Sennheiser SP20 Speakerphone
Preface
Sennheiser has been bought by EPOS, sells co-branded products respectively.
It is hence not possible to buy this product anymore, yet a structural indentically product with the EPOS branding can still be bought at the time of writing this article.
General
The SP20 by Sennheiser is a mobile Speakerphone designed for smaller meeting rooms.
© vcc
© vcc
Technical Specifications
- Omnidirectional microphone
- Cable length: 0,5m / ~20in
- 5 haptic buttons
- 8 display LEDs with several functions
- Maße: 120 x 30 mm / 4,3 x 1,2 in
- Weight: 195g / 0.46lbs
Delivery contents
- Sennheiser SP20
- Short manual
- Traveling bag
- Safety instructions
- Declaration of conformity
Installation
You can connect the SP20 via USB-A to your pc, regardless of the installed OS. It will be recognized as a speaker, as well as a microphone. Furthermore, you can connect it via headphonejack to your smartphone or any other compatible device, where it also acts as a speaker and a microphone.
There are no special drivers needed in order to use this device. If you want to use certain convenience functions, such as a firmware upgrade or configurations of the device, you have to use the software suite EPOS Connect or EPOS Manager respectively.
Test
Functionality
The Sennheiser SP20 has 5 different Buttons, located around the edge of the device. Most of them are self-explanatory (volume up/down, mute, accept call etc.).
Furthermore, in the middle of the device, there are is a mute button that is surrounded by LEDs that indicate various states.
Muting the microphone results in a sustained red light of all LEDs on the device.
Respectively, the volume is indicated by turning the LEDs green in a circular manner.
Remark: While it is possible to regulate the volume of the OS via the buttons of the device, muting the microphone is only reflected on the device itself and is not propagated to the OS.
The current battery state can be shown by pressing the red hang-up button.
Experience
The device consists of two connected parts. The lower one is made of plastic while the upper one is aluminum. Haptically, the device feels rather premium and robust.
The installation was easy and is unproblematic since it's true plug&play. Both connecting the smartphone and the connection via USB is fast and works reliably during our testing.
The volume of the speaker is very good, considering the size of the device and can thus fill small to middle conference rooms with sound effortlessly. Never did it ever clip or overmodulate the audio, even at max volume.
According to the spec sheet the SP20 uses an omnidirectional microphone. However it is located at the edge of one side of the device only. Naturally, sound coming from the opposite direction has to pass through the device or needs to be reflected from other surfaces, leading to diminished sound quality. In the original recordings of the next section, this is barely perceptible at bigger ranges. Whereas in a realworld scenario, the audio quality suffers noticeably at ranges around 2m / 6,5ft and above.
Recordings
The recordings have been made at different distances. The original recordings are meant to be used for comparisons between systems, whereas the video conferencing recordings are supposed to display a real world scenario. The user should get an somewhat realistic impression of what the other end is receiving.
Note: these sound files have been recorded in a - sound-wise - well equipped meeting room. Therefore it is possible to end up with worse audio quality, if the room is not properly designed and equipped concerning the noise protection.
Raw recordings
Distance 50cm / 1,64 ft - microphone directed towards the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 50cm / 1,64 ft - microphone directed away from the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 100cm / 3.28ft - microphone directed towards the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 100cm / 3.28ft - microphone directed away from the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 200cm / 6.56ft - microphone directed towards the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 200cm / 6.56ft - microphone directed away from the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Video conference recordings
Distance 50cm / 1,64ft - microphone directed towards the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 50cm / 1,64ft - microphone directed away from the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 100cm / 3.28ft - microphone directed towards the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 100cm / 3.28ft - microphone directed away from the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 200cm / 6.56ft - microphone directed towards the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Distance 200cm / 6.56ft - microphone directed away from the speaker
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und leider auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.
Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Conclusion
The Sennheiser SP20 is a solid pick if you're looking for a mobile speakerphone and can generally be recommended. It effortlessly provides decent sound quality in smaller to medium sized meeting rooms, if acoustic design of the room has not been carelessly neglected.
The distance to the speaker(s) should not exceed the length of 2m / 6.56ft and the amount of people should not be higher than four to five people sitting around the speakerphone.
The Sennheiser SP20 is located in the upper price/value bracket, compared to similar products. However this is justified by its properties.