We are a small company that frequently gets short-term contracts with much larger companies. That means we have to ramp up quickly, communicating with executives and other contacts we may never meet personally, and may only work with for a short time.Before we got this phone, we tried to use the tinny, inadequate speaker-phone feature on our AT&T business phones. We often had to ask people to speak up and repeat what they said, and people sometimes had trouble understanding us. When you need to build a working relationship quickly over the phone that's a problem.
Since we got this phone these problems are gone. Conference calls go faster and smoother, meetings are over sooner, and our communication with clients is better. Great sound quality is that important.
And great sound quality is what this phone has. It not only makes people's voices sound clearer, it makes them seem more human and present. You can hear subtle tone-of-voice changes that might be missing from a conventional phone conversation, but can really make a difference when you're trying to negotiate a contract or close a deal.
The only downsides to this phone are:
1) It's a conference phone, not a desktop phone. It has minimal features, only supports one line, etc.
2) With the subwoofer, power supply, phone lines etc. there are a lot of wires. Use a couple of Cable Turtles to organize them or they'll drive you wild. In a good design choice, only one cable goes to the unit that sits on your conference table; the woofer stays on the floor next to the power supply.
3) The price is pretty high. Many people will probably be more than satisfied with one of Polycom's lower-priced products, which I have used and are also excellent. But when communication is key to your business, it's worth spending more to have the best, and this phone is it.