To say the least, I was eager to try the little SoundStation IP5000 from the moment it was offered. When a class leading company like Polycom creates a new product specifically for the SOHO market it makes me take notice. Will they get it right, and deliver the kind of device upon which their reputation was built…yet designed and priced to match the sensibilities of the SOHO/SMB user?
In a larger office or small conference room you may ask, “Why bother with a dedicated conference phone? Won’t a good desk phone with a quality speakerphone feature be good enough?”
The simple answer is no. There’s considerable merit to using a real conference phone over the speakerphone function on even a high-quality desk phone. Desk phones generally use a directional microphone that is more sensitive to sounds from the front to the phone. So when two or more people are collected to take part in a call inevitably one person will sound “distant” or “off-mic”. In addition, you may have to gather your group awkwardly around the front of the desk phone so that they can hear or be heard clearly. Both situations are less than ideal.
In contrast a dedicated conference phone, like the SoundStation IP5000, is equally sensitive to sound from all directions. Its upward pointing speaker is clearly heard in all directions. It’s a superior solution when more than one or two local participants are involved, especially on lengthy calls. This also eliminates the closer than comfortable grouping of co-workers in front of a desk phone, letting everyone relax and participate comfortably in the call.
While Polycom has historically held a commanding lead in the conference phone market their IP-capable product offerings have focused on the requirements of large board rooms. These devices, both because of cost and size, were not a good match to the requirements of small businesses and home office dwellers. The SoundStation IP5000’s introduction seems aimed to change that.
While I might be tempted to say that the SoundStation IP5000 replaces the now discontinued SoundStation IP4000 that would be a total mischaracterization of the device. If truth be told, the SoundStation IP5000 is really the younger brother of the newer IP6000 and IP7000 models. The familial characteristics are plainly there, just in a more compact version.
Whereas the SoundStation IP6000 and IP7000 models target medium-to-large conference rooms, the IP5000 is intended to be used in smaller conference rooms and executive offices. It certainly fits in quite nicely here in my home office.
Physically, the SoundStation IP5000 is substantially smaller than it’s higher-end brethren. It has the same three legged triangular configuration common to the SoundStation family, but measures only about 10.5 x 11″ overall. It’s footprint on a desk or table is similar to the Polycom SoundPoint IP650 desk phone that I typically use. It’s deeper front-to-back, but about the same width.
The center & top-mounted speaker is approximately 1.5″ in diameter, smallish, but it’s a reasonably long throw driver (yes, I took it apart.) The driver is mounted in a sealed chamber making it an acoustic suspension design. It’s peak output volume is specified as 84 db @ 0.5m, just a little less than the larger SoundStation models, which seems entirely appropriate for the smaller rooms where the IP5000 would be used.
A set of three condenser microphones are arrayed around the speaker, one at the end of each leg of the device. The provisional data sheet sheet claims that the IP5000 should be able to clearly pick up sounds from people speaking within 7 feet of the device. This also seems appropriate for the kind of situation that might be faced in a small conference room, such as at my employer’s UK head office….or in my home office for that matter.
The phones LCD display is significant as it’s used both to access the devices menus and as the display for the built-in XHTML browser function. The IP5000 has a back-lit LCD display measuring 2 1/4 x 7/8″ and resolving 248 x 68 pixels. In fact, it’s LCD display about the same size & resolution as that found on the larger IP6000, the model that my employer uses in their west coast conference room.
In many ways the SoundStation IP5000 reminds me of the SoundPoint IP335 desk phone that I reviewed late last year. It’s an entry level device, but is unusually high-quality for that market segment. Unlike the SoundPoint IP335, the SoundStation IP5000 supports only one line appearance. Also, it’s higher-resolution display supports four soft keys, making accessing core functions and navigating its menus a little easier.
I have had the pleasure of using a pre-release sample of the SoundStation IP5000 for about six weeks prior to its launch. Upon receipt of the sample unit I had it registered with my OnSIP account in just a few minutes. If you have any experience configuring the Polycom SoundPoint desktop SIP phones then the IP5000 will be immediately familiar.
Before I could configure the SoundStation IP5000 I first had to get it powered up. The IP5000 has only one external connector; an RJ-45 jack for connection to your network. This means that 802.3af power-over-Ethernet (P.O.E.) is literally the only way to power the device.
