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Add Third-Party IP Speakers to EPIC

Quick Reference QR-AE-025 · Audio Enhancement EPIC · Rev 1.1 · Oct 2026

Bring compatible SIP speakers (Algo, CyberData and others) into EPIC 3.3 for paging, intercom and announcements.

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Written by: Brad Roy, VSC Director of Operations · Verified against: AE Third-Party IP Speaker QSG DC-41284.0726; Third-Party Speaker Integration DC-41282.0726; EPIC 3.3 Release Notes DC-41285.0726 and Technical Release Note DC-41286.0726 · Applies to: EPIC 3.3 and later · SIP speakers that support G.711 or G.722 · Settings › Devices › Add Device

EPIC 3.3 adds a driver type called Third Party IP Speaker. It lets a district keep speakers it already owns and use them in EPIC. The difference from AE's own devices: a native EPIC speaker gets audio as an RTP stream, but a third-party speaker is treated as a SIP endpoint. For a page or announcement, EPIC calls the speaker into a conference bridge on its built-in phone server (Asterisk).

1️⃣ Check that the speaker is compatible

A speaker works only if all of these are true:

It's a SIP-capable speaker that can register as a SIP extension against EPIC.
It supports audio in G.711 or G.722. Those are the only codecs EPIC supports for these speakers.
The EPIC server can reach it on the network, with SIP signaling and RTP audio ports open both ways: no firewall or NAT in between blocking them.

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Test one before you plan a building. AE warns that some speaker makers block SIP use outside their own platform. Speakers must be non-proprietary SIP speakers. Bench-test one of the district's models before committing to a project.

2️⃣ Set up the extension and the speaker

Pick a SIP extension number for each speaker, outside the EPIC room and zone ranges, and set it up so it's ready for the speaker to register with EPIC.
On the speaker's own web page, point its SIP registration at the EPIC server using that extension. Set the codec to G.711 or G.722.
Give the speaker an IP address that won't change. You'll type its IP into EPIC in the next step.
Have the network team allow SIP and RTP both ways between the speaker VLAN and EPIC: EPIC uses UDP 5060 for SIP signaling and UDP 10000–20000 for RTP audio (full EPIC port list in QR-AE-015).

3️⃣ Add the speaker in EPIC

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No auto-discover. EPIC's Discover button won't find third-party speakers. Add each one by hand.

Go to Settings › Devices › Add Device.
Set Driver Type to Third Party IP Speaker.
Fill in:

Field What to enter

Device Name Letters, numbers, - and _ only. No spaces. For example Gym-Horn-1.

IP Address The speaker's IPv4 address.

Extension The SIP extension the speaker registers with.
Click Submit.

Field	What to enter
Device Name	Letters, numbers, `-` and `_` only. No spaces. For example `Gym-Horn-1`.
IP Address	The speaker's IPv4 address.
Extension	The SIP extension the speaker registers with.

Settings › Devices › Add Device with the Third Party IP Speaker driver selected. Audio Enhancement, DC-41284.0726.

4️⃣ Put it in rooms and zones, then test

Place the speaker in its room in Settings › Map Setup, like any other device.
Add that room to each zone it should play in: in Settings › Map Setup, expand Zones, click the zone, tick the room (it turns blue on the map) and click Apply (details in QR-AE-010).
Check its status on the device list: red means EPIC can't reach it.
Page its zone and run a test announcement. Then try an intercom call to its room.

Troubleshooting

What you see	Most likely cause
Device shows offline (red)	EPIC can't reach the speaker's IP, the speaker is off, or the IP in EPIC is wrong.
Online, but no audio on a page	The speaker isn't registered to EPIC with its extension, or a firewall/NAT is blocking SIP or RTP.
Audio garbled or silent	The speaker doesn't support the codec EPIC sent. Set it to G.711 or G.722.

AE's own IP speaker options

When a district is replacing speakers anyway, AE now makes its own PoE IP speakers for EPIC. These are AE devices, not third-party speakers.

Left to right: SP-1102 ceiling tile, SP-1103 wall speaker, SP-1105 outdoor horn, EP-0067 IP Speaker Clock. Audio Enhancement.

Model	Power	Good to know
SP-1102 2×2 lay-in ceiling tile	PoE or PoE+	Drops into a 2×2 grid. 6.5 in. woofer and 1 in. tweeter. Jacks for a wall call button and a secondary 8-ohm speaker.
SP-1103 wall speaker	PoE+	Surface mount, 8 in. speaker. Call-button input and a companion 8-ohm speaker output.
SP-1105 outdoor horn	PoE+	25 W re-entrant horn for outdoor, noisy or semi-exposed areas. 3-year warranty.
EP-0067 (black) / EP-0068 (white) IP Speaker Clock	PoE+	HD clock display, 8 in. speaker, intercom mic and RGB alert bar in one wall unit. Needs EPIC 3.3.0 or later.

Field tips

Keep a list of each speaker's IP, extension and room. EPIC can't discover them, so this list is how you'll find them later.

Update EPIC to 3.3 or later first. The driver doesn't exist on earlier versions. The version shows at the bottom right of Settings › System Settings. To upgrade: export a backup (Import/Export › Export Configuration/Backup), then System Upgrade, upload AE's .tar.gz.dat file and click Upgrade; the server reboots (details in QR-AE-002).

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VSC note: Before quoting a reuse-the-speakers job, have VSC bench-test the district's speaker model on EPIC 3.3. Questions: VSC Customer Service, (248) 926-2540 · [email protected].

📚 Sources & credits

Compiled by Brad Roy, VSC Director of Operations
Audio Enhancement: Third-Party IP Speaker QSG DC-41284.0726 (how it works, compatibility, Add Device fields, limitations, troubleshooting); Third-Party Speaker Integration DC-41282.0726; EPIC 3.3 Release Notes DC-41285.0726 and Technical Release Note DC-41286.0726 (rooms, intercom and paging; vendor lock-in warning)
Audio Enhancement spec sheets: SP-1102 DC-41301.0826, SP-1103 DC-41303.0926, SP-1105 DC-41321.0926, IP Speaker Clock DC-41290.0926. Images: Audio Enhancement.