Oxford University’s All Souls College has selected Sennheiser’s SpeechLine Digital Wireless (SLDW) microphone system to enhance the audio setup of its 15th-century meeting room.
The challenge facing All Souls College was finding a solution that would fit the room’s ancient architecture, offer a consistent and reliable experience, and be user-friendly and easy enough for a non-technical person to operate.
The college decided to approach the local hire company CAV Oxford, which has experience supporting various major venues in Oxford. Believing Sennheiser’s SLDW microphone system to be the best solution, it contacted the Sennheiser distributor, Leisuretec, which has been supplying Sennheiser equipment for over 20 years.
In a related press release by Sennheiser, the German audio equipment manufacturer describes some of the reasons why its SLDW solution is the right fit for the university college meeting room:
Sennheiser SLDW is developed with the end user in mind and designed for university and corporate use, making it a perfect solution for All Souls College.”
“A streamlined end-user experience is improved by integrated DSP, providing EQ and automatic audio level management. This means that fellows can concentrate on their discussions without distraction.”
Sennheiser’s Audio Solution
The Sennheiser SpeechLine Digital Wireless is a wireless microphone system designed for speech, lectures, and presentations, with universities and corporate use specifically in mind.
Key features of the solution include up to 18 hours of battery life, automatic frequency and interference management, AES 256 encryption, integration available with any Dante network, simplified audio management, network-enabled and wireless charging, and multi-room mode.
Aside from providing All Souls College with the necessary technology to solve its meeting room’s audio conundrum, Sennheiser also offers insights into its behind-the-scenes operations that enable a smooth implementation for customers.
Although the SLDW microphone system does not require technical expertise at an end-user level – it can be operated with a single button – Leisuretec’s sales team reportedly took CAV’s Director, Sam Haney, to Sennheiser UK to receive the necessary training to effectively act as a support provider to All Souls College.
Kevin Gwyther-Brown, Business Development Manager—Professional Audio at Sennheiser, explains what an asset distributor like Leisuretec represents to its business: “Leisuretec is a well-established UK distributor for Sennheiser, and we’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship with them.
“We know the support we give Leisuretec will be really beneficial, not just to them but to their clients.”
“This is what keeps them coming back to us, and it’s not just the business development team, but all the help from Sennheiser’s associate staff, like tech support, training, and account management.”
“Supporting our distributors allows us to have better relationships with our end users, and that’s what Sennheiser is all about.”
Between the product solution and the response operation provided by CAV, Leisuretec, and Sennheiser UK resulted in what Paul Blaxill, Director of IT at All Souls College described as a “massive leap forwards” from a technological standpoint.
Recent Sennheiser Projects and Innovations
Earlier this year, Sennheiser also provided support for hybrid learning at Greenwich University.
Recognised by the QS World University Ranking as one of the world’s top universities, the UK-based university had been struggling to effectively engage its students since implementing remote teaching via Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, with concentration levels appearing to wane during longer sessions.
To solve this challenge, Mark Affection, Head of Digital AV Solutions at the University of Greenwich, and his team launched the ‘Hyflex’ solution initiative. This initiative is a learning environment designed to maximise learning for both on-campus and remote participants.
Around the same time, Sennheiser and Q-SYS’s combined audio, video, and control platform solution was certified for Cisco Collaboration Devices.
In December 2023, Sennheiser’s TeamConnect ceiling microphone gained support from Crestron Automate VX’s multi-camera switching product.
