Pretty cool stuff. Watch a quick video from YouTube on connecting the Arcam rWand (a Kleer-based wirless audio dongle/transmitter) to an iPad, which streams music without wires to the Arcam rCube speaker.
And because the Arcam rCube and Arcam rWand use Kleer wireless audio technology, this means you stream uncompressed, lossless, CD-quality digital stereo audio. Without the wires. Now Bluetooth can also stream wireless audio, but it compresses the sound. Which means, with Bluetooth, you don't hear the music the way the artist intended it to be. But with Kleer, it's just as the artist wanted you to listen to their music.
Showing posts with label Arcam rCube iPod/iPhone wireless speaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arcam rCube iPod/iPhone wireless speaker. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Monday, December 13, 2010
Arcam rCube review on Pocket-lint: "the rCube’s promise of lossless music streaming dimension is exciting"
Great review of the Arcam rCube on Pocket-lint from November 18, 2010. Read the entire review.
My favorite section: "With millions of us having ditched our CD collections this kind of product ought to do well with people searching for a modern Hi-Fi system. Small, perfectly formed and portable, the rCube’s promise of lossless music streaming dimension is exciting and makes the £500 price tag appear good value - this is a pretty serious Hi-Fi component, after all."
Find out the cost of the Arcam rCube on Amazon UK >>
Here's an excerpt:
"Sick of those £50 iPod docks that spew out meek music? Then try Arcam’s rCube for size; Wi-Fi meets Hi-Fi on this ‘pod-friendly speaker that’s about as high-end as it gets at this size. Ready for more good news? It’s portable. Yup - unplug the 5kg rCube from the mains and its internal Lithium-ion battery will keep going for between 4 and 8 hours. There’s even a grip-hole hidden just behind the iPod dock for carrying the thing around.
And the lossless wireless streaming is courtesy of Kleer wireless audio. Kleer is not Bluetooth, Bluetooth compresses audio, which is fine when you're talking on the phone. But when you want to listen to music, you want to hear the music the way the musician intended. With Kleer, you hear CD-quality, lossless, uncompressed, digital stereo audio.
There are several ways to enjoy the Kleer wireless sound with the Arcam rCube. It comes integrated in the rCube speaker so that you can pair the speaker with any Kleer-based wireless earbuds or headphones.
Or, you can purchase the separate rWave or rWand dongles. The rWave is USB, allowing you to connect it to your laptop, Windows or Mac. And the rWand dongle is a portable transmitter that you can connect to any compatible iPod/iPhone, allowing you to stream wireless audio from your iPod to the rCube speaker.
Another excerpt:
"Cunningly hidden along the bottom of the rear of the rCube are various ins and outs. A USB port for software upgrades, a power switch and a 3.5mm auxiliary jack to attach almost any audio device are expected. More welcome is a video port that’s capable of taking 720p video from an iPhone 4 (only) to a TV. There’s also a bass button that should be depressed if you use the rCube in the corner of a room."
My favorite section: "With millions of us having ditched our CD collections this kind of product ought to do well with people searching for a modern Hi-Fi system. Small, perfectly formed and portable, the rCube’s promise of lossless music streaming dimension is exciting and makes the £500 price tag appear good value - this is a pretty serious Hi-Fi component, after all."
Find out the cost of the Arcam rCube on Amazon UK >>
"Sick of those £50 iPod docks that spew out meek music? Then try Arcam’s rCube for size; Wi-Fi meets Hi-Fi on this ‘pod-friendly speaker that’s about as high-end as it gets at this size. Ready for more good news? It’s portable. Yup - unplug the 5kg rCube from the mains and its internal Lithium-ion battery will keep going for between 4 and 8 hours. There’s even a grip-hole hidden just behind the iPod dock for carrying the thing around.
And the lossless wireless streaming is courtesy of Kleer wireless audio. Kleer is not Bluetooth, Bluetooth compresses audio, which is fine when you're talking on the phone. But when you want to listen to music, you want to hear the music the way the musician intended. With Kleer, you hear CD-quality, lossless, uncompressed, digital stereo audio.
There are several ways to enjoy the Kleer wireless sound with the Arcam rCube. It comes integrated in the rCube speaker so that you can pair the speaker with any Kleer-based wireless earbuds or headphones.
Or, you can purchase the separate rWave or rWand dongles. The rWave is USB, allowing you to connect it to your laptop, Windows or Mac. And the rWand dongle is a portable transmitter that you can connect to any compatible iPod/iPhone, allowing you to stream wireless audio from your iPod to the rCube speaker.
