What is Wideband Audio Conferencing? - Buying Guide Help

We have seen a few audio conferencing products that advertise wideband audio conferencing, but few actually explain what the benefit is. One such product that advertises wideband audio conferencing is the Polycom Soundstation VTX 1000 audio conferencing phone.

Polycom Soundstation VTX 1000 Audio Conferencing Phone

We could explain how wideband conferencing works with a few phrases of technical jargon, but this wouldn’t be the Phone and Headsets way.

Have you ever spoken to someone over the telephone, and then when you have met them in person they sound different. It’s because when you speak to someone face to face your ear can pick up more of the low and high parts in their voice. Normally a telephone can not transmit all of these sounds, so is working in a narrowband. So a wideband telephone sends through a larger bandwidth and more of the sounds for you to hear.

As a stand alone conference phone the Polycom Soundstation VTX 1000 is one of the best. However to reach the wideband conferencing mode you actually need two units, one at each end of the call. This is because when the two phones send the wideband sound down the telephone line they have to compress it so it will fit. Once at the other end the second conference phone then unpacks this sound and plays it through the speaker.

(Wideband Image)

When using wideband conferencing sounds that are sometimes similar are much more distinctive. For example normally on a call when saying a postcode people have to ask if it’s S or F, or even M or N. In wideband mode these sounds become much more distinctive and easier to understand.

To get the most out of the Polycom Soundstation VTX 1000 there is also a Subwoofer that will help deliver that extra depth in sound.