features to make it work.
Cause we already enjoy Roon with the year subscription, I renewed my speakers the past year, now I bought a mac mini, I was waiting to december to buy the lifetime subscription with the extra pay
Ha, I’m not one of those complaining every release with “Where’s this feature?” or “What about that feature?”
I paid the lifetime price for Roon as it was at the time and regard updates as bonuses. Yes there are features I would like to see, but if Roon remained at v1.7 in perpetuity then I wouldn’t be overly fazed.
Back in your box.
Love the casual, finger-wagging bits of financial advice on display in this thread. Right up there with the “I bought this at $499, aren’t I great?” posts and the “everything’s been said after 50 posts” post, which is irony in itself.
Difficult to know which is my favourite. Never change, Roonies.
4 Likes
It’s has a SBAF flavor at times…
SBAF? 
No.
How do you read such far out theories into what Roon said? Roon has said that they got the cash they needed for the startup push from lifetime license purchases. They we’re able to make it through the startup phase without having to get more cash from investors.
Now, what Roon wants to be the most successful moving forward, is to add all new customers using the annual subscription model. That is the only sustainable model for this business. That is why the lifetime subscriptions were always in danger of going away. They are bad for long term business. Roon raised the price to a more painful level to discourage people from buying them. Apparently, there were some issues with vendors of hardware bundling lifetime licenses with hardware purchases that have to be worked out before they can eliminate the lifetime subscription completely.
In other words, it’s all about a sustainable business model and not current financial status.
6 Likes
Roon stated their intent to kill lifetime subscriptions numerous times over the last few years, so it shouldn’t be that big a surprise. And @Danny’s top-of-thread message clearly articulated why.
But… why now? My guess is that the Roon value equation is such that the ratio of lifetime to annual subscribers was actually increasing over time and that is clearly the opposite of Roon’s long-term intent. The number of customers that are justifiably annoyed that they can no longer get the old lifetime subscription just confirms the reason for the move.
Subsccription issues aside, I can’t be happier that Roon is doing well and continuing to evolve and prosper. It bodes well for all of us music lovers.
5 Likes
Not constructive. Sorry.
2 Likes
Utter Bunkham!
6 Likes
Roon is a business. Not a commune of irrational people. At least I hope so, as otherwise they have no hope of survival as a for-profit enterprise.
3 Likes
A business has to survive and needs revenue. Buy a lifetime while you can is the only advice I can give. In Meridian terms, it’s still as cheap as chips. There is nothing else out there to touch this, IMHO
5 Likes
This isn’t true, and I’m sure you know that. Granted, there aren’t dozens of sustainable business models, but at least two or three for software like this.
1 Like
I find this conversation pretty interesting. So many different point of views and so many arguments.
I have to admit, I do not see any romantic or emotional behaviour that makes sense. This is a business founded by people that want to make money with it. That’s fine for me, because I get a value that I enjoy every day. Luckily I decided relatively fast after I start using Roon to buy the lifetime option.
It was and is clear that lifetime does not mean necessarily my lifetime.
It is still very open and honest to present the reasons here in the forum from Danny.
I know it from other vendors differently.
Only my 2 cents
Tom
3 Likes