Sennheiser TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker review and test — a speakerphone for Microsoft Teams Rooms
Maxim Liadov
Business demand for remote conferencing keeps growing. Sennheiser needs little introduction and has extensive experience with audio equipment, including these tasks. We previously reviewed the Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2, a ceiling microphone array for meeting rooms and conference halls. It is an innovative, scalable ceiling-mounted product for permanent installations in public institutions, businesses, and education.
A recently introduced solution is much smaller and more affordable. It suits personal use and small or medium-sized meeting rooms with up to 10 participants. The TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker is a compact desktop speakerphone created by Sennheiser with Microsoft. It was designed primarily for Microsoft Teams Rooms, used by more than 150 million people worldwide. The manufacturer emphasizes its Certified for Microsoft Teams certification.
At the official launch, held using the speakerphone, we asked Sennheiser specialists what certification meant for users. They explained that the two companies worked closely together, met Microsoft's technical requirements, and performed stability and compatibility tests. These checks are intended to ensure sound quality, easy use, and reliability.
A small webcam or laptop microphone captures room noise, while voice may be too quiet or overload the input. Users often spend time adjusting levels and asking others to speak louder, quieter, closer, or farther away. The TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker needs no such setup and provides good sound immediately. Participants can focus on the discussion and make meetings more productive.
The English presentation is available on YouTube. Listeners can hear that voices are loud and clear even from more than a meter away. A stable broadband internet connection gives the best quality.
The video explains the intended users and tasks. Data protection receives special attention, reflecting business concerns about voice recognition and meeting transcription in Teams, including speaker identification. A Microsoft representative said that security and privacy were central to the software design. According to that explanation, Microsoft did not record the conversations or keep the data on its own side; the data remained local to the customer. Voice recognition could also be disabled easily.
Another Microsoft Teams feature discussed was Cortana voice control. It allowed users to join or end calls without a mouse or keyboard. Saying “Hey Cortana! Join my meeting” connected the user, and voice could end participation too. At the time of the review, Cortana did not support Russian and could not be installed in Russia even for supported languages. We hoped for future Russian support.
Teams Rooms also offers businesses deeper workflow integration. Along with USB connection to a Windows PC, the speakerphone can connect to a Microsoft Teams Rooms Console. This is a certified fixed touchscreen tablet showing current meeting details, participants, and controls. The speakerphone itself has no unnecessary functions. It is recognized correctly as soon as it connects, without time spent on audio setup.
Sennheiser TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker specifications
| Microphone | |
| Microphone type | Microphone array with direction tracking |
| Number of microphones | 7 |
| Pickup range | 3.5 m |
| Maximum participants | 10 |
| Frequency range | 50 Hz–8 kHz (-3 dB) |
| Loudspeaker | |
| Driver type | Dynamic, neodymium magnet |
| Frequency range | 200 Hz–14 kHz (-6 dB) |
| Buttons and indicators | |
| Number | 1 |
| Function | MUTE |
| Mode indicator | Yes |
| Physical specifications | |
| Dimensions (diameter × height) | 128.3 × 56.3 mm |
| Weight | 469 g |
| Color | Black |
| Power supply | |
| Adapter type | AC mains adapter |
| Input voltage | 100–240 V |
| Output voltage | 12 V DC |
| Current | 2 A |
Official product page: sennheiser.com/tcisp.
The speakerphone is very compact and takes little desk space. Its housing is plastic. Small openings for 7 microphones and the MUTE button are on top. An omnidirectional loudspeaker is below. Most speakerphones have the opposite layout, with a top loudspeaker and side microphones.
The design follows a speech-recognizing smart speaker. It focuses on a sound beam that picks up voice clearly while rejecting non-speech sounds. Echo is also suppressed automatically.
The supplied 3-meter cable has a USB-C connector and runs to a splitter for power and USB data. We had no problems connecting to a PC with the latest Windows 11 version.
The operating system shows Sennheiser TC ISP Speaker (UAC2_RENDER) for playback and Sennheiser TC ISP Meeting Audio (UAC2_TEAMS) for recording. Microsoft supplies the driver, indicating a Teams-certified device. UAC2 means USB Audio Class 2.0 operation, a modern standard for good quality and low latency.
After connection, Teams automatically detects and selects the speakerphone. A test call reveals how the voice sounds at the other end. Default settings are already suitable and everything is clear.
A rubber underside prevents sliding. The fixed connection cable is visible here too. Unlike smart speakers, this speakerphone has no battery. It uses power through the USB cable or adapter.
A meeting-table mount is included for fixed installation. More mounting options and accessories are described on the official product page: sennheiser.com/tcisp.
After startup, the top ring glows bluish white. Manual power switching is unnecessary: the speakerphone enters power-saving mode after more than 10 minutes without use.
During a call or meeting, the ring turns green.
Pressing the MUTE touch button turns it red and disables the microphones. Users can briefly leave the conversation, cough, or drink water without being heard.
The TeamConnect Intelligent Speaker left a very good impression in real use. Microphone and loudspeaker quality is high and optimized for speech, making listening easy and comfortable.
As a standard audio device, it appears in applications beyond Teams. Music playback is not its strength because there is little bass, but that is not its purpose. The small full-range loudspeaker is optimized for clear, good-quality speech. Educational YouTube content sounds excellent.
Conclusions
Our tests showed that Sennheiser and Microsoft's joint product is successful. Sound quality and ease of use are at a very high level. Different real uses caused no problems. Everything is clear and works immediately without setup. Speech transmission is excellent, without the boomy bass or sharp treble of cheaper solutions.
The speakerphone was designed and certified for Microsoft Teams Rooms within Office 365. We have used Microsoft's business platform since it appeared and find it convenient and productive. The speakerphone can also work in any other application. Although intended for meeting rooms with up to 10 participants, it also suits a personal remote workspace or education.
Note. This is an adapted machine translation into English. It follows the “In simple terms” approach. Read the original article at https://prosound.ixbt.com/microphones/sennheiser-tc-isp.shtml.