Home > Consumer Reviews > Polycom Soundpoint Pro SE-220 2-Line Conference Phone with Caller ID

Overall this phone looks nice and looks professional, but its performance could be matched by other consumer-level phones with similar if not more features.

I hooked mine up immediately after receiving it (the day before the date of this review) and made my first call using a headset. As another reviewer experienced, I heard feedback of my own talking through the ear piece. This is something I never experienced with the same headset plugged into my 2.4Ghz Uniden handheld phone.

Polycom describes the speakerphone this way:

"SoundPoint? Pro SE-220 seamlessly integrates handset and headset telephone functionality with crystal clear, hands-free voice conferencing in an elegant personal business phone. .... Polycom?s Acoustic Clarity Technology enables callers to speak when they want without clipped sentences and one-way conversations that are common with ordinary business speakerphones."

I didn't find this to be the case consistently. During the first moments of my first speakerphone call, there was clipping/reduced quality on both ends. However, this can be expected and the Troubleshooting section of the Soundpoint manual explains that the phone must adjust and to give it a few moments. In fact, I found this to be the case, on MY end. After several moments, the quality of sound/voice call through the speaker was very good.

However, the sound quality on the receiver's end stayed poor. I was told that I sounded muffled and that while longer sentences came across fine, any short sentences or one-word answers were clipped. There was also a huge difference to my call participant when I picked up the headphones or handset. This call was over 5 minutes and I would expect the "adjustment" time per the manual to be much less than this. Also, it did not matter whether I moved the phone closer or farther away, or talked more directly into the microphone. On the other hand, several calls since then were of much better quality and the people on the other end thought that it sounded better than a typical, cheaper (e.g., non-Soundstation type) speakerphone. However, they could still typically tell that I was on speaker.

I was initially very disappointed in this phone and even processed a return for it as "defective." However, I may just keep it after all - it's not a "bad" phone.

Otherwise, if you're willing to chance or accept the performance, the phone looks nice, the buttons are layed out nicely, and the features seem pretty easy to use.

Just keep in mind that you should not expect, to any realistic degree, that this phone will provide the quality of a Soundstation, or perhaps not even of a Voicestation. My understanding is that one can pick up a new Uniden 2.4 Ghz phone from some places for about $100, that comes with several handsets with speaker capability. That might not be a good solution for you, but I'm just highlighting that this Soundpoint is certainly not the be-all and end-all of SOHO business speakerphones.

You may be very happy with this one, but you should look at all options: Don't necessarily buy this phone due to the Polycom name or your positive experiences with their high-end products.

-2 Star for poor headset performance (surprisingly, with a Polycom headset). The phone has a built-in amplifier, but I can't find a way to adjust it.
-1 stars for inconsistent speakerphone performance (+1 for speaker on the phone end, -2 for performance on the receiver's end)

I've had this phone for about a week and it is excellent! The quality, touch/feel of the phone, and even its aesthetic make this a steal at this price. I use the $1000 version of this phone at work and have always liked how natural the full-duplex conversations are with the Polycom phones. This phone has the same technology and in trying this phone with several people on both handsets and speakerphones, they have all said that the sound is clear and natural. A few commented that the microphone does sound a bit softer than might be preferable. My only critique would be that the higher-end Polycom phones come with a combined power/telephone-line cord so you only have to drag one cord across your desk, but instead this phone can accept two lines. If you talk a lot on the phone, especially while on the computer or on teleconferences, this is a must!

After having tried a less expensive, big box store brand of 'executive' 2-line conference phone, I am very impressed with the quality of this phone. You really do get what you pay for.

Pros: looks sleek; people tell me the conferencing is the best they've heard; has the features you'll need including an amplified headset jack, choice of ring tones, speed dial.

Cons: lack of lit display, though for me it really hasn't been an issue as ambient light has been sufficient; price - it's twice what you'd pay for a typical (RCA, AT&T, etc.) SOHO phone at a big box store. The most frustrating aspect of this phone, however, is that it only stores 24 digits/spaces, so a typical phone number takes 11, figure an extension could take 4, that only leaves 9 seconds of 'pause' which isn't nearly long enough for the call to connect, then ring a couple times before the voice mail system picks up asking for you to enter an extension. Seems stupid given that Polycom's business is phones; you'd think they'd know how long it takes a call to connect. Oh well, that's my biggest frustration with the phone - the pauses should be 2 seconds instead of 1.

The head set hook is a plus, and so far it's been a mostly positive experience.

No complaints from people on the other end of the line about clarity or volume. Many features that take some time to learn, but very convenient. Best phone in the house for my hearing aid.

Here is my impression of this phone (you will find resemblance to what some folks have already said, as I too have discovered the same strengths/weaknesses). I would actually give the phone a 3.5, as it has good quality, but some of the shortcomings are just too large to justify a 4 or 5:

Good Sound Quality
- incoming speakerphone quality is not the best I've heard, but acceptable
- outgoing quality is terrific
- internal amplifier for headset allows good quality headsets to be used without needing an additional amplifier (which would require running the headset through the handset, requiring handset to be off hook when headset is in use)

Poor design shortcomings that even cheap phones provide:
- no notification of calls missed on caller id - must navigate menus, which to me is unacceptable for a phone of this level, and really impacts the ease of use of this phone
- no data port to piggy back a single line to other phones, etc
- no backlit display, and poor phone angle (IMHO, there should be the ability to adjust the phone tilt angle) make for poor visual reading of phone

Overall, a nice phone that provides good speakerphone quality, a trait that is truly more difficult to find than one would think (I've tried several phones, only to be disappointed time and again). But it also has some obvious shortcomings that need to be addressed to make it more user friendly. If you can deal with the lack of missed call notification (which may be a sticking point for me, only time will tell), this phone will suit you well.