Oxford names Auri its standard for accessible audio after a Blackwell Hall pilot

The University of Oxford now treats Auri, the Auracast transmitter family from Ampetronic and Listen Technologies, as its standard for assistive listening. The system started as a pilot in Blackwell Hall, the Bodleian Libraries' public visitor centre on the ground floor of the Weston Library.

The claim comes from Walid Benkhaled, AV Manager at the Bodleian Libraries, in a case study published by Ampetronic and Listen Technologies and dated 2025. "What began as a pilot in Blackwell Hall has become our benchmark for inclusive audio across the University," he says. The case study calls Auri the university's "official standard" for this kind of accessibility. AV Network repeated the account on 5 June 2026, when it named the Oxford team in its AV/IT Team Class of 2026.

What was installed

Blackwell Hall had no modern assistive listening before the pilot. Its marble floors and Grade I listed stonework ruled out an induction loop, there was no room for new cabling, and the work had to be finished before the start of an academic term.

The installer, Aura, patched a single Auri TX2N transmitter into the existing Dante network over legacy cabling. It broadcasts across the atrium, and anyone with Auracast hearing aids or earbuds can join without pairing. Sixteen Auri RX1 receivers, with neckloops, headphones and ear speakers, sit in a docking station at reception for visitors without a compatible device. Staff pick the audio source from a reprogrammed wireless touch panel, and visiting AV crews plug into one Dante patch point.

Procurement and Estates review receiver use, user feedback and network performance on a regular basis. Our venue page has the joining detail.

What "standard" means here

Read it carefully. The case study and AV Network both say Auri is now Oxford's standard, but neither names a second room, a building programme or a date for further installs. We could not find a university or Bodleian announcement of the decision. For now, Blackwell Hall is the one confirmed Auracast space at Oxford.

It is still a meaningful commitment. If the standard holds, the next lecture theatre or library refurbishment at Oxford should specify broadcast audio rather than a loop.

Why universities matter

Lecture theatres are where Auracast makes its strongest case. One transmitter covers the whole room, students use the hearing aids or earbuds they already own, and nobody has to sit at the front. Here is how it compares with a loop.

Oxford joins two other universities in our directory. The University of Queensland put Auracast into all 65 of its lecture theatres across St Lucia, Gatton and Herston in March 2026, using Audeara broadcasters, QR codes in each room and loan headphones. In London, the UAL Creative Computing Institute runs Auri in two 96-person classrooms and a 48-person room, chosen after testing loops and other options.

UQ went wide in one go. Oxford has gone the other way: one listed room first, then a policy. Whether the policy turns into lecture theatres is the thing to watch.