Calypso Debuts Integrated School-wide Audio System for K-12

• By Denise Harrison
• 11/05/09

Calypso has announced two new products that unite intercom and building-level communications into one integrated system. The CM-3000 and Conductor allow school-wide audio that is manageable and controllable according to priorities of building communications.

The CM-3000 is a networked streaming audio controller that can encode analog audio at the administrative office for delivery over standard IP. In the classroom, the CM-3000 will decode the IP audio stream for standard playback over any conventional analog speakers, and can also encode to accommodate a two-way intercom call.

The CM-3000 assigns priorities to audio sources so that the highest priority messages are always delivered first. For example, the CM-3000 auto-detects incoming overhead pages and reduces volume levels of classroom audiovisual devices to let the page be heard. Emergency alerts, and other priority one messaging, will always override other audio in all connected rooms.

The CM-3000 system has an MSRP of $749, with K-12 pricing available, and features integrated IP audio encoding and decoding, four analog audio inputs, a 32-watt amplifier, a network-based A/V controller, and a four-port network hub.

The Conductor is the software portion of the integrated system and where the priorities are assigned and managed for the different types and locations of audio on the integrated system. Bells, paging, intercom, and emergency alert functions are all integrated through Conductor’s computer interface. Calypso said the Conductor leverages existing school networks for audio distribution, eliminating the need for a separately wired system.

The Conductor software suite has an MSRP of $3,995, with special K-12 pricing available, and features multi-zone support, Windows-based GUI, and built-in emergency alert capabilities with automatic e-mail notifications.