It's easy to lose customers.
Just guessing, but it sounds like the original problem might have been a triumph of marketing over common sense. Marketing came up with loads of new features that customers would want. Customers didn't want them - at least, not at the price being asked, so they hang on to the kit they've got which does everything they want. Sonos has an embarrassing gap between product investment and sales, so someone came up with the idea of bricking old kit in the firm belief that forcing people to buy new kit would somehow appeal to previously loyal customers.
Sonos might have dug themselves out of this hole but the problem is that people have long memories and even if Sonos end up doing the right thing now, there will be many who remember this and won't spend any more money on their stuff when it comes time to upgrade or extend.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
