Let’s go old school in this review. As a rowdy and gnarly teenager growing up in Alaska, I used the iconic Sennheiser “yellow” headphones to listen to the Allman Brothers and Santana, all the while giving noise relief to my weary parents. It was the start of a life long relationship with Sennheiser with its German engineering roots.
Fast forward the movie
and I’ve been testing the new SDW 5000 series over the summer/fall with my demanding call schedule as the CEO of SMB Nation. Keeping with the old school theme, I guess I’m from a different generation in that I pride myself on ear-to-ear communications – I’d offer a half dozen calls per day. You might imagine I don’t suffer audio fools lightly. Hate calls where you can’t hear. After taking the Sennheiser SDW 5000 solution through the paces, I can honestly say any call quality problems aren’t on my side.
My test bed was based on daily use where I continuously asked folks how my call quality was, an office move and testing the connectivity distance between base and a walking/talking Harry. The solution passed with my stamp of approval.
But there is more. First, you can watch the interview with Sennheiser executive Thies Monk from the Denmark office. As you’ll see, Sennheiser acquired a medical hearing aide concern in Denmark in the past and that technology has contributed to the engineering of the SDW 5000 solution. Watch HERE.
Figure 1: Interviewing Thies Monk at Microsoft Ignite (September 2018, Orlando FL)
There was a geekathon motion where I learned the points of audio headset standards (DETECT, DHSG, etc.). In order to have “push button” functionality where I can simply touch the ear piece button to answer calls/terminate calls, I found the EHS adaptor cable for the Cisco SPA 5000-series phone (which I use from the old Telephonation days). I had to modify the dip switches on the back of the SDW 5000 base to accommodate the adapter cable. I had to confirm that my Cisco phone had system software 7.5.4 or higher (it did thanks to my carriers frequent update algo that updates the phone and reboots it). I have hooked up the optional “presence light” that indicates green light/red light to folks to see if I’m busy (I which this had a much longer cord to affix to my office door, not just the top of the phone).
Finally – I hooked the SDW 5000 solution via Bluetooth to my Moto Z mobile phone and placed it immediately into production. Lovely feedback from my call recipients.
Learn more about the SDW 5000 solution set HERE.
And here is the “official press release” to fill out more details. Note it speaks to the July 2018 Microsoft Inspire conference, but I interviewed Monk at the Microsoft Ignite conference.
“Sennheiser Is Also Exhibiting Its Newly-launched SDW 5000 Series Headsets, Offering 3-Way Connectivity, Superior Security, and Enhanced Mobility.
Old Lyme, CT, July 16, 2018 –Sennheiser, a provider of premium audio solutions, announces it is participating in the Microsoft Inspire Partner Conference, held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, July 15 through 19. Sennheiser will be located at booth #301 on the Exhibit Floor. In addition to spotlighting its full line of innovative business audio solutions, Sennheiser Enterprise Solutions’ Director of Strategic Alliances Paul Jamieson co-presented a session during the event. Jamieson’s session, “Worker Well-Being In The Modern Workplace,” explored how more flexible, comfortable, and robustly-featured business technologies can enhance employee mobility and support wellness in office spaces.
Sennheiser will also demo its newly-launched SDW 5000 headset for enterprise environments at the conference. This series of headsets features enhanced connectivity, specifically engineered to improve mobility for employees in the modern, collaborative workspace. It allows users to connect to the unit via a PC, smart phone, or desktop phone through the model’s versatile base unit, accommodating Millennial and mobile workers who tend to favor the use of multiple devices throughout their workdays. The model also boasts market-leading security, incorporating 128bit authentication keys and DECT Security certification, making it appropriate for the most sensitive of environments, such as government or financial services industries.
The high-performance SDW 500 Series utilizes Super Wideband sound, the latest standard for headset communication, delivering brilliantly clear calls with natural, rich sound. In addition, the model’s dual-microphone noise cancellation significantly reduces background noise, and Sennheiser’s “Own Voice Detector” feature helps suppress disturbances in between words, for quality transmissions with minimized detractions.
Sennheiser’s SDW 5000 Series, the newest addition to its Enterprise Solutions portfolio of business audio solutions, provides advanced security, flexibility, and Super Wideband sound, creating a collaborative audio communications hub for the modern office.
Sennheiser’s Microsoft Inspire booth will highlight the company’s growing portfolio of business headsets and speakerphones, including the award-winning MB 660 business headset for open-office, unified communications environments. Additional models in Sennheiser’s Enterprise Solutions linecard include the MB PRO series of mobile business headsets; the D 10, DW, SD wireless, Century, Circle, and Culture series. This is in addition to portable, plug-and-play audioconferencing solutions for SMB spaces such as the SP 10, SP 20, and SP 220 dual speakerphones. Sennheiser’s headset solutions are certified for Skype for Business and compatible with all major unified communications platforms, including Cisco and Avaya environments.
“We continue to enhance Sennheiser’s product assortment, developing new levels of versatility and performance to support enterprises as they deal with the challenges of the complex modern workplace,” explained Sennheiser’s Jamieson. “Microsoft Inspire is a terrific opportunity to educate industry leaders on the viability of audio solutions in the workplace as a strategic tool to advance the communications goals of any business. We’re excited not only to demonstrate these sophisticated solutions as part of the event’s exhibits, but also for the ability to address how finely engineered audio technologies support wellness in the workplace.”