What happened to WireFreeHiFi? Who cares, they still sell the Opera S5 wireless earbuds

I stop paying attention for just a little bit and the world changes around me. 

WireFreeHiFi, aka Dipecomm, used to have a ton of Kleer-based wireless audio products. Now they're just down to the Digifi Opera S5 and the CyFi bicycle speaker. Both great products, but WireFreeHiFi used to have other products, my favorite being the one that essentially turned any MP3 speaker into an Apple wireless speaker. How? Well they had a dongle (transmitter) that fitted onto your iPod/iPhone and then the receiver component fitted into the cradle of your MP3 speaker. Then you could walk around your room, change tracks, etc. without the wires. I wonder if Apple finally caught up to them, that is, the Apple legal team did. Who knows, but the good news is that they're still selling the Opera S5 wireless earbuds via Amazon UK. 

Why is this good news?

Cause you can purchase the Opera S5 wireless earbuds that also come with the Apple-certified transmitter. Now the transmitter might be a bit old, that is, not too sure what iPods it still works with. But as I recall, the transmitter uses the Apple 30-pin transmitter so it plugs into practically all Apple devices. It's just you might get an error message, but just close that message and it should still work. As always, do due diligence and ask the retailer WireFreeHiFi what Apple devices it still works with (iPod, iPhone, iPad). 

So, you ask, why should I care that WireFreeHiFi still sells the Opera S5 wireless earbuds via Amazon UK?

Because, it is uses Kleer technology. 

So?

Here's the kicker about Kleer technology that a lot of people forget about or don't use. All Kleer-based technology is interoperable. That means all the Kleer-based wireless headphones/earbuds/earphones/speakers and transmitters can all "talk" to each other. 

For example, you can use the AKG K 840 KL  Kleer-based transmitter to deliver music to Sennheiser Kleer-based headphones. You need to "pair" them together but this is a relatively easy process and the directions should be in the manuels of pairing extra wireless receivers (headphones, earbuds) to one transmitter/dongle. But in this case, instead of associating four Sennheiser Kleer-based wireless headphones to one transmitter, you're going to add the AKG K 840 KL wireless headphones, or the Opera S5, or the new Sync by 50.  

NOTE: You can only associate to a maximum of four wireless headphones, but those Kleer-based headphones can be any manufacturer. And, another note, the Sennheiser MX W1 true wireless earbuds (discontinued sadly) count as two as each earbud takes a spot.

So?

To make a short story long, you can purchase the Arcam rWand iPod Wireless Stream Device that uses Kleer technology to stream to the Arcam rCube wireless speaker. 

But it costs  £49.95 (approx $78.12 USD) on Amazon UK. Someone is also trying to sell it on Amazon UK for £69.95 (approx $109.41 USD), but ignore them.

You can also purchase the Arcam rWand on Amazon.com (which is news to me but there it is) for $99.95 USD. 

Or, instead of buying the Arcam rWand, purchase the Opera S5 wireless earbuds on Amazon UK and you get a Kleer-based Apple 30-pin transmitter that can be associated with any Kleer-based receiver (headphones/earbuds/earphones/speakers) for £79.95 (approx $125.05 USD) and wireless earbuds.

Just saying, look for the value, and understand that Kleer-based products are interoperable: transmitters (dongles) can be associated to other manufacturer's Kleer-based receivers (wireless headphones/earbuds/earphones/speakers).

And then, one of the drawbacks of the Sennheiser RS 180 wireless headphones is that it is designed for listening to TV audio, not for walking around outside. 

Using a Kleer-based transmitter (one that uses the 3.5 mm audio jack or an Apple-certified transmitter), associate it with the Sennheiser RS 180 and you're mobile. 

Confusing in some ways, easy in others. Do some research, find out what you want from your Kleer-based technology (regardless of manufacturer), then mix and match appropriately. 

Arcam rWand and rWave Kleer-based transmitters (dongles) available end of month

Arcam provides two types of Kleer-based transmitters (dongles). The rWand, is a 30-pin connector for iPods, iPhones, and iPads.  And the rWave, a USB transmitter, is ideal for your laptop/computer, Mac or Windows. (Watch a video to learn how to associate the rWave with the rCube speaker.) 

