Sennheiser Unveils Industry's First True Wireless Stereo Earphones Using Kleer Technology

Cupertino, CA, January 4, 2008 - Kleer™ (www.kleer.com) today announced that world renowned
audio specialist Sennheiser has introduced the industry's first true wireless stereo
earphones based on Kleer's wireless audio technology. Sennheiser's new MX W1 wireless
earphones deliver crystal-clear CD-quality stereo sound, in addition to providing extremely high
noise immunity in the crowded 2.4 GHz band environment. All Kleer-based products are fully
interoperable, enabling the MX W1 earphones to receive wireless audio from any Kleer-based
portable media player. Kleer's Listen In™ technology also enables two or more people, each with
a set of MX W1 earphones, to listen to the same audio stream at the same time.

"Kleer's digital radio transmission technology produces excellent sound quality which means that
for the first time, we're in a position to offer our customers wireless earphones without
compromising our special Sennheiser sound," said Stijn Jans, Managing Director of Sennheiser
Consumer Electronics, Singapore branch. "Kleer's very low audio signal latency, coupled with
extremely interference-free transmission also translates into considerably longer battery life than
what you'd get with conventional transmission standards."

About the Sennheiser MX W1 True Wireless Earphones

The MX W1 is comprised of two sleek ear pieces (untethered right and left earphones) featuring
Sennheiser's 'twist-to-fit' system to ensure a secure and comfortable fit in each ear. Kleer's 5x -
10x power advantage over Bluetooth has enabled Sennheiser to use the smallest rechargeable
coin cell battery in the world, thus facilitating a compact, ergonomically pleasing industrial design
that consumers demand. The earphones also come with a small, matchbox-sized transmitter and
a transport case which includes an integrated battery that can recharge the earphones when
away from home.

"The name Sennheiser has been synonymous with top-quality audio products for over 60 years,"
said Levent Gun, President and CEO of Kleer. "It's therefore a huge vote-of-confidence that this
industry giant has validated our wireless audio technology with an outstanding product that we
believe will set a new standard in wireless audio sound. The MX W1 represents the best our
respective companies can offer to consumers in wireless earphone technology and design."
The MX W1 will be available from May 2008.

The Jet Stream player itself is much like the RCA Jet now on sale: it's got 1GB memory, a tiny color screen capable of video as well as music, 15-hour battery life, Napster and Rhapsody compatibility, and both arm and wrist bands for different workout preferences. At $139, though, the cute blue Jet Stream is twice the price of a standard Jet, thanks to its earphones.

They are not Bluetooth, and as such, they don't suffer from the digital compression and latency issues that Bluetooth often exhibits. Pairing was instantaneous and automatic, happening when both the player and headphones are powered up. You can control the volume from the headphones, and there's also a Play/Pause button, though for track advance, you'll have to touch the player itself.

When you use the headphones as intended, they are clear beyond reproach. The tracks I listened to sounded fantastic, especially for a low-end MP3 player, let alone one using RF wireless headphones. They are super lightweight, which has not been the case with Bluetooth headphones I've tested, and come with optional ear clips, as you can see in the gallery. When I pulled up a video to watch, it was fairly compressed on the tiny screen, thanks to proprietary software you need to load video, but I didn't notice any lip-sync trouble, a challenge for wireless systems.

The battery life of the headset itself is 10 hours, pretty good, but not as good as the player. The bummer is that they recharge separately, both requiring its own USB jack for power up. (You might want to invest in one of those wall-socket USB plugs.) The advertised range is 20 feet, but RCA says that it's not supposed to be used at any distance: it's there to keep you from getting tangled in the wires.

Speaking of wires, you need to use the included wired headphones for FM radio, as the wire itself acts as the FM antenna.

The Jet Stream is available for pre-order today on Amazon, and will appear at Wal-Mart in the next two to three weeks.

Products using Kleer won't be out until '07, so you'll have to make due with Bluetooth until then. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Kleer via Mobile Mag]