Nektar launches Widiflex and Widiflex USB - Wireless MIDI solutions

15th August 2022 - KVR Audio News

Nektar's new Widiflex and Widiflex USB add fast wireless BLE MIDI functionality to almost any MIDI device and operating system. Here's what they say:

MIDI cables are of course essential ingredients in MIDI setups. But they tend to get in the way as they are hardly ever the right length - and keep keyboard players from moving around freely on stage. Enter Nektar Widiflex and Widiflex USB: These new wireless MIDI products with high-performance Bluetooth BLE MIDI help getting rid of those cables.

Widiflex is a set of two 5-pin MIDI Din plugs that add wireless BLE MIDI to almost any standard MIDI device. Plugged into the device's MIDI sockets, auto-pairing takes care of instant setup and connects Widiflex automatically with other BLE MIDI or WIDI products. The larger plug includes all the wireless functionality and connects to the MIDI out, the smaller one to the MIDI In. As Widiflex is powered from the device's MIDI bus, it does not require any external power supply.

To connect two standard MIDI instruments, one Widiflex set each is simply plugged into the instruments' MIDI ports. It is also possible to establish a direct Bluetooth connection with MacOS and iOS devices - for Windows the best choice is using a Widiflex USB to provide BLE MIDI functionality.

Widiflex USB is a USB dongle that adds Bluetooth BLE MIDI to all major operating systems, delivering an even better performance than integrated BLE MIDI solutions. As a USB-class-compliant device, it does not require any custom drivers and works with the operating system's MIDI drivers on supported platforms.

A groups feature enables wireless networks with up to 5 active WIDI devices (one central and up to 4 peripheral WIDI devices over 16 channels). It is also possible to create multiple fixed pairs of directly connected devices. Creation, management and recall of such user setups is greatly simplified by using the "WIDI app" for iOS and Android, which can be downloaded free from the corresponding app stores.

Widiflex and Widiflex USB both use Bluetooth 5, ensuring a secure connection for live and stage with twice the speed, four times the range (up to 20 metres / 65 feet) and half the latency of earlier Bluetooth versions. The minimum latency between two WIDI devices is as little as 3 ms, so even supported MacOS devices do benefit from using a Widiflex USB.

Widiflex and Widiflex USB are available now from Nektar resellers worldwide.

Pricing (MAP / MSRP):