DigiFi Digital Opera S2 And iPod S5 Wireless Headphones

DigiFi have announced their latest wireless audio products, based on Kleer's lossless technology.  The Digital Opera S2 and iPod-compatible Digital Opera S5 each come with a wireless transmitter dongle; the S2's plugs into a standard 3.5mm headphone socket, while the S5's uses an iPod's dock connector and supports remote-control.

That means users can control play, pause, track skip in both directions, fast-forward and rewind, as well as volume, from the DigiFi S5 earbuds themselves, without having to take the iPod out of a pocket or bag.  Kleer's wireless technology, meanwhile, streams uncompressed, lossless, CD-quality (16-bit 44.1KHz audio, rather than the compressed audio you'd get with Bluetooth.  You can read our review of Sleek Audio's Kleer implementation – which uses the same wireless technology – here; one transmitter can stream to up to four headsets.

We grabbed a quick hands-on with the DigiFi prototypes back at CES.  The DigiFi Digital Opera S2 and Opera S5 will both be released worldwide on June 20th; no pricing details have been given.

Press Release:

DigiFi™ and Kleer™ Launch Digital Opera S2 And iPod®-Compatible Digital Opera S5 Wireless Earbuds

Change iPod Tracks And Volume Levels Remotely Using Buttons Conveniently Located On The Wireless Earbuds

Anyang, South Korea, May 19, 2009 – DigiFi and Kleer today announced the availability of the Digital Opera S2 and the 'Made for iPod' Digital Opera S5 wireless earbuds that feature volume and track control buttons conveniently located on the wireless earbuds. Ideal for people who like to listen to high-fidelity music without the wires at work or the gym, the Opera S2 and iPod-compatible Opera S5 use Kleer wireless technology to stream uncompressed, lossless, CD‑quality (16-bit, 44.1KHz-sampled) digital stereo audio. In addition, both wireless earbuds have a range of 32 feet (10 m), offer a listening time of up to 10 hours, and can stream audio to a maximum of four people who are using Kleer-based wireless earbuds.

"We're very excited to announce the Opera S2 and the iPod-compatible Opera S5," said No Young Park, CEO of DigiFi. "We believe these wireless earbuds will revolutionize the wireless headphone space as they offer an unparalleled wireless music listening experience. People will no longer need to dig their iPod out of their purse or pocket to change the volume or the song. Now, volume and track controls are easily managed remotely while their iPod is stored safely away."

"DigiFi continues to impress the market by adding customer-driven features to its wireless earbuds," said Steve Humphreys, President & CEO of Kleer. "With these new easy-to-use features, people will be able to change songs and volume without missing a beat. And since both earbuds use Kleer wireless audio technology, this means people are able to listen to uncompressed, lossless, CD-quality, digital stereo audio without the wires wherever they are, whatever they're doing, by themselves or with friends, for longer than any earbuds this size."

For customers wanting to stream music from a variety of portable and stationary media players the Opera S2 is ideal as its 3.5mm-compatible transmitter takes advantage of the popular 3.5mm stereo audio jack found on most media players — MP3 players, home stereo systems, computers, mobile phones, televisions, iPod docks, and more. For customers who only use an iPod, then the Opera S5 is ideal as its iPod-compatible transmitter offers customers the ability to play, pause, advance, previous, fast forward, and rewind a song using the track control buttons on the wireless earbuds.

The Opera S2 and iPod-compatible Opera S5 will be released worldwide on June 20, 2009. Final retail price depends on the country and distributor.

About DigiFi

Using Kleer wireless audio technology, DigiFi continues to innovate, design, and deliver wireless audio products aimed at the ever-growing consumer electronic market. In addition to marketing its own wireless earbud and wireless speaker product lines, DigiFi also offers original design manufacturing (ODM) capabilities for companies requiring a full service design shop who can take a product from vision to reality on time and on budget. For more information about DigiFi, please visit www.digifi.kr

About Kleer

Kleer is a fabless semiconductor company that has developed the first wireless audio technology to combine high quality audio and robust ISM band coexistence with low power consumption to address portable, home and automotive audio markets. Unlike Bluetooth, Kleer's patented subsampling radio architecture was designed from the ground up to communicate lossless CD-quality digital stereo audio over a robust 2.4GHz radio link, while achieving 10 times the battery life of a comparable Bluetooth solution. Kleer's Audio LP technology is ideally suited for OEMs of portable audio players, iPod® and other player accessories, home audio/theater systems, earphones, headphones, and speakers. Kleer distributes its products via direct sales in North America, Korea, Japan, and via DIP International (www.dipinternational.co.uk) for the UK & Europe. The Company is headquartered in Cupertino, California with product development facilities in Ottawa, Ontario.