Harman probably would buyy MyTeck before they develop a new device
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Exactly the same thing happened with âfreeâ lifetime yahoo email accounts. The code base was forked along time ago so although there is still technically a free tier for those early adopters, the functionality became frozen which of course encourages subscribers onto paid tiers where the development is. Samsung/Harmon will have the the resources to maintain multiple code forks that is probably not feasible for roon.
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I wouldnât wish that uponâŚâŚâŚ.well anyone 
They could buy it but they probably wouldnât ever receive it.
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hopefully one of the things you want to do is sort out all the issues with roons user interface and user experience. these have always been the biggest frustrations using roon software - and simple to fix.
the current âfeature suggestionâ and voting system doesnât work. hopefully harmon can lend a UI/UX designer and the roon software will become a joy to use instead of an annoyance
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Everything remains rosey in the first year of acquisitions.
It becomes interesting after a year.
Itâs all a big unknown, even to the Roon team.
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Yeah thatâs it.
Like most software with lifetime (which Iâve been shafted a few timesâŚ).
I reckon it will be turned into a âlegacy licenceâ (eventually) and then some nonsense about having to most forward with the times and to improve the software and the experience, we are giving you the chance to most to an exciting new way to support the company; subscriptions. To make the process easier weâll offer x2 free months (or 6 if generous).
I hope it doesnât happen, and I wish the best for Roon as Iâll be sticking around. But, if Iâm burned again. Iâm gone.
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First of all, congrats to the Roon team for making this deal. Well-deserved. 
As with all major changes something great can come out of it or something not so great.
Looking at how essential Roon has become to my whole music listening experience (I use all aspects of Roon, streaming and local music library integration, Multi room (including ARC for mobile home use), DSP, music encyclopedia, new music dicorvery etc.) and because I am a lifetimer I really hope for something great and at the same time âfearâ a little bit for something not so great (because right now I do not see an alternative).
But in the meantime Roon is working great for me and the rest, time will tell.
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All good things come to an end - just a shame there isnât really a viable alternative out there today.
Samsung UK is notorious for bad customer service and using its outsourcing model for a heap of different business areaâs. I donât expect the umbrella company to be any different in this mindset. This is why I stick to European brands that value their core customer needs.
I am curious how this story plays out regarding software as a service though ⌠but expect anything Apple eco-system related e.g. iOS, OSX etc gets vastly de-prioritised or canned longer term. The war with Apple and Samsung continues.
I would wager after âTransfer of Businessâ like with all software vertical acquisitions, all good people leave within 18 months. So I do wonder who carries forward Roon innovations in the future - hopefully not some pen pusher who doesnât even understand their users or the technology stack. These people generally make poor executive decisions because they donât understand the basic principles.
Think we should keep an open mind.
Quite possible Roon will stay fairly independent.
As long as the higher ups donât mess around with the product itself, this could be a good thing.
Roon will appear in many more products and have a more powerful market presence. That could help, for instance, negotiating with the streaming services.
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After thinking about this for a while, I wonder if an underlying thought for this acquisition is to get the tech to be able to develop roon to be a more premium Sonos competitor without having to go through the whole R&D process to develop a platform.
Whether it is under the Samsung brand or something else, across the conglomerate they have the hardware production capability, they now have a software platform to power it.
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It will be interesting to see how many of the Roon founders are still working for Harman/Samsung in a couple of years.
Going back to being an employee is fine for a while but hopefully we will see the Roon guys popping up with something new (again!) in a few years.
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Thatâs unfortunate for many 
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Now Roon is no longer an independent company. Harman is owned by Samsung and they are more focus on profit and loss. I donât know what the future will hold for Roon. As a lifetime membership I really hope this partnership between users and Roon will continue.
True, they have any number of harassment tools in their arsenals and could dry out the lifetimes subscription value over a few years.
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Yes congrats to the Roon Team. I think the news is good for the consumer and the small team at Roon who have worked hard to grow into a business that is recognised and validated by the market.
I see an owned streaming service coming to Roon, its to dependent on Qobuz and Tidal, both fragile.
If itâs to stay intact I think it will be an all in one solution unless they integrate with far more services like Sonos and Bluesound.
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Just like politicians promise change when elected.
We will see, only time will tell what all the promises are worth.
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Beyond the speeches and marketing claims where everything is always great, who can believe that nothing will change? Who can believe that Hartman-Samsung had a bit of money to spend and wanted to be nice to Roon and will leave everything as it is? Harman-Samsung has made an investment and has an idea behind it to make it profitable. How profound will the changes be?
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A lot of very varying takes here, but a couple of things are worth remembering.
Roon has an existing, paying, user base in the hundreds of thousands, for which it doesnât need to license actual music. This, to me, seems like a valuable base in and of itself. It might be a drop in the ocean that is Harman, let alone Samsung. It is an asset, however, that ought to be managed carefully. Not to do so would have the potential to leave a very sour taste in the mouths of a large body of potentially very valuable customers.
I am sceptical by nature, but buying a subscription business and then p***ing off all the subscribers wouldnât seem smart to me.
I think creating a real competitor to Sonos is very likely to be part of the play here, and, as others have observed, Harman has the potential to have way more clout than an independent Roon in that regard. JBL, for example, just launched the first smart speaker that allows you to simultaneously use Google Assistant and Alexa. That, to me, speaks to Harmanâs sway.
Who knows if we might now see all the streamers weâve dreamed of seeing on Roon? Bear in mind that the only company with a vested interest in Sonosâ domination of the audio market is Sonos itself.
We have no idea whatâs going to happen, but the game just got very interesting indeed.
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Congratulations Roon & Harman
, really a good and late âCyber Mondayâ sales.
~ one of lifetime Roon subscribers, please be nice to us 
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