The use of P.O.E. is a double-edged sword; both convenient and inconvenient. It’s convenient in that you power the phone from your network. You need not worry about providing an AC outlet near the phones physical location, and only one cable runs to the phone. It’s inconvenient in that you must consider exactly how to provide power to the phone, and possibly procure the requisite additional hardware.
In truth, this requirement for P.O.E. should not be a problem since smaller P.O.E.-capable switches are now affordable, if not yet commonplace. Alternatively, a single port mid-span POE insertor could be used to power the IP5000. These are inexpensive and available from a variety of sources, including Polycom.
Around my office I use a couple of mid-span P.O.E. insertors to power my phones. These were less costly than a P.O.E.-capable gigabit switch back when I was building out my network.
P.O.E. is in fact a very good idea for IP phones since it allows you to sustain their operation during a power outage using a single UPS in your network closet. It’s just one of several considerations that are at heart of achieving traditional telco reliability in your IP telephony installation.
Like the SoundPoint desk phones phones there are three possible ways to configure the SoundStation IP5000; the built-in LCD display & menus, the web interface or a remote provisioning server.
The basic network configuration is done using the LCD display at the initial point of boot-up. All that is required is to establish the core network settings, like enabling DHCP or alternatively, setting the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway.
(LCD images shown near actual resolution)
You may also elect to define a provisioning server at this point. The IP5000 fits easily into an existing Polycom provisioning scheme offering a variety of ways (tftp, ftp, sftp, http or https) of fetching configuration files from a central repository.
I chose not to point the IP5000 at my provisioning server since it was running a beta version of firmware. I did not want it to load the same firmware used by the rest of my Polycom phones.
You could also use the on-phone menus to establish the SIP Server & Line settings but I find this approach a little tedious. Instead, I used the built-in web interface to establish it’s SIP configuration.
(Click to see full sized image)
The web interface is about the same as any of the Polycom SoundPoint phones, except that the IP5000 supports only one line appearance. This fact also limits the number of reboots required as you go about configuring the phone.
Many of the web interface menu options respond only to report that those settings are not relevant to this particular device.
SIP interoperability has long been a Polycom hallmark. Polycom phones are supported by a diverse range of IP-PBX systems and hosted VoIP providers. During my trial of the SoundStation IP5000 I had it registered with various SIP service providers, including; OnSIP, IdeaSIP, SIPGate & Gizmo5.
All the basic call handling functions of hold, resume, transfer, etc presented no issues. I could even perform a three-way conference on the SoundStation IP5000 itself, without resorting to using a conference bridge.
As you can see from the photo of the IP5000 keypad, the device proudly bears the Polycom HDVoice logo. My initial test calls were to other Polycom phones on my network, specifically SoundPoint IP650 and IP335 models. As expected both ends of the calls displayed the animated “HD” icon, indicating that the phones were providing wideband audio via the G.722 codec.
I made further test calls to other G.722 capable phones, including several models from Gigaset and Cisco. At no point did I encounter any problems with wideband interoperability.
Progressing on to calling outbound from my network I was pleased, but not at all surprised, to find that the IP5000 worked well with my OnSIP account and the ZipDX HDVoice bridge. Calls to PSTN numbers were of course negotiated down to G.711 or G.729, but they sounded great in all cases.
For the longer term evaluation I assigned the SoundStation IP5000 to ring in parallel with my existing SoundPoint IP650. Then as calls came in I could answer using the IP5000 in those cases where I knew that I’d prefer to use a speakerphone function on that particular call. I used the IP5000 for numerous conference calls over the six week period, including a couple of very lengthy VUC calls via the ZipDX HDVoice bridge.
During colder days in February I also used the IP5000 on my dining room table, which approximates a mid-sized conference room setting. Polycom claims that the IP5000 is well suited to small conference rooms, where 3-6 people may need to participate in a call. My experience certainly bears out this claim. While I never had a group as large as six on a call with the IP5000, I found that anyone around the table could both hear and be heard.
The SoundStation IP5000 also features technology designed to reduce or eliminate interference from nearby cellular phones. As a test I set my Blackberry 9700 right beside the IP5000 then called my cellular number. The cell phone rang as expected, but the IP5000 didn’t make a peep.
