Last Of A Dying Breed.
Written: Nov 25 '04 (Updated Feb 08 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small footprint. Number of offered features.
Cons: Mediocre audio quality. Programing options can be confusing.
The Bottom Line: Given the alternatives, this is one of the better stand alone answering machines still on the market today. Audio quality needs to be improved.
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| telecomman's Full Review: 1726 Digital Answering Machine |
The AT&T 1726 is a single line, three mailbox answering machine. This unit is available in many office supply and electronics stores. It is manufactured for AT&T by Advanced American Telephones, a division of VTech.
The unit is black in color. It sports a red 2 digit LED display, 1 red status LED for each mailbox (for a grand total of 3 LEDs) and 11 buttons. The buttons are laid out in a circular pattern around the LED display. A speaker is located near the top of the unit and a microphone is near the bottom. The unit is compact in size and can fit into tight spaces.
The back of the answering machine has an RJ-11 jack and a connector for the external power supply. The RJ-11 jack is used to connect the answering machine to a standard wall jack, while a 2nd RJ-11 jack, located on the bottom of the unit, is used to connect an optional telephone.
The 1726 provides 40 minutes of total recording time (both greeting and messages) and up to 119 messages. This answering machine has provisions for 3 general announcements (a,b or c) and 1 announce only mode (AO) where the machine plays a greeting and then hangs up the call.
The 1726 can be set to answer an incoming call after 2 to 7 rings. The unit comes preset for 4 rings. You can also choose 1 of 2 toll-saver settings. If you have new messages waiting for review, the machine will answer after fewer rings than if you had no new messages. This will allow you to check for new messages without paying for an unnecessary call if no new messages exist. The 2 choices are 2/4 or 4/6.
You can also move messages between mailboxes.
A 3 digit access code is needed to allow you to remotely access the machine. The unit comes preset with a remote access code of 500, but you can change it to any number you wish.
You can provide important people with a special 3 digit Priority Call Code. When a caller enters this code, while the greeting is playing, the a machine will sound a special tone to alert you to take the call. The code is preset to 999.
Other features offered by the 1726 are caller ID number announce (You must subscribe to caller ID service through your local telephone company), announcement monitor (allows you to monitor messages as they are being recorded), the option to have the calling party's number recorded at the beginning of their message and the ability to block calls where the caller is blocking their phone number (This feature also requires caller ID service). The machine can beep if you have new messages in mailbox #1, or simply remain silent. With the consent of the other person, you can record a phone call.
Each of the 3 mailboxes has it's own button with a small red LED located just above. If you have new messages, the small LED will flash. If you have old messages, the LED will glow steadily. The LED will go out once all messages have been deleted. The total number of old and new messages in all mailboxes is displayed on the 2 digit LED.
Setting up the unit is pretty straightforward. You connect the power supply to the rear jack, loop the cord through the built in hanger and plug the unit into a standard AC outlet. Next, connect the supplied telephone cord to the back of the unit and the other end plugs into a standard RJ-11 telephone wall-jack. Lastly, if you wish to connect a telephone to this unit, turn the unit upside-down, plug a 2nd telephone cord into the jack at the bottom of the unit, feed the cord through the retaining hook and connect the other end of the cord to a telephone.
First time programmers may find the menu system hard to navigate as buttons need to be pressed in a specific order to set options properly, such as setting the day & date. If you subscribe to caller ID service, the machine will set the time and date according to the information provided with the caller ID record. After a while, navigating the option menu becomes easier. Likewise, have the remote access card handy if you try to check messages remotely.
The playback volume can be adjusted up or down by pressing the "VOLUME ^" or "VOLUME v" buttons as required. You can skip over announcements, increase or decrease how fast recorded messages are played back as well as repeat messages.
Playing new messages requires a simple press and release of the desired mailbox's button. Playback of old messages requires you to press and hold down the button until the machine starts to confirm that it will play old messages.
Recording a decent sounding greeting was somewhat frustrating. Speech tends to sound somewhat muffled. The microphone is actually mounted upside down, pointing to the surface under the machine. I was able to get a reasonable recording by directing my voice under the front of the unit as opposed to talking down at it. The quality of messages can vary, depending on the ability of the caller to speak clearly and the quality of the connection. It's apparent that sound quality was not a major concern when this unit was designed. Some messages need to be played multiple times before all words can be understood. The caller ID announce feature does work, but you need to be within earshot of the unit to hear the numbers being announced.
The 1726 does not provide any spoken prompt after the caller selects which mailbox they want to record in, (The caller hears a quick beep), so part of any recorded greeting should include a warning to speak right after the beep is heard.
For some reason, the machine will beep only when there are new messages in mailbox #1. New messages in mailbox #2 or 3 will not result in an audible beep. Advanced American Telephones has confirmed that this is normal. The audible new message alert isn't very loud, so some people might not hear the machine beeping.
The number of stand alone answering machines on the market has declined in recent years as more & more people purchase telephones with built in answering machines, subscribe to telephone company voicemail service, switch to Internet telephone calling service (VOIP) or go completely wireless. There isn't much to indicate that the trend will be reversed any time soon. The stand alone answering machine will probably go the way of the old Western Electric telephones of years ago.
Improve the quality of recordings, simplify the programing procedure and keep reliability up and the replacement for the 1726 will be a keeper.
Will recommend this one based on the fact that it seems to perform better than other multiple mailbox units still on the market.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
telecomman
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 in Electronics |
 in Electronics |
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Member: Paul C.
Location: Arlington, Mass, USA
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 39 members
About Me:
Telecom tech since 1990. Dabbles with electronics, telephone gear, pro audio & pipe organs.
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