How to listen

Wireless hi-fi. Seriously.

You do not need an expensive traditional hi-fi front end to get excellent results from Freeform Speakers. A streaming service and a Bluetooth connection is all it takes. Here's why, and how.

The case for wireless

Bluetooth audio has grown up.

For years, Bluetooth audio had a deserved reputation for poor quality. Early codecs compressed audio aggressively, latency was unpredictable, and the connection itself was fragile. If you cared about sound quality, you used a cable.


That is no longer the case. The important change is not the Bluetooth version number — it's the codecs. Modern codecs like LDAC and the aptX family have fundamentally changed what's possible over a wireless link. LDAC can transmit audio at up to 990 kbps — enough for genuine high-resolution playback. aptX HD and aptX Adaptive offer robust, low-latency transmission at quality levels that are difficult to distinguish from a wired connection in normal listening conditions.

We are not making exaggerated claims. We are not saying wireless is always indistinguishable from wired in every scenario. What we are saying is that modern Bluetooth with a good codec implementation is now a credible hi-fi playback method — one that's practical, affordable, and more than good enough for serious listening.


Both the Freeform One and Freeform LX support Bluetooth 5.0 with LDAC and aptX. This is how we designed them to be used. Wireless is not a compromise. It's the approach.

Source material

Streaming quality is no longer the bottleneck.

The quality of music available through streaming services has improved enormously. TIDAL offers lossless and hi-res playback. Spotify now offers a lossless tier. Apple Music has lossless audio across its entire catalogue.


The source material is there. The question is how you get it to the speaker.

One important nuance with Apple: while Apple Music itself offers lossless content, Apple's standard Bluetooth playback path does not support LDAC or aptX. Apple devices use the AAC codec over Bluetooth, which is decent but not lossless. If you want to take full advantage of high-quality wireless codecs, an Android-based device paired with LDAC gives you a better wireless path than Apple's current Bluetooth implementation.


This is not a criticism of Apple. It's a practical observation about which route currently delivers the best wireless audio quality.

Our recommendation

A dedicated streaming tablet. Simple, cheap, excellent.

Our recommended setup is straightforward: a second-hand Android tablet running your preferred streaming app, connected to a Freeform speaker via LDAC.


A used Lenovo or Sony Android tablet can typically be found for around £60–80. Sony tablets are particularly relevant here — Sony developed the LDAC codec, and their devices have excellent native support for it. A Lenovo Tab is another solid, affordable option.


Install TIDAL, Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever service you prefer. Pair the tablet with your Freeform speaker over Bluetooth. Select LDAC in the Bluetooth audio settings. That's it.

What you end up with is a dedicated music source that costs less than a single interconnect cable from most traditional hi-fi brands. No amplifier. No DAC. No cables. No rack. Just a tablet and a speaker.


The tablet sits on a shelf or a coffee table. You control it with your finger. The music plays wirelessly at a quality level that would have required thousands of pounds of equipment ten years ago.


This is how we listen. This is how we recommend you listen. It is cheap, simple, high quality, and practical. It is the basis of how Freeform Speakers approach reproduction.

Why this works

The front end is no longer the weak link.

Traditional hi-fi thinking puts enormous emphasis — and cost — on the source and amplification chain. Turntable, phono stage, preamplifier, power amplifier, cables. Each component adds cost, complexity, and potential for degradation.


Freeform Speakers are active. The amplification is built in. The DSP crossover and equalisation are built in. The only thing you need to provide is the music signal — and a streaming service over LDAC provides that at a quality level that is, for all practical purposes, transparent.


The money you would have spent on a traditional front end is better spent on the speakers themselves. That is where the actual sound quality lives — in the drivers, the enclosure, the amplification, and the acoustic design. Not in the cable between your DAC and your preamp.


Wireless sound is the way forward. Not because it's trendy. Because it's now genuinely good enough, and it removes cost and complexity without meaningful sacrifice.

Hear for yourself

Come and listen.

If you'd like to hear what Freeform Speakers sound like with this setup, get in touch. We can arrange a listening session at our Greenwich workshop. Bring your own music. Hear the difference for yourself.

Arrange a listening session →