Another excerpt:
"Cunningly hidden along the bottom of the rear of the rCube are various ins and outs. A USB port for software upgrades, a power switch and a 3.5mm auxiliary jack to attach almost any audio device are expected. More welcome is a video port that’s capable of taking 720p video from an iPhone 4 (only) to a TV. There’s also a bass button that should be depressed if you use the rCube in the corner of a room."
Review Arcam rCube portable iPod speaker system on RegHardware: Earns a Reghardware Recommended Thumbs-up
Great review of the new Arcam rCube portable iPod/iPhone speaker system on RegHardware from Nov. 30, 2010.
Here's an excerpt:
"Inside the cabinet are three amplifiers driving four speakers, two set into each side of the cabinet. That's a combination rated at 90W RMS – 35W from each mid-range driver and 10W from each tweeter – and is enough to fill even a large room with sound.
The rCube’s output has not been achieved at the expense of quality. No matter what I played on it – and I listened to everything from Nine Inch Nails to Carole King, and Tangerine Dream to Tannhauser – the reproduction was always a bright, clear, focused, taught, powerful and superbly detailed sound, that never failed to impress."
"The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed the Bass button around the back. These boosters sometimes make everything sound just a little phony and muddy, but not in this case. Press it and the already impressive amount of bass acquires just that extra bit a depth and power, without getting woolly. Yes it's invasive electronic voodoo, but it’s voodoo that works and pays dividends when listening to bass-heavy musical genres."
And the verdict:
"Compared to B&W's Zeppelin or Philips' DS9000 Fidelio, the extra £100 is peanuts when you take into account the increased quality of sound the rCube delivers. Lest we forget forget that it’s also very small, with an internal battery and wireless option. I have to say that, had the rCube been available for inclusion in my up-market iPod dock round-up, it would have taken the gold medal."
And, Kleer wireless audio technology is built into the rCube, meaning it will pair with Kleer-based headphones/earbuds, such as the DigiFi Opera S2, Opera S5, or Sennheiser RS 160, RS 170, or RS 180.
Only issue is that the rWand and rWave dongles cost extra.
But the good news is that the rWand and rWave use Kleer wireless audio technology. Which means that the dongles stream uncompressed, lossless, CD-quality, digital stereo audio. And that works very well with the Arcam rCube's high fidelity sound system where it makes a difference.
Arcam rCube What Hi-fi Sound & Vision 2010 Award Winner for iPod Docks
Congratulations Arcam rCube for winning iPod Docks Product of the Year, Awards 2010!
The award-winning Arcam rCube uses Kleer wireless audio technology to stream your tunes wirelessly when you want to (note, sad to say, the dongles currently cost extra). Otherwise, pop your compatible iPod/iPhone into the dock and control your tunes from it or the remote.
View pricing of the ARCAM rCUBE portable speaker on Amazon UK >>
Here's some images:
The award-winning Arcam rCube uses Kleer wireless audio technology to stream your tunes wirelessly when you want to (note, sad to say, the dongles currently cost extra). Otherwise, pop your compatible iPod/iPhone into the dock and control your tunes from it or the remote.
View pricing of the ARCAM rCUBE portable speaker on Amazon UK >>
Here's some images:
iPhone docked in the Arcam rCube
Detail of the Arcam rCube
Arcam rCube remote and speaker
Arcam rCube remote
Arcam rWand Dongle, connects to compatible iPod/iPhone, transmits audio wirelessly using Kleer wireless audio technology to rCube speaker
Arcam rWave Dongle, USB connection to your laptop, streams audio wirelessly using Kleer wireless audio technology to your rCube speaker(s)
"At first glance, Arcam’s new rCube doesn’t seem like much of a B&W Zeppelin-challenger. At 20cm cubed, it looks almost frivolously small in this assembled company but, as every sensible person knows, size isn’t everything.
Besides, note the price – if that doesn’t put it straight into Zeppelin territory we don’t know what does.
It may have taken Arcam a little while to clamber aboard the speaker/dock bandwagon, but the company’s put that time to good use – the rCube is a thoroughly thought-out device.
On the top, beneath a flush-fitting flap, is the iPod dock (when the dock’s unoccupied the flap serves to reveal a carry-handle – this is a portable device), and some touch-sensitive controls. Portable iPod powerAt the bottom there are four concealed screws – unscrew these to remove the baseplate and access the pre-installed Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery.
And positioned at the rear is a 3.5mm input, composite video output, component video output (which rather meanly requires a bespoke, extra-cost adaptor), a USB input (for firmware upgrades only) and a power switch.
