Audio to multiple headphones

[Jawloms]

Morning all,

 

We've been asked if we can buy 10 sets of Bluetooth headphones so that multiple students can listen to the same audio track at a time. Obviously that's not going to work with only one computer in the room, but I know there are solutions out there for this purpose. Does anyone use such a system? Any recommendations or things to look out for?

 

Thank you

 

Stuart

[Andrew_C]

Tour systems - if you need wireless, or headphone distribution amplifier for (sane) wired solutions.

[nwkeene]

Forgive me being old fashioned, but i presume the use of a loudspeaker isn't suitable for this application...? Shared space etc...?

 

amazon do these 5 channel headphone amps so two of them might work, being fed by a splitter from the headphone out? The worse issue will probably be cable managemnet as the leads are bound to get tangled... and students are bound to turn up/down other students volume levels...

[SamanthaD]

Silent disco kit might suit your needs?

[Sonic007]

I'd be tempted to give users an iPad each and headphones. Then broadcast the music on some streaming platform and each can connect to it.

[Andrew_C]

To the man with a hammer, every screw is a nail.

 

Give them all iPads, so you have to start messing around with disabling controls, web...

[PotNoodleTech]

Not really, bluetooth doesnt work like that it's a one to one transfer method.

 

You'd need some kind of wireless multi headset kits - theres' plenty if things like that around but they tend to be more aimed at live sound/concert etc and are blooming expensive.

 

Streaming to a device each is possible of course but as Andrew C says - that's just gonna create a whole new set of problems (and work) for you.

 

Something like this is in the middle of pro use and home use but it's still not cheap.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avantree-Multiple-Headphones-Assistive-Listening-Black/dp/B09BHQDHFS

[Rob_D]

Something like this is in the middle of pro use and home use but it's still not cheap.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avantree-Multiple-Headphones-Assistive-Listening-Black/dp/B09BHQDHFS

 

Compared to 10 reasonably durable Bluetooth headsets that looks pretty price comparable.

 

I think, in part what you do comes down to how much you have to spend and how old the kids are.

Something like a tour system might be more cost effective at scale (based on a quick amazon search), but I can see it being a pain with younger students.

Edited January 16, 2025 by Rob_D

[Jawloms]

Thanks all to your responses. As soon as I started mentioning "expensive" they've suddenly decided that all the kids can hear fine, perhaps we'll put them in a carpeted room though rather than one with a hard floor.

[SamanthaD]

Not really, bluetooth doesnt work like that it's a one to one transfer method.

 

Have a look at Auracast - bluetooth technology that allows multiple audio connections. Mostly being used in assistive listening applications and is likely to overtake traditional hearing loops at some point.

[Dos_Box]

Moving to the AV and Multimedia Forum.

[dhicks]

As soon as I started mentioning "expensive" they've suddenly decided that all the kids can hear fine, perhaps we'll put them in a carpeted room though rather than one with a hard floor.

 

Just for completeness, as they don't seem to have been mentioned yet: TTS (an educational supplies company) do their own multi-broadcast headphones:

 

https://www.tts-group.co.uk/primary/computing-ict/headphones/

 

Designed for (primary) school use, they are quite robust, although older children can find them a bit too childish. £300 for a set of 6, so comparable to the Amazon sets above.

 

Your solution (use a speaker) sounds like it's probably going to work better / be cheaper / less fuss / more robust. It might help to get a speaker that lets you adjust the low / mid / high levels so you can maybe cut out some of the base, which might make spoken word tracks a bit clearer. We've found the Behringer B105D to be quite good for this, and portable enough to be moved around easily (although it's not battery powered, it does need a mains connection):

 

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0313-AGZ

 

Amazon have the same bit of hardware under various brands for around £100 each.

[Andrew_C]

Have a look at Auracast

This'll put you off...

 

Transmitter £1500 ex

 

Receiver £285 each ex

[SamanthaD]

This'll put you off...

 

Transmitter £1500 ex

 

Receiver £285 each ex

 

Cheaper than a hearing loop amplifier!

[Andrew_C]

Cheaper than a hearing loop amplifier!

 

Not by a factor of 10. Loop amp Then concider you need multiple receivers...

[SamanthaD]

Not by a factor of 10. Loop amp Then concider you need multiple receivers...

Not really comparing apples with apples. That loop amp is only to cover a 35 square meter room, not something I would install assitive listening into. I was looking at the Ampertronic CN14-2 loop amp, which is what we use in lecture theatres and I would suggest is a more reasonable comparison.

 

Receivers - if it's true Auracast then you should be able to connect using a mobile device, this is the whole point of the standard!

[Andrew_C]

We're talking about a room with ten users; not an auditorium? No? And in use when users my not be allowed their own device?

[SamanthaD]

Sorry - the transmitter you referenced is capable of broadcasting to a radius of 100m+, so felt the comparison was a bit unfair.

 

Also - only ten users that are using the listening system. The original post gives us no indication of the size of the room, or the application, or the amount of students present. It could be a small room just for 10 students, or it could be a hall where 10 students out of 200 need headphones to hear something clearly during an exam due to Equality Act requirements. We have no context so are mostly guessing.

 

My comment about Auracast was more about the fact bluetooth technology is evolving to include multicast, so a previous comment about Bluetooth being a 1:1 transfer protocol is no longer correct. It wasn't intended to be a solution to the OP's problem, just raising awareness of a new standard that could potentially help someone else out.

[PotNoodleTech]

Fair enough - I was talking about generalist bluetooth technology that everyone currently has on their phones and speakers, tha still is one to one. This auroracast is quite a specialist version. Looks quite cool the way it splits a bluetooth input into kind of like a wifi network to broadcast out to multiple devices.

 

Lets hope it becomes less specialist as in no longer costing £thousands and more mainstream as in built into many devices particularly built into speakers or headphones? imagine if it was integrated into the bluetooth standard so all bluetooth devices inherited the multicast side of it - that would be cool.