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. 

Opera S5 wireless earbuds still available on Amazon UK, can ship to States and Canada

Looks like you can still purchase the Apple-certified Opera S5 wireless earbuds from Amazon UK and that they'll ship to the States, Canada, Europe.  I thought they'd been discontinued as well, like the Sennheiser MX W1 true wireless earbuds.  If they haven't been discontinued, they've still have enough in stock on Amazon UK. Costs £79.95, approx: $125.05 USD. Shipped from WireFree HiFi, who has a 95% positive from 39 total ratings.

Because the dongle (transmitter) is Apple-certified, you have audio and track control directly to your iPod from the wireless earbuds. This means you don't need to fish out your iPod to change tracks or volume, you have the controls on your earbuds. 


Check out the price and product description on Amazon UK >>

 

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. 

Opera S5 wireless earbuds for iPad and iPhone: Uses Kleer wireless audio technology

Here's the DigiFi Opera S5 wireless earbuds and transmitter that will work with the iPad and iPhone. SlashGear reviewed them and found it very impressive.

They ship already paired, so all you'll need to do is attached the transmitter to your iPod or iPhone, play your music, and start grooving to your music (if that's your thing). You can purchase them on Amazon UK. They're distributed by WireFreeHifi, who also ship to the States no worries. 

And WireFreeHifi has free shipping until Dec 31, 2010 but I don't know if that applies when you purchase from them via Amazon. So if you want free shipping, you may need to purchase them from WireFreeHifi, who have their own online shopping cart.

Anyhoo, the DigiFi Opera S5 use Kleer wireless audio technology to deliver CD-quality, uncompressed, lossless, digital stereo audio. No Bluetooth, Kleer is not Bluetooth. Kleer is a proprietary wireless audio technology. Bluetooth compresses sound, Kleer does not. So with Kleer, you hear what the artist/musician intended. 

The Opera S5, because it connects using the Apple dock, has volume and track control on the earbuds. This means you can raise/lower audio and pause/start/stop/skip/fast forward/rewind an audio track, all from your earbuds. No need to touch your iPad or iPhone for those controls, it's all with you located conveniently on the wireless earbuds.

Here's some photos of what they look like when you wear them. 

When I used to own a set of the old DigiFi Opera S1s (which they don't make anymore), I used them exclusively for listening to music on my laptop when I was working. I used to actually reverse them so that the receiver that normally sits on the back of your neck, would dangle in front on my chest. Somehow was more comfortable that way for me. So you may also try some different ways of wearing the earbuds, find out what's comfortable for you, what works best. 

Purchase the Opera S5 Kleer-based wireless earbuds for iPad / iPhone on Amazon UK (ships to the States) >>

Purchase from WireFreeHiFi (free shipping until Dec 31, 2010) >>

US shipping available on iPod-certified DigiFi Opera S5+ wireless earphones for iPod: "Great for gyms or power walks"

Good news for U.S. Christmas 2010 shoppers, the DigiFi Opera S5 wireless earphones (earbuds) can now be ordered from the States (Canada included) from Amazon UK.

The iPod-certified DigiFi Opera S5 delivers audio and track controls on the wireless earbuds. This means you can pause, advance, skip, stops songs and can change volume without having to touch your iPod and transmitter. And, as the Opera S5 uses Kleer wireless audio technology, this means you hear CD-quality, lossless, uncompressed, digital stereo audio. 

Here's a November 20, 2010 review (I fixed some grammar) from Amazon UK:

"The cable of my earphones always annoyed me at the gym and kept on sticking to gym machines and getting pulled out of my ears. The opera 5 solved this problem entirely.

If the songs on the iPod are good quality, the Opera will play them, in my opinion, as well as wired headphones.

I've bought another three to give as xmas gifts. This is a super device."

Purchase the DigiFi Opera S5+ from Amazon UK (ships to North America) >>