With over 500 products, there is a massive variety of Viking intercom systems for you to explore. This article is meant to end your search for an authentic and detailed Viking intercom review. With too many alternatives in the market today, it becomes imperative to find an intercom system that offers the best of both – functionality and security and excels in all prominent buying considerations. With this Viking intercom review, you will unravel key metrics like features, benefits, installation, customer reviews, pricing, and more to help you make an informed decision about your security solution.
This product review has been curated after 15 hours of research spanning more than 520 Viking products. It focuses on the most popular Viking intercom systems for residential and commercial requirements. While reading, you will come across the latest technological trends, expert insights, and rich customer feedback to help you assess Viking intercoms better.
Let’s dive in!
Table of contents
- Overview of Viking Electronics
- Product Offerings: Choosing the Right One
- Installation And Support
- What Are Customers Saying?
- Alternatives To Viking Systems
- Final Thoughts
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Overview of Viking Electronics
Proudly made in the USA and headquartered in Hudson, Wisconsin, Viking Electronics Inc. designs and manufactures various intercoms with many customizable features to suit your needs. Viking’s security solutions have evolved since 1969 to create value in the communications landscape constantly. The company offers multiple product configurations in the security and communications sector, including emergency phones, entry systems, paging interfaces, IP-based solutions, and more.
Viking intercom systems are tailored to multiple industries, including multi-tenant, commercial, and industrial. They pride themselves on their enhanced weather protection capabilities and offer different models with this additional layer of protection. While plenty of configurations are available for each intercom product, assessing each from the Viking product page can be confusing and time-consuming.
The following section provides a distilled and easy-to-understand overview of the Viking’s intercom systems, enabling you to evaluate each product at a glance.
Product Offerings: Choosing the Right One
Product creation at Viking Electronics is aligned with market trends. With developments in the access control market, there has been a surge in the development and adoption of IP solutions due to simpler installation and integration capacities. Check out the most prominent intercom offerings in this Viking intercom review below.
K-1700-3 Entry Phone with Keypad
Suited for: Multi-family apartments mostly. Some of its other use cases include ATMs, customer service calls, and hot-line phones.
Connectivity: Viking’s K-1700-3 is powered by existing telephone lines.
The K-1700-3 is one of Viking Electronics’s most basic intercoms. It is suitable for buildings with fewer tenants since it requires manually entering the residence telephone number. Since this intercom does not have a directory feature, you must remember or keep your resident’s telephone number handy. This model is a robust speakerphone facilitating two-way audio communication in and out of a building.
You can adjust the microphone and speaker volume to your preference. When you push the call button, you hear a dial tone. Simply enter the number you wish to dial using the keypad and ask the resident to grant you access to the building. Adding a touch of intuitiveness, the device disconnects automatically after 8 seconds of non-dialing, when the line is busy, or in case you have reached the maximum call limit. As an added functionality, you can also voluntarily disconnect by pressing the “Call” button again.
Built-in Features
- Stainless steel hardware and lasered graphics for durability
- Blue LED light to show that the device is “in use”
- Flush (included) and surface (purchasable) mount boxes for installation
Model-specific Features
- You can opt for a bronze color.
- The device can also be powered through VoIP technology instead of telephone lines.
- Enhanced Weather Protection (EWP) with an IP66 rating enables the device to battle severe indoor and outdoor conditions.
- A camera can also be fitted into the device for visual aid.
- You can select a model with a proximity reader to use with cards or fobs. The device beeps to signal that the card/fob has been read. However, it is only compatible with Viking Proximity Cards or Fobs.
Pricing
K-1700-3 with Keypad – $355.95
K-1700-3-EWP with Keypad and Enhanced Weather Protection – $525.45
K-1705-3-BN with Camera and Bronze Finish – $639.73
K-1700-IP VoIP Brushed Stainless Finish – $697.78
K-1200 12 Button Apartment Entry Phone
Suited for: Small apartment buildings, commercial offices, and gated residences
Connectivity: With PoE technology, the device can work with or without telephone lines for transmission. If you do not want the intercom connected to a phone line, you can opt for the C-3000 Apartment Entry Controller with the “No CO” option. This indicates that you do not require a “Central Office” line (a line that connects a business to a telephone company’s central office).
The K-1200 apartment entry phone is a notch above and offers a plethora of functionalities in an easy-to-use device. Embedded in a minimalistic design, it can call up to 12 residents using an apartment-specific directory, gain access through a keyless entry using a pre-determined code, and even use a proximity card reader (26-bit Wiegand).
The tenant directory encased within a waterproof cover is a significant improvement over regular keypad-based calling intercoms. You no longer need to remember the number you wish to dial; the directory has printed the names of all building tenants beside their respective digits. Simply punch in the digit, and the system speed dials the resident to help you communicate with them and request entry access.
Built-in Features
- Stainless steel faceplate with permanent laser-etched graphics
- The device automatically hangs up in cases of busy lines, reaching a maximum time limit or silence on the other end
- A simple push-button is present to relay a door strike once a call is answered
- You can also opt for a surface mount installation using a 5×10 surface mount box.
Model-specific Features
- The device can also be powered through VoIP technology instead of telephone lines.
- You can also integrate a high-resolution color video camera into the device if required.
- Enhanced Weather Protection (EWP) with an IP66 rating enables the device to battle severe indoor and outdoor conditions.
- You can select a model with a proximity reader to use with cards or fobs. The device beeps to signal that the card/fob has been read. However, it is only compatible with Viking Proximity Cards or fobs.
