Avantree Audikast 4 Bluetooth & Auracast™
Avantree say this about the new Audikast 4:
The Avantree Audikast 4 Bluetooth & Auracast™ 2-in-1 TV audio transmitter is a cutting-edge device that streams high-quality, low-latency audio from your TV to multiple Bluetooth headphones or Auracast-enabled hearing aids simultaneously, offering seamless wireless sound with easy setup and versatile connectivity.
I say this about the Audikast 4 HA version:
It is a small box for listening to TV audio through hearing aids.
The device uses two types of Bluetooth: Classic and Low Energy.
Hearing aids with Classic Bluetooth, such as Phonaks, can be paired with the Audikast 4, but I was interested in trying the Auracast feature. Auracast is a relatively new broadcast technology that uses low energy Bluetooth. It needs LE Audio to function, but devices with LE Audio do not necessarily have Auracast.
Resound are ahead of the game with this technology, and Rob lent me a pair of Nexia demos to try it out.
The Audikast 4 is connected to a TV using either the optical or the headphone sockets. The optical output of my TV is used by a Soundbase, so I used the headphone output. The device is powered by 5V USB. I used one of the USB sockets on the back of the TV.
With the TV and Audikast 4 switched on, I scanned the QR code on the top of the box. The instructions were clear. I set the device to Auracast mode and with the Resound Nexias in my ears I clicked the ‘Find a Broadcast’ button on the homepage of the Resound 3D app. The Audikast device appeared on the screen. After clicking on it I could hear the TV sound in the hearing aids. TV dialogue was clear, and I was able to follow the action without using sub-titles.
So far so good, but I wanted to be able to watch TV with another person who does not wear hearing aids. My earlier attempts to pair my Phonak aids to the TV Bluetooth were successful, but there was an unpleasant echo effect when I turned the direct TV sound on as well.
What I wanted to know was how well the TV sound in my hearing aids from the Audikast 4 would synchronise with the direct sound from the TV speakers or Soundbase.
The two sound sources synchronised perfectly, so we were able to watch TV together and I could follow the dialogue without using sub-titles. Auracast is a one-to-many technology. Several people with Resound hearing aids could watch the TV and listen to the sound through their hearing aids together with people with normal hearing. Sufficient reason to consider buying a pair of Resound hearing aids.
Other hearing aid brands, notably Oticon, claim that their most recent aids are ‘Auracast ready’, but they don’t work. I called the Oticon helpline and was told that Intent hearing aids would be able to use Auracast after a firmware update. I asked when the update would be made available and the answer was ‘soon’.
Haydn Jones. 29/10/2025