Panasonic KX-TDE Series Overview

The KX-TDE is Panasonic’s top of the line series of PBX systems. It is everything that the KX-TDA series is, but with a great deal of emphasis placed on IP Networking, IP Trunks (SIP) and IP Extensions. In other words, it is a KX-TDA system with many extras.

There are three models within the KX-TDE series - the medium size KX-TDE100, the large size KX-TDE200 and the extra large size KX-TDE600.

The KX-TDE100 has a Central Processing Unit and 6 universal card slots. Each universal card slot can accommodate any number of trunk cards, extension cards or option cards. People starting out with a KX-TDE100 and then later outgrowing it have 2 upgrade options available, the KX-TDE200 or the KX-TDE600.

The KX-TDE200 has a Central Processing Unit and 11 universal card slots. Like the KX-TDE100, each universal card slot can accommodate trunk cards, extension cards or option cards. Should someone outgrow a kx-nt346, it’s a matter of simply upgrading to the extra large, KX-TDE600. 

A few of the cards available for the KX-TDE100 and KX-TDE200 are not transferrable to the KX-TDE600. Those cards are the KX-TDA0174 (SLC16), KX-TDA0175 (MSLC16), KX-TDA0180 (LCOT8) and KX-TDA0181 (LCOT16).

The KX-TDE600 is the most serious product in Panasonic’s arsenal, and is their largest and most versatile system. It starts out as a large single-cabinet PBX and grows into a very large PBX by adding as many as 3 expansion cabinets. Since this system can be easily networked to other KX-TDA and KX-TDE systems, multiple KX-TDE600 systems can be chained together to form a large cluster of KX-TDA/TDE systems. The end result is a product that is capable of supporting upwards of 5,000 C.O Lines (trunks) and over 8,000 extensions.

KX-TDE series PBX systems can support nearly any type of Trunking available, including Loop Start Central Office Lines (POTS), VoIP, T1, ISDN-PRI, SIP and H.323. With a few external adapters, it will also support Cellular and Satellite, which is especially useful for command vehicles, motor yachts and large private aircraft.

Something else that places the KX-TDE series in a league of its own is something called a "Virtual Shelf" and "Virtual Cards." Each KX-TDE100, KX-TDE200 and KX-TDE600 has 1 Virtual Shelf included with the main cabinet. Virtual Shelves are split into two halves - a Virtual C.O. (or trunk) Bay and a Virtual Extension (or station) Bay. Up to 4 Virtual Cards may be installed in each Bay for a total of 8 Virtual Cards. Virtual Cards can be installed remotely. Currently the 4 cards that are available are:

(1)   The V-IPGW16: a 16-circuit network trunk gateway card used to communicate with other PBX systems that support H.323 protocol.

(2)  The V-SIPGW16: a 16-circuit network trunk gateway card used to communicate with SIP Trunk service Providers, such as Broadvox.

(3)  The V-IPEXT32: a 32-circuit network extension card used to communicate with Panasonic’s high-end KX-NT series Proprietary VoIP phones.

(4)  The V-SIPEXT32: a 32-circuit network extension card used to communicate with SIP extension devices including VoIP Phones, SIP Softphones, SIP Paging, SIP Gate Phones, etc.

The ability to use Virtual Cards on a moment’s notice makes the KX-TDE series the most versatile PBX on Earth. The ability to add cards remotely means that site visits are no longer necessary and there is no need to wait for parts to be ordered and shipped.

To summarize, KX-TDE series PBX systems are top of the line products ranging in size from Medium (approximately 180 ports) to Large (approximately 250 ports) to Extra Large (approximately 1200 ports) to Very Large (Clustered into 10,000 ports or more). If unexpected growth occurs, there are several inexpensive upgrade options available since most cards may be used throughout the entire series.

Panasonic KX-TDA Series Overview

The KX-TDA series is an extremely popular line of PBX systems for people that are willing to pay for the privilege of upgrading to IP and Networking features should they ever need it.  In other words, it "can" be networked and it "can" use VoIP phones both on and off-premise and it "can" be programmed remotely via IP, but it needs optional cards to do so.  This is in contrast with the KX-TA series systems, which cannot be networked, cannot use IP Phones and cannot be programmed via IP - no matter what.

The KX-TDA series consists of only four models for U.S. consumption.  They are the KX-TDA50G , the kx-nt343 , the  KX-TDA100 , the KX-TDA200 and the KX-TDA600

The KX-TDA50G is the smallest of the 4 models.  It has a series of expansion cards and option boards that are unique to the KX-TDA50G.  Should you outgrow a KX-TDA50G, you cannot use any of the cards in any other model, which puts it in a class all of its own.

The KX-TDA100 and KX-TDA200 are the most popular selling models in the series.  The KX-TDA100 has roughly 3 times the capacity as the KX-TDA50G.  Should you outgrow a KX-TDA100, all of the expansion and option cards may be removed and reinstalled in the larger KX-TDA200, which is roughly twice the size of the KX-TDA100.  If that’s not large enough, most of the expansion and option cards may be removed from the KX-TDA200 and reinstalled in the larger KX-TDA600, which is roughly 4 times the size of the KX-TDA200.

Since the KX-TDA100, KX-TDA200 and KX-TDA600 share cards, it makes these three products an amazing value and a perfect choice for people who are uncertain about their anticipated growth of networking needs.

The KX-TDA600 is the only one of the models that uses expansion cabinets.  The first cabinet is almost identical to a KX-TDA200.  What separates it from the KX-TDA200 is that it has one extra card slot, which can accommodate something called a BUS Card.  This BUS card is what interconnects the cabinets.  So, if someone is fairly certain that they will have growth that will exceed the KX-TDA200’s maximum capacity, it is best to start out with a single cabinet KX-TDA600 and then add expansion cabinets if and when the need arises. From the standpoint of protecting one’s investment this is the best model with the series.

KX-TDA50 systems may be wall mounted or rack mounted with an optional rack mounting kit.  KX-TDA100 and KX-TDA200 systems may be desk mounted, wall mounted or rack mounted with an optional rack mounting kit.  KX-TDA600 systems may be wall mounted or floor mounted with an optional floor mounting kit.  The system is actually too wide to mount in a standard 19-inch equipment rack and still maintain serviceability, so Panasonic has chosen not to offer a rack mounting kit for the KX-TDA600.

KX-TDA50G, KX-TDA100, KX-TDA200 and KX-TDA600 PBX systems are fully compatible with the KX-TVA series Voice Processing Systems as well as the older KX-TVS series.

There is one cautionary note that we would like to make regarding the KX-TDA series:  There is one other rather obscure model called the KX-TDA30.  The KX-TDA30 is similar in looks to the KX-TDA50G but is not a U.S. Certified Panasonic product.   At the very least, it lacks FCC Certification, which makes it illegal to connect to the U.S. telephone network.  There is also no U.S. Panasonic Factory Warranty available for this model, so we will not detail this product further.  This warning is ONLY for the model KX-TDA30.  All other models are FCC Registered and fully warranted in the U.S. by Panasonic.

To summarize, KX-TDA50G is a good choice for smaller applications where Networking might be desirable sometime in the future.  KX-TDA100, 200 and 600 are ever better choices where Networking might be in the future, because they offer a huge upgrade solution by sharing cards.  If your intent is to implement networking features, either immediately or soon after deployment, then we would recommend that you consider either the KX-NCP series or the KX-TDE series instead of the KX-TDA series.