The Arcam rWand is expected to cost £70, and the rWave £80.
They're designed to connect to the Arcam rCube or rDac. And, as these transmitters are Kleer-based, you can also associate them with other Kleer-based receivers, such as the AKG K 840 wireless headphones, TDK WR700 wireless headphones, and Sennheiser RS 160, 170, 180 wireless headphones.

But here's the thing.

You can purchase the Opera S5+ for £79.95 from the WireFreeHiFi website (UK-based, ships to UK, Europe, and North America). Or from Amazon UK where they charge a little more. The Opera S5 also uses a 30-pin connector for the iPhone and iPad. 

This means you can purchase a Kleer-based iPod/iPhone/iPad transmitter AND wireless earbuds for like £10 (approximately) more than just the Arcam rWand.  

And since the Kleer-based transmitters are compatible with Kleer-based receivers, the Opera S5 transmitter should work with the Arcam rCube as well.

So that's my smart shopping tip for the day. 

And the USB Kleer-based transmitter, the Arcam rWave looks pretty sweet and doesn't have any competing products (yet). 


As I listen to the majority of music at work, I do enjoy hearing CD-quality music without the wires. I even miss the weight of the wires. You don't notice it until you don't use wires.  Here's a picture of the Arcam rWave. 

Oh yeah, one more thing. As these transmitters use Kleer wireless audio technology, that means you hear CD-quality, digital, stereo, lossless, uncompressed music. 

Arcam rCube Connection to Kleer-based rWand Video Tutorial

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.

Arcam rWand Wireless iPod transmitter for rCube and rDAC

UPDATED (Jan 22, 2011) So this is interesting. On Amazon UK, a vendor is selling the iPod transmitter made for Arcam (only one available, what's up with that?) for £69.95. 

And what I didn't realize (as I'm a little out of the loop) is that there is another Arcam sound system that looks like it supports the Kleer wireless audio protoocol, the Arcam rDAC. 

One thing I don't know is if the Arcam iPod wireless transmitter is only specific to the Arcam music systems (rCube and rDac). I'm almost positive that it isn't, that these wireless transmitters based on Kleer technology can be associated to any Kleer-based wireless earbuds/headphones/speakers. 

But don't quote me as you never know. And since I don't have this system, I can't be positive. But like I said, Kleer technology usually allows any Kleer-based transmitter to any Kleer-based receiver (wireless earbuds/headphones/speakers). 

If you own the Arcam rCube of Arcam rDac and you have a different manufacturer's Kleer-based transmitter, you'd need to be able to put the Arcam products into association mode so that they would pair with your new Kleer-based transmitter. But I don't know if the Arcam products have a button for that. Sorry. I suspect they do, but suspicion is a lot like making an assumption and assumptions usually never end well for me. Needs further investigation.

My other concern with someone selling the Arcam iPod wireless transmitter is the price of £69.95. Looks a little hefty in comparison to the Airphonic Standard Kit for £79.95 from the WireFreeHiFi website, which sells numerous Kleer-based products. 

The Airphonic standard system consists of two small dongles, the S5T+ transmitter which connects to any iPad/Pod/Phone, and the RX1 receiver replaces an iPod etc in a compatible docking system (make sure it's compatible). And the Airphonic transmitter and receiver only cost £79.95. 

So for 10 more Pounds, you get a iPod-compatible receiver. Just wanted to point that out. At the same time, if you already own Kleer-based wireless headphones, especially the Sennheiser RS 160, 170, 180 which are designed for watching television, then the Arcam rWand will allow you to make the RS series mobile (again, it should if it can go into association mode).

The vendor of the Arcam rWand Wireless iPod transmitter for rCube and rDAC currently has a 98% approval rating on Amazon UK, so that's always a good sign. 

UPDATE (Jan 22, 2011) : As my technical writer friends always say, RTFM. Here's a link to the Arcam rCube manual (PDF). In it, it describes how you put the dongles/transmitters into association mode and how you put the rCube speaker into association mode. I knew there had to be a way. The manual is great, easy to read, easy to understand.