Of course, the ultimate measure of a device like the SoundStation IP5000 is simply how it sounds. Over the course of my time using the sample unit I could not find fault with the device. It sounds great, both to those listening locally and those at the far end of the call.
The suggested list price of the SoundStation IP5000 is $599 USD, which seems like a fair price. However, the larger SoundStation IP6000 can often be found available for around that very figure. This gives me reason to believe that the street price for the IP5000 will be very attractive indeed.
As good as it is there are a couple of things about the SoundStation IP5000 that I found wanting. I was a little dismayed to find that the IP5000 does not support the call recording function found in the Polycom Productivity Suite. This optional software for the SoundPoint phones includes a range of handy functions, including call recording to a USB memory stick on the SoundPoint IP650.
The fact that I use a hosted IP-PBX makes the ability to record a call right on the phone seriously convenient, and potentially difficult to otherwise achieve. Given the size and shape of the IP5000 it might have been nice to include an SD or even micro-SD memory slot as a way accommodate this feature.
To be fair, the visual conference management and LDAP integration features from the Polycom Productivity Suite are found in the SoundStation IP5000, and not as an optional extra.
The lack of a USB interface points to another feature that I would like to have seen on the IP5000. Ideally a USB interface would permit its use as an audio device for a PC, in a fashion not unlike the Polycom C100. Such capability would have made the IP5000 a good portable solution for road warriors or podcasters, making it a substantially more versatile device.
Finally, I was hoping that that SoundStation IP5000 might have greater depth of support for Polycom’s Siren family of HDVoice codecs (Siren7/14/22, G.722.1 & G.722.1C) This might have provided a little more optimal experience when used in conjunction with the VVX-1500 Business Media Phone, video conferencing services or recent releases of Asterisk.
In truth, these are minor but notable omissions from what is otherwise a very well considered device at an attractive price point.
Summary
There simply aren’t very many comparators against which to judge Polycom’s SoundStation IP5000. Most dedicated IP conference phones target larger conference situations, and cost considerably more.
There are a few small conference phones available from lesser known companies, but in this price range these tend to provide only analog or USB interfaces.
More common are the USB attached audio devices for use with PCs. These are often too limited for use beyond one or two people in an office or hotel room. They’re more appropriate for the road warrior use case than fixed installation in a small meeting room or executive office.
Perhaps all this makes the SoundStation IP5000 unique. It’s a small form factor conference phone for fixed installations. It provides the excellent audio performance for which Polycom is known, including G.722 based HDVoice capability…and doesn’t cost a fortune.
I have no doubt that the SoundStation IP5000 is going to be popular, and deservedly so. It’s been a welcome addition to my home office.
Pros:
- Excellent audio performance
- Right-sized for a small conference room or executive office
- Broad support across PBXs & hosted VoIP services
- HDVoice based upon the G.722 codec
- Fits seamlessly into an existing Polycom provisioning scheme
Cons:
- No on-phone call recording
- Cannot be used directly as USB attached audio device for a PC
- No support for G.722.1, Siren7, G.722.1C, Siren14, or Siren22
- Only single line appearance
The web interface is about the same as any of the Polycom SoundPoint phones, except that the IP5000 supports only one line appearance. This fact also limits the number of reboots required as you go about configuring the phone.
Many of the web interface menu options respond only to report that those settings are not relevant to this device.
SIP interoperability has long been a Polycom hallmark. Polycom phones are supported by a diverse range of IP-PBX systems and hosted VoIP providers. During my trial of the SoundStation IP5000 I had it registered with various SIP service providers, including; OnSIP, IdeaSIP, SIPGate & Gizmo5.
All the basic call handling functions of hold, resume, transfer, etc presented no issues. I could even perform a three-way conference on the SoundStation IP5000 itself, without resorting to using a conference bridge.
As you can see from the photo of the IP5000 keypad, the device proudly bears the Polycom HDVoice logo. My initial test calls were to other Polycom phones on my network, specifically SoundPoint IP650 and IP335 models. As expected both ends of the calls displayed the animated “HD” icon, indicating that the phones were providing wideband audio via the G.722 codec.