Customer Reviews

Polycom SoundPoint Pro 2-Line for Conferencing with Handset & Headset Support

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Forget your previous experience with speaker phones. People cannot tell the difference when I am on handset or headset or speakerphone. No 55 gallon drum echoes. No feeling for your caller like they are on an auditorium PA. Excellent quality sound in all modes. Full duplex audio means nothing missed or clipped on speakerphone mode. You will want a headset to use with this, and the internal electronic compatability with mini plug headsets means a relatively inexpensive Plantronics will work beautifully (and with your cell phone with an adapter!). I am an "old guy" and no longer get the same thrill I used to from capital asset purchases, but this telephone has made my day for the last month.

The quality of the SoundPoint Pro really comes out when holding speakerphone calls. Full-duplex, which prevents clipping, is an absolute necessity for speakerphone work. All the other full-duplex phones I tried, such as the Panisonic and the Casio PhoneMate had too much feature creep and didn't seem to grasp on the main point of high quality phones, transmitting and receiving with the utmost fidelity.

The received sound is a bit too heavy on the bass, but clear and realistic. All of the features, except the primitive speed dial feature, are usable, thought out and intuitive. A YoYo from Big-Island is a perfect companion for resolving the phonebook/speed dial issue.

I telecommute and I've been looking for a headset compatible speakerphone that would work well in my environment. I needed a speakerphone capable of full-duplex operation to make it possible to barge into conference calls. I bought the Soundpoint Pro, but I'm somewhat disappointed for the following reasons:

- volume range on speakerphone is too limited (I have to use a headset to "tune in" quiet speakers).

- the speed dial mechanism is cumbersome - scroll through a list and then press "speed dial" rather than pressing a programmed button.

- the sound quality is rather bassy

- the number sequence programming is too short. I can't program enough digits to get one button access to voice mail (need 25 digits including pauses)

- no "new call" light

- no display light

- not enough lines in CID display

I'll probably return it.

This product is no where close to the quality that I expected from the Sound Stations in my office. First, the highest level speaker volume is way too low (I have had better volume from phone line powered speakerphones). Second, the speed dial design is terrible (see other reviews, but my reasons include that you can only store an 8 character description for each number and dialing any stored number is a 3 step process). For the price, the Panasonic TMC98 is a better choice.

I've used Polycom pod phones at work for years and think they're great. This phone, though, is a disappointment. I'll echo what the others say about speakerphone quality. OK, but I've heard cheaper phones give quality nearly as good. It has no backlit display which is a crime in a phone this expensive. The biggest annoyance is that the incoming volume is just not loud enough. People will call in and I'll have the volume on 5... and not be able to hear them. Note: My phone is over a year old, maybe they've improved it since then (I hope so).

I echo many of the comments of others. I do think it's a great speakerphone. Others say it's too bassy, but I think most speakerphones are too tinny. I like the bass sound of this phone. I love the separate handset, speaker, and headset buttons. It allows me to go from handset to speaker to headset without missing a conversation and without anyone noticing. The conference feature works very simply and allows callers to be added or dropped very easily.

I do think the speed dial and caller id functions are cumbersome and less useful than many other phones. The single-line caller id is less than optimal. The ringer tone is also quite odd. If you've ever heard a Polycom conference phone ring, it's the same type of ring. It's not offensive, but it's not my preference.

Finally, I did have one problem with the phone. When conferencing two parties, the two conferenced parties couldn't hear each other well, though I could hear both of them just fine. Though what I consider to be a great sounding speaker was reason enough for me to keep the phone, the fact that I can't conference folks together is enough of a reason for me to return the phone.

I bought this phone because of the great quality of the Polycom office speakerphones. What a disappointment it has proven to be:

- Speakerphone functions are poor. Incoming sound is very good, but the mic picks up less well than $40 Panasonic speakerphones. - Odd controls are difficult to get used to - switching between calls is awkward, and you'll lose or mistakenly conference calls until you figure out control sequence that are simpler on other phone brands. - LCD display is one of the worst thought out I've ever seen. Incoming and outgoing numbers are shown for a few seconds, then the display shows "SoundPoint Pro" instead. Polycom sacrificed function here to show its brand, even though the brand is written all over the phone anyway! - Cabling is unnecessarily complex and ugly.

It would be bad enough if the phone were competitively priced, but there is no reason to pay the Polycom premium for this product.

The speaker phone is clear but the maximum volume is too low.

Our phone stopped working after 13 months. Polycom offered to sell us a rebuilt one for the same price as a new one. Such a deal.

Obviously we are not happy.

I bought the SoundPoint wih high hopes, but ended up having to send it back because the ring from line 2 "bled" into line 1. Pros: Great speakerphone - kind of bassy. CID/CWID is good - but cannot edit/delete some or all calls. Setup/programming is OK. Cons: No message-waiting light, so have to pickup headset to see if you have any phone company messages. Two-line display - can't show all info about call-waiting at once (e.g. name, #, date, time). Accessing CID messages and directory is by scrolling - not very convenient. "Ring" is too soft to hear sometimes.

Since my review on January 18 I've tested the conferencing abilities of a few other phones, including this Polycom. I found that the Polycom performed the same or better than all of the other phones I tested. Thus, I must take back my issue with the Polycom's conferencing abilities.

This phone is not perfect--it's caller id and speed dial controls and display could be improved--but it's by far the best sounding and best functioning multi-line speakerphone that I have found to date.