Located in Soho’s cast-iron district, Lightning Society is a New York City-based community that, according to its website, is a "playground for the intellectually adventurous." From live music to immersive events, the Society's home on 45 Howard Street is aimed at sparking connection, curiosity, and wellness amongst its members. Audio plays a big role in bringing members together, and the new home of Lightning Society turned to Sonos to amplify that sound.
The project, which not only spans multiple floors, but a variety of spaces, commenced at the beginning of the year with the ballroom; however, per Matt Emmi, founder of OneButton, the technology design firm selected for the project, it is still a work in progress. "We are still finalizing the adaptive (circadian) lighting scope, but the core audio scope is complete," he explained. "That said, there is now a desire for “concert quality” sound, so we are looking at further incorporating subwoofers into the architecture. The remainder of the floors, which are focused on members' areas and activities, will come online over the next few months."
When it came to what audio solutions would be used, there was little question Sonos was the right fit. It was a shared vision that brought it all together. "The Lightning Society, Sonos, and OneButton all similarly consider people and connection first," explained Luke Heckl, commercial sales manager, Americas at Sonos. "With that, there was an elevated focus on experience rather than purely focusing on the technology or products, which we are all prone to do in this industry. At its core, the design always revolved around the user experience. Technology solves problems, gets out of the way, and lets human experience take center stage."
Per Emmi, Sonos was the only vendor that could elegantly provide the breadth of experiences Lightning Society desired. "One Button included Sonos because they know we would deliver turnkey solutions for the unique challenges inherent to the project," Heckl said.
One of those challenges was the building itself. Being 100 years old meant architectural integrity was at the top of mind. For OneButton, this challenge wasn't too different from other projects, as every building presents its own challenges; this one happened to be dealing with century-old architecture. "[We] took advantage of the new Era 100 Pro PoE solution to maintain signal integrity to every speaker without having to resort to 70v transformers," Emmi explained. "Further, this optimized wire pulls and minimal power requirements, which is helpful given we could only pull wire through specific channels between historic pillars and beams."
According to Heckl, product selection was achieved through a collaborative process that helped identify how the expansive venue would be used. There weren't simply many spaces to consider, each space accommodated a variety of uses within it. On top of that, the system would have operators with varying degrees of audio expertise, so Sonos was ideal as a system designed with no complicated programming or end-user training required, solving one of the biggest challenges. Yet another challenge surrounding the architecture was that the hardware also had to fit each physical space. "In some cases, those decisions were driven by a scarcity of electrical outlets, whereas in others, decisions were made to adhere to a strict aesthetic mandate," Heckl said.
Per OneButton, the team took a traditional 8Ω, residential approach with the Sonos Amp Multi—the new Sonos multi-channel amp—powering 16 invisible speakers from Sonos by Sonance in the second-floor ballroom. Amp Multi provides flexibility to manage multiple speakers while simplifying the Sonos audio ecosystem. The ballroom has already hosted a Sonos launch event, showcasing high-quality audio throughout the entire room while keeping the loudspeakers hidden within the architecture.
Eight Era 100 Pro speakers make up a zoned system, distributed with PoE throughout the third floor, which features and reading room and a coffee bar. There is also a listening room that utilizes Era 300 speakers, in-ceiling speakers, subwoofers, and a Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar housed in a Leon Tonecase. The fourth floor is broken up into experience rooms; there is a spatial audio listening room, a conference room with ARC theater, an audiophile listening space, and a micro theater with a 100-inch screen and Sonos powering a massive width-matched soundbar. The top floor is an intimate members' space where Sonos FIVES are hidden throughout the space at waist level, making music a character in the conversation between members. Lastly, said, Emmi, the scenic rooftop utilizes outdoor speakers mounted to a broad pergola, keeping members cozy by the fire pit and gardens.
While there is still work to be completed in some of the more specialized spaces before Lightning Society is fully open, all the user feedback has confirmed that Sonos and OneButton checked the right boxes. "The early results have been overwhelmingly positive," concluded Heckl. "The Lightning Society is not yet in full-time regular use, but the wide range of events that have taken place have gone extremely well. "
