When I received the AnkerWork SR500 Speakerphone above, it seemed like a handy multi-purpose office accessory for making business phone use and video conferencing more productive. It turned out to be a one-trick device only useful in corporate and SMB boardrooms.
The purposeful disconnect of this device escaped me at first. It’s been a long time since I worked in a conference room, but now I’m connecting to his calls with video presentations and phone line-connected interviews.
Unfortunately, the SR500 is overkill for remote offices with multiple well-stocked phone lines. However, the weaknesses of speakerphone handsets and external speakers leave a lot to be desired. So the business phone tool hype surrounding the SR500 sounded like the perfect solution. not for me
This speakerphone could be a winner in your business meeting room as an enhanced video conferencing speaker amplifier and audio enhancement tool. The SR500 could be your new go-to device for making your video conferencing sessions more audible, whether in small or oversized conference rooms.
No phone calls. You should have a backup plan for meetings through your landline phone instead of your computer. And if you’re thinking about connecting your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled device, think again. SR500 does not currently support these either.
A case of excessive nomenclature
AnkerWork’s product photos and marketing blurb strongly “suggest” that a product called “speakerphone” has something to do with telecommunications. His two line ports on the underside of the SR500 added to my misconceptions.
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Unfortunately, when I contacted Anker’s technical support office on how to connect this device to a phone line, the response was disappointing. This unit is designed for computers and is not compatible with landlines.
So, while the SR500 has LED lit icons to press to connect (green) and disconnect (red) the phone, those two buttons only mute and unmute non-phone speaker devices.
Audio boost function
AnkerWork designed the SR500 to improve audio delivery in noisy environments, whether in small or very large rooms. At large conference tables, users can daisy-chain up to five speakerphones to tell all attendees seated at the table to shout or stress to hear what others are saying. You can give shots that are clearly audible without jerkiness.
AnkerWork’s Quick Start Guide video shows how to set up and connect multiple SR500 speakerphones.
According to AnkerWork, this meeting enhancer picks up voices from 16 feet away and ensures that up to 45 people around a series of meeting tables can be heard equally without raising their voices or volume.
The upgraded VoiceRadar 2.0 technology integrates comprehensive audio processing and deep learning to separate voice from background noise. Distinguish your voice with over 30,000 different room designs and sizes. Only the main speech is filtered to the speaker.
The AnkerWork app makes it easy to update your software. Using the manufacturer’s software, the SR500 is fully compatible with all major online meeting services including Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, WebEx, GoTo Meeting and more.
Sound pickup design
The all-metal black and gray housing is compact, but slightly larger than most desktop speakerphones. Measures 8″ x 4.5″ x 1.5″. That space is needed to hold the device’s eight microphone array around its rectangular case.
The 1.75-inch speaker isn’t a lightweight performer either. Hidden in the top half of the speakerphone case, it emits upward and sideways sound and roars across the room.
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I tested the SR500 primarily on weekdays for news briefing conference calls and audio-only conference calls using Zoom, Skype, and Meet. Better sound quality than face-to-face conversations.
This speakerphone uses an artificial intelligence algorithm model based on 280 hours of audio signals in dozens of simulated and field training tests. The algorithm dynamically recognizes different language accents and sound sources.
The SR500 supports low (80Hz) to high (20KHz) audio frequencies with less than 3% distortion on vocals. The result is brilliant sound quality from any direction.
user missed opportunity
Compared to the smaller speakerphones I’ve used, the SR500’s sound quality is excellent. The only downside, and a serious weakness, is the lack of Bluetooth support for pairing the speakerphone to other devices.
The voice response is so good that I use this unit to replace my current speakerphone that connects to my smartphone. You can’t use your Google Voice phone number with
This is made even more difficult because the AnkerWork speakerphone connects to your computer via the included Power over Ethernet (PoE) cable. You can output audio from your video conferencing app through the speakerphone, but the connection does not work with Google’s Voice Internet telephony platform.
Conclusion
The AnkerWork SR500 speakerphone boasts excellent build quality. Additionally, anti-theft features such as the device lock system make this a prime solution for organizations with heavy loads of small and large group video communications.
However, a list of unsupported connections limits the usefulness of the SR500 speakerphone to enterprise-sized organizations. It delivers solid performance, but at $349.99 for a single unit, it’s expensive to chain multiple voice extenders together. It also cannot be a PC-only tool, making it a dubious purchase for a wider user base.
The AnkerWork SR500 speakerphone is available on Amazon and the AnkerWork webstore.
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