Sonos has been a wireless stereo powerhouse in Santa Barbara for over a decade, reinventing audio for the digital age. Here at Oniracom, we’ve been beefing up our music system upstairs and down with Sonos gear since January, and it’s definitely made an impact on the general office vibe.
“After I listened to classic albums on our Sonos such as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Doors’ Morrison Hotel, and The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ I heard new things in the music I never had before,” said our CEO Jacob Tell.
Our downstairs team also responded positively to the new Sonos experience at Oniracom:
Has it improved the culture at Oniracom?
Tad: Yes, it’s improved the audio quality and has a good variety of music. It’s a fuller sound at a lower volume, and so is much easier to enjoy while working.
Haaris: Yes, I think so. It’s very nice to hear music filling all the airspace we have.
Tracy: The sound quality of the Sonos is significantly better than what we had before. It makes listening to music as a team a much better experience.
Justin: Having all of our music services aggregated into one interface has been awesome. It’s easier than ever for staff to play any song from any source, so we can keep the music blasting in the work zone and enjoy the same song at more reasonable levels in the common areas.
Does it unify the vibe in the bullpen/lounge/kitchen?
Tad: Yes. I like getting seamless audio when I go from the bullpen to the kitchen.
Calia: Yes of course! It’s easier to see what each of us are playing, so it’s improved the vibe since we now know exactly what each employee likes to play and what they’ve been digging lately.
Haaris: Yes, sound quality is a lot nicer, and it’s easier for people to play what they want on the fly in whatever space they are in.
Jason: I love how Sonos keeps on playing tracks that have been queued previously so the tunes don’t stop! That is a huge plus. Getting a constant audio stream from any room downstairs is really cool. Makes getting snacks and making coffee much more fun!
Justin: Granual control over audio levels in the multi-room setup lets us all enjoy having a coherent listening experience walking from office to office.
How do you use it—Songza, Rdio, or share playlists?
Tracy: I use Songza and Rdio.
Justin: Rdio, but Songza and any of the other playlist-driven services can keep the good vibes going for hours on end.
Calia: I use Spotify and I don’t really share playlists—but I usually play from playlists, so I suppose that is kind of like sharing!
Haaris: I use my music library that lives in iTunes.
Tad: I generally like what other people are curating, but I especially like having controls for when the volume rises to inconsiderate levels.
Drew: I use both Songza and Rdio. Rdio’s united queue of music makes it easy to add an album you want to listen to after the currently playing set of songs. It’s also really nice to throw on Songza if no one is up for managing the music. Another fun option is just replay the queue we have already created as a simple music selecting option.
Jason: I tend to broadcast Spotify music through Sonos for everyone to hear.
Does this democratize the music playing downstairs?
Tad: I’d say yes it does.
Haaris: People love to hijack the speakers, but I prefer this kind of culture! It reminds me of sampling before all the copyright BS of the ‘90s. You get a bit of this from one person, then someone else will drop in other music that they like, and so on.
Drew: This has definitely democratized the music playing downstairs, especially by allowing everyone access to the volume controls. It’s also relieved the big issue of transferring ownership of the airplay speakers from computer to computer especially if someone leaves for a meeting or is away from their desk.
Jason: Anyone in the office can change the volume from their computer, so when we can play the tunes louder and anyone can lower them at a moment’s notice when a call comes in. I love this!
Personally, I enjoy hearing new details in familiar recordings, and as a bass player I just love the new low end. Many of us are also baseball fans, so MLB game-streaming is another feature we’re excited to try. The improved sound, unified vibe, multiple sources, and versatile controls all make for a fantastic Sonos experience at Oniracom.
