Samsung is acquiring hi-fi multi-room service Roon, and Sonos should watch out

The Roon euphony connectivity level is present owned by Harman and by extension, Samsung. So what does that mean for Sonos?

Roon

Roon, a fashionable multi-devidce and multi-room audio exertion level has been bought by Harman, a institution that itself was bought by Samsung backmost successful 2017 for a chill $8 billion. There's nary connection connected however overmuch wealth changed hands for Harman to prime up Roon, but the much absorbing question revolves astir what the plans could beryllium moving forward.

So acold Harman and Samsung person sought to assuage fears that the Roon strategy volition beryllium rolled into 1 of its caller genitor companies by saying the institution volition stay autonomous, but the buyout happened for a reason. That crushed mightiness not beryllium nationalist conscionable yet but Sonos volition nary uncertainty beryllium 1 of the companies watching connected with interest.

What comes adjacent and what does this mean for Sonos?

To recognize what each of this means we archetypal person to recognize what Roon is, due to the fact that it isn't a euphony streaming work similar Spotify, Apple Music, oregon Tidal but alternatively an aggregation app and server that takes hi-fi audio and pipes it to different devices astir your home. Roon server tin tally connected a machine oregon different instrumentality and past enactment arsenic the brains of the outfit, taking euphony from your ain files oregon hi-fi streaming services similar Tital oregon Qobuz. It tin past beryllium sent to different devices including much than 1,000 antithetic products. AirPlay and Chromecast are supported, arsenic are wired options depending connected what instrumentality is acting arsenic the Roon server. With america truthful far?

That each adds a littlec ontext to the quality that Harman is buying Roon, arsenic confirmed by a Samsung press release. And Harmon's precise blessed astir it.

“At HARMAN we instrumentality large pridefulness successful our quality to make exceptional audio experiences for our partners and consumers astir the world,” Dave Rogers president of the manner part astatine Harman said via that property release. “The squad astatine Roon shares our passionateness successful bringing exceptional dependable and connectivity to euphony lovers arsenic they browse, discover, and perceive astatine location and connected the go. We are looking guardant to welcoming Roon, whose awesome endowment volition articulation the HARMAN household and bolster our already robust engineering capabilities.”

The evident happening present would beryllium for Samsung to commencement rolling Roon into its ain devices and region enactment for those from different brands, but that isn't going to happen, it seems. "Aligned with its ‘work with all’ strategy, HARMAN is committed to increasing Roon’s unfastened instrumentality ecosystem which includes collaborating with much than 160 different audio brands, delivering audio to much than 1000 high-performance devices," the property merchandise continues. "Roon’s dedication to its loyal assemblage and its exceptional UI/UX plan expertise volition proceed to grow and flourish with the acquisition."

The hi-fi audio streaming game, particularly erstwhile you commencement streaming that audio astir the location and crossed aggregate speakers, has historically been thing galore person turned to Sonos for. Sonos has been streaming hi-res audio via Qobuz since 2021, and the talker institution has agelong been the go-to for high-end audio fans who privation to get a multi-room acquisition similar nary other. Apple's AirPlay 2 is susceptible of doing thing akin of course, and some Sonos and Roon see enactment for Apple's wirleess protocol. But if Harman tin grow the usage of Roon Ready, Roon's strategy for bringing devices from different manufacturers nether its wing, we tin expect Sonos to travel nether expanding pressure. And astatine a clip erstwhile Sonos is looking to caller categories similar headphones to compensate for slowing talker sales, this couldn't person travel astatine a worse time.