Tualatin, OR, May 18, 2026 – Decades of research have proven that classrooms become engaging and effective environments where students hear their teachers well. To support educators’ efforts to reach every student in their classrooms, Lightspeed, a leading provider of educational audio solutions that create equal access to learning, has released three updates designed to improve the use of educational audio.
Redcat and Topcat systems now have updated, modern designs that make classroom use easier. Additionally, the wireless Media Connector is now directly compatible with Bluetooth devices.
“Our goal is to remove the major interference in the communication between teachers and students in the classroom,” said David Solomon, CEO of Lightspeed. “That includes continuously updating our systems and tools to improve ease of use and performance. The more seamless the user experience is with our solutions, the more they can focus on teaching and learning.”
The new Bluetooth Media Connector enables reliable, wireless audio streaming from phones and tablets, making it easy to integrate classroom multimedia audio sources. Teachers get the freedom to share audio content quickly with crystal clear room-filling sound.
The Redcat all-in-one speaker system is ready to use right out of the box, delivering even sound distribution and superior speech clarity in all classrooms. Teachers can place the portable system on a table, mount it on a wall, or use a battery of your choice for easy portability.
Topcat’s all-in-one integrated design and wireless audio capabilities make installation easy and cost-effective in both new construction and existing classrooms. The surface-mounted system design blends into the acoustic ceilings for a clean, uncluttered look. The integrated speakers include a flat speaker for balanced speech distribution and a cone speaker for full-range multimedia audio, ensuring that teachers’ voices reach all parts of the classroom.
“Every classroom is a busy environment by nature, which means students are constantly dealing with background noise and competing stimuli,” said Shaun Fagan, SVP of Product at Lightspeed. “With teaching audio solutions, no student has to struggle to hear the teacher. Therefore, they all focus on learning, and their classroom becomes a more inclusive, engaging environment.”
Lightspeed will showcase these latest educational audio solutions at ISTELive 2026 in booth #1945, where attendees can experience the updated Redcat, Topcat, and Media Connector.
About Lightspeed
Lightspeed, a 100% employee-owned company, is on a mission to help every student hear every word. For more than 30 years, they have provided powerful teaching solutions to K-12 institutions around the world.
Lightspeed educational audio systems deliver low volume and highly intelligible audio while supporting educators with integrated safety features. Their lightweight microphones include built-in integration with leading security and communications systems to enable clear audio, emergency alerts, and two-way calling capabilities. From clear instruction to campus-wide communication, they help create learning environments where every student and teacher can listen, learn, and stay safe.
Loving its culture of service, Lightspeed remains committed to improving the lives of teachers and students through products, research and collaboration. To learn more, visit Lightspeed.