Pricing
K-1200 with Built-in Door Strike Relay – $570.77
K-1200-IP VoIP with 12 Button Auto Dialer – $685.06
K-1200-EWP with Built-in Door Strike Relay – $707.66
K-1200-IP-EWP VoIP with 12 Button Auto Dialer – $749.54
AES-2000/ 2005 – Accessible Entry System
Suited for: Multi-family apartment buildings, senior citizen care centers, gated communities
Connectivity: Viking’s AES-2000 series requires a Viking PB-100 (a multi-purpose PC-to-phone line bridge) that is sold separately. This bridge helps you remotely program and set up your device. For your AES-2000 series to operate smoothly, you must have a high-quality analog phone line.
The AES-2000 series is the most evolved intercom model of all Viking offerings. It provides audiovisual capabilities and support to the elderly or people with disabilities. The AES-2000 has an LCD strip that displays characters as tall as 0.5” for easier vision. The purpose of such an LCD is to display directions, prompts, and primarily the directory of up to 525 tenants’ names and phone numbers.
Building on its features, the door entry system has an in-built voice recorder and announcer (with adjustable volume) to support video with audio. What’s more, an “EZ HELP” button provides users with simple instructions on how to use the door entry system in an audiovisual format. You can find the tenant you wish to call using the navigation buttons and press the “Call/ Hang-up” button to give them a ring.
Built-in Features
- Robust and weather-resistant hardware includes stainless steel front panels, a speaker protection screen, an enamel-coated circuit board, and an abrasion-resistant display lens.
- AES-NET card reader interface included with the system
- The device supports keyless entry through a built-in keypad and proximity card readers (the product is only compatible with Viking Proximity Cards).
Model-specific Features
- Both flush and surface mount options are available
- You can opt for a color video camera instead of a black-and-white one for clarity of vision
Pricing
AES-2000S ADA Compliant Surface Mounted Entry System – $2,572.17
AES-2000F ADA Compliant Flush Mounted Entry System – $2,495.95
AES-2005S ADA Compliant Surface Mount Entry System with Color Video Camera – $2,741.64
AES-2005F ADA Compliant Flush Mount Entry System with Color Video Camera – $3,083.49
Installation And Support
As found through research while creating this Viking intercom review, Viking’s website offers many resources to aid in the installation process. The company provides a separate product manual for each product, which details technical specifications, support helplines, Viking wiring diagrams, intercom software programming, and much more.
You might find Viking product application notes extremely helpful while setting up your Viking intercom system. These short and simple notes provide step-by-step installation directions and useful diagrams to help you understand the flush or surface installation process and know which wire goes where.
Along with firmware and software downloads, there are also online forums with FAQs to help you resolve your queries. You can create a ticket, check its status, and find answers to other queries previously answered by the company.
You can find a distributor closest to you to purchase a Viking product or any spare part. If you still have more questions about Viking intercom systems or any other products, you can contact the company through this form here.
This video would help understand Viking intercom wiring and installation in the context of multi-tenant entry systems.
What Are Customers Saying?
Multiple user forums, such as Reddit and Quora, were gleaned throughout the process of finding valuable user experiences for this Viking intercom review. The findings follow:
Users praise its installation support through manuals and wiring diagrams. Viking’s VoIP products were deemed “solid” and “good contenders” in the marketplace for getting IP technology that can trigger door locks at a reasonable price. Viking intercom stations work smoothly, with users having a satisfactory dialing experience and easy door unlocking. Amazon rated Viking’s entry controllers a reasonably good 4.1 out of 5 stars, stating that the system worked seamlessly and could be easily integrated with existing systems.
However, there were complaints about poor audio transmission from the door boxes to inside the building. Although the system reboot improved audio, it only lasted for a day. Another Amazon review for the E-30 model stated that although the system worked well, it required a lot of experimentation in installation and programming since the instructions did not mention significant chunks of information.
Alternatives To Viking Systems
This Viking intercom review must have given you a fair idea of Viking’s offerings. Now, you must compare its features and functionality to those available in the intercom marketplace today. One product that stands out is Swiftlane Video Intercom, a strong competitor that takes security and multi-functionality a step further.
Designed for multifamily residences and commercial offices or workspaces, Swiftlane combines cutting-edge facial recognition capabilities with keyless access control. In addition to being compatible with Amazon Key for Business, the intercom offers remote accessibility through a mobile application. Swiftlane, with its cloud-based configuration and management and a bundle of other user-centric capabilities, has become an all-encompassing solution in the marketplace today.
Here’s a comparison chart to help you understand the differences in functionality between Viking and Swiftlane intercoms and discover how Swiftlane elevates the intercom experience.
Final Thoughts
It is only fair to credit Viking Intercoms for their robust construction. The stainless steel hardware has been designed for outdoor and rugged use and can easily withstand the harshest weather conditions. Viking has also been a preferred choice owing to the variety of intercoms it manufactures, from basic entry systems to advanced solutions, ensuring they have something for everyone. Furthermore, Matt Marcon of MGM Communications also mentioned how Viking’s intercom systems can integrate seamlessly with existing telephone lines and systems, which is beneficial for upgrading without overhauling your current setup.
As classic as a Viking intercom system may be, it is clear that they have not evolved with time. Lacking today’s essentials is a significant consideration for intelligent buyers. This Viking intercom review reveals that the products lack standard features like mobile access control and cloud-based configuration. If you prioritize durability, go for a Viking system, but if you require a multi-functional device with cutting-edge technology that seamlessly integrates with existing systems, you would need to look further.
I hope this article helped you better understand your intercom requirements. When it comes to choosing a forward-thinking, all-in-one entry solution, Swiftlane is your best bet. If you wish to explore the company and its offerings further, you can request a quote, and someone from Swiftlane will contact you shortly.