Oh, and there’s an innocuous-looking button marked ‘bass’. Arcam believes the rCube sounds best placed in the corner of a room, angled at 45 degrees.
Such positioning allows the opposed, side-mounted mid/bass drivers to reflect off the walls –– if the rCube is sat in open space, give the bass button a push to reinforce those low frequencies. In any event, the rCube can’t be obstructed on either side.
An optional USB transmitter
As well as dealing with docked Apples, the Arcam can stream PC-borne music wirelessly using an optional USB transmitter, or directly from an iPod/iPhone using a Kleer dongle.
And one rCube can both send and receive to/from a second rCube, so you can establish a multi-zone network with little fuss.
It’s just as well, after that preamble, that the rCube is a fine-sounding device. The proximity of the drivers means it doesn’t so much deliver a soundstage as an omni-directional presentation, but within that it’s mightily impressive.
Whether listening to a 256kbps copy of Elton John’s Take Me to the Pilot or a 1411kbps WAV file of Missy Elliot’s Get Ur Freak On, it’s a clean, balanced and above all informative listen.
Flawless frequency integration
Low frequencies don’t have the outright extension of some rivals, but bass is taut, controlled and nuanced, while the midrange is full of detail. Integration with the open, crisp high frequencies is flawless.
Timing, too, is natural and unforced, so there’s a rare unity to the rCube’s sound. It snaps through dynamic peaks with positivity and deals with the toughest tempos dismissively.
Complex or muddy mixes are confidently unpicked, and the Arcam can turn its hand from a massed orchestral assault to a single-voice-with-guitar without breaking sweat.
In short, it’s everything you want from an iPod speaker dock."
Besides, note the price – if that doesn’t put it straight into Zeppelin territory we don’t know what does.
It may have taken Arcam a little while to clamber aboard the speaker/dock bandwagon, but the company’s put that time to good use – the rCube is a thoroughly thought-out device.
On the top, beneath a flush-fitting flap, is the iPod dock (when the dock’s unoccupied the flap serves to reveal a carry-handle – this is a portable device), and some touch-sensitive controls. Portable iPod powerAt the bottom there are four concealed screws – unscrew these to remove the baseplate and access the pre-installed Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery.
And positioned at the rear is a 3.5mm input, composite video output, component video output (which rather meanly requires a bespoke, extra-cost adaptor), a USB input (for firmware upgrades only) and a power switch.
Oh, and there’s an innocuous-looking button marked ‘bass’. Arcam believes the rCube sounds best placed in the corner of a room, angled at 45 degrees.
Such positioning allows the opposed, side-mounted mid/bass drivers to reflect off the walls –– if the rCube is sat in open space, give the bass button a push to reinforce those low frequencies. In any event, the rCube can’t be obstructed on either side.
An optional USB transmitter
As well as dealing with docked Apples, the Arcam can stream PC-borne music wirelessly using an optional USB transmitter, or directly from an iPod/iPhone using a Kleer dongle.
And one rCube can both send and receive to/from a second rCube, so you can establish a multi-zone network with little fuss.
It’s just as well, after that preamble, that the rCube is a fine-sounding device. The proximity of the drivers means it doesn’t so much deliver a soundstage as an omni-directional presentation, but within that it’s mightily impressive.
Whether listening to a 256kbps copy of Elton John’s Take Me to the Pilot or a 1411kbps WAV file of Missy Elliot’s Get Ur Freak On, it’s a clean, balanced and above all informative listen.
Flawless frequency integration
Low frequencies don’t have the outright extension of some rivals, but bass is taut, controlled and nuanced, while the midrange is full of detail. Integration with the open, crisp high frequencies is flawless.
Timing, too, is natural and unforced, so there’s a rare unity to the rCube’s sound. It snaps through dynamic peaks with positivity and deals with the toughest tempos dismissively.
Complex or muddy mixes are confidently unpicked, and the Arcam can turn its hand from a massed orchestral assault to a single-voice-with-guitar without breaking sweat.
In short, it’s everything you want from an iPod speaker dock."
And, Kleer wireless audio technology is built into the rCube, meaning it will pair with Kleer-based headphones/earbuds, such as the DigiFi Opera S2, Opera S5 wireless earbuds, TDK WR700 wireless headphones, or the Sennheiser RS 160, RS 170, or RS 180 wireless headphones.
Only issue is that the rWand and rWave dongles cost extra.
But the good news is that the rWand and rWave use Kleer wireless audio technology. Which means that the dongles stream uncompressed, lossless, CD-quality, digital stereo audio. And that works very well with the Arcam rCube's high fidelity sound system where it makes a difference.
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