When I used the AnkerWork SR500 speakerphone shown above, I thought it would be a useful multi-functional office tool that would make my business phone and video conferencing more efficient. It turns out it’s not just a gimmick that’s only useful for small-to-medium businesses and conference rooms.
The purpose of this device escaped me at first. It’s been a while since my work revolved around conference rooms, and now I connect video presentations and interviews over the phone.
The SR500 is too barebones for my remote office with multiple well-equipped phone lines. And the speakerphone and external speakers leave much to be desired. So, the hyped business phones around the SR500 seem like the perfect solution.
This speakerphone can be an indispensable assistant in conference rooms, like a powerful amplifier. The SR500 can be your new device to enhance video conferencing sessions in small and large conference rooms.
No phones are accepted. You will need a backup plan to hold conferences on a landline phone, not a computer. Think again if you are considering connecting to a smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled device. The SR500 does not support them either.
A Case of Nomenclature Overreach
AnkerWork’s product photos and marketing strongly suggest that a product called a “talking phone” would have something very important for communication. The two line-in ports on the bottom of the SR500 only reinforced my misconception.
Unfortunately, however, the response was disappointing when I contacted Anker’s tech support about setting up this device over the phone. This device is designed for computers and does not support landlines.
So, while the SR500 has features that light up the LED to press the connect (green) and disconnect (red) buttons on the phone, these two buttons only disconnect and mute the device when it is not talking to the phone.
Audio-Boosting Features
AnkerWork designed the SR500 to optimize audio in noisy environments in both small and large rooms. At larger conference tables, users can pair up to five speakers so that everyone at the table can be heard without shouting or straining to hear what others are saying.
AnkerWork’s Quick Start video shows how to set up and connect multiple SR500 speakerphones:
The conference amplifier picks up voices from 16 feet away, helping to ensure that up to 45 people gathered around conference tables are heard equally without raising their voices or volume, like the AnkerWork.
The updated VoiceRadar 2.0 technology combines comprehensive audio processing with deep learning to recognize background noise. It can distinguish sounds from more than 30,000 different designs and sizes of rooms. The speakers describe only the main sound of speech.
The AnkerWork app makes it easy to keep track of software updates. Using proprietary software, the SR500 is fully compatible with all leading video conferencing services, including Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, WebEx, FaceTime and GoTo Meeting.
Sound-Capturing Design
The black and grey all-metal body is compact but larger than most desktop speakers. It measures 8 x 4.5 x 1.5 inches. That’s the space needed to accommodate the device’s eight microphones around the moulded body.
The 1.75-inch lens is no easy task either. Tucked inside the top of the phone’s body, it fires sound upward and outward, reproducing room sounds.
I tested the SR500 over a workweek on conference calls for news sessions and voice-only calls, mainly using Zoom, Skype, and Meet. The quality sounds better than face-to-face conversations.
The speakerphone uses an algorithmic AI model based on 280 hours of dozens of similar speech signals and field training tests. This algorithm vigorously recognizes a wide range of language accents and sound sources.
The SR500 supports low (80 Hz) to high (20 kHz) audio frequencies with less than 3% audio distortion. The result is dynamic sound quality in all directions.
Missed User Opportunity
Compared to other small phones I’ve used, the SR500’s audio quality is superior. Bluetooth support for connecting to mobile phones and other devices is the only major downside.
The voice response is perfect, and I would use this device instead of my current phone, which connects to smartphones. But I can’t use my Google Voice number on my SR500 without connecting both devices, wireless or wired.
This is even more complicated because the AnkerWork speakerphone connects to computers via Power over Ethernet (PoE) cables. I can output audio from a video conferencing app to the speaker, but the Google Voice Phone website connection doesn’t work.
Bottom Line
The AnkerWork SR500 speakerphone has impressive build quality. Its anti-theft features, including device locking systems, make it a must-have solution for organizations with a heavy workload of small and large video conferencing teams.
However, the list of unsupported connections limits the SR500 speakerphone’s usefulness for larger organizations. While it’s a suitable device, at $349.99 per unit, connecting multiple speakers will be expensive, and the inability to use the device as a PC-only device makes it a questionable purchase for a broad user base.
The AnkerWork SR500 speakerphone is available on Amazon and the AnkerWork online store.