Category: New Gizmos

I just have to have it — the venerable Toshiba Aurex System 15. I deferred buying the sleek, 4-piece micro hi-fi system almost 40 years ago in favor of the less expensive System 10 because of budget constraints when I was still a young ex-pat worker in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Minus the cassette deck (PC-D15), I could finally lay my hands on the champagne-colored set in April 2018 from an eBay seller in Germany for 403 Euros (about $500 at the exchange rate at that time).

I wrote a detailed article about System 10 and System 15 in 2018 after I was able to ship my beloved System 10 from Manila for my enjoyment here in the US.

After purchasing a new pair of black-ash veneered DALI Spektor 1 bookshelf speakers for my ‘new’ System 15, I realized that I am missing out on new audio technologies with my setup.

Even enhancement units specially designed for either system like the digital audio timer (AT-15) & ADRES (AD-15) noise reduction/dynamic range expansion units are almost impossible to find these days.

With the few options I have, a vintage audio timer (Yamaha DT-60) was my way of turning each unit on the set on or off — all at the same time! No remote-control capability.

But owning a 40-year-old hi-fi stereo set with still very capable audio components housed inside a spectacularly-designed micro form factor, extruded aluminum case that could put to shame current audio models in looks doesn’t mean you’re stuck in the yesteryears.

Yes, you could still have AirPlay, Bluetooth audio, server-based audio, Internet radio, and all the latest audio streaming trends of today with not only the Toshiba Aurex System 15, 12, or 10 but also any vintage high-end audio systems attached to those real-wood enclosed speakers that still sound oh-so-fabulous today.

There are two options: one is for the budget-conscious, and the other is for people with $400 – $500 to spare. I tried both, and here are my observations:

The first and cheaper option to have AirPlay and Bluetooth on the Aurex System 15 is to buy two small gadgets – Apple’s Airport Express (A1392) for AirPlay and any cheap Bluetooth Audio Adapter kit. Both gadgets set me back for only $60 — $37 for the Airport Express (used from eBay) and $23 for the Esinkin Bluetooth Audio Adapter Kit (new & comes with the power supply & audio cable – from Amazon).

Very important note: What I got (A1392) is a second-generation Airport Express (with a power cord). If getting an older generation Apple Express (one that plugs directly into a power outlet), make sure you get model A1264. Models A1084 and A1088 look identical to the A1264, but they will not work for AirPlay.

The hassle with this approach is that you can use only either AP or BT. Both gadgets connect to the AUX jacks on System 15. Get an AUX splitter if you want a 3rd gadget and more cables at the back.

Bluetooth, while convenient, is not the ideal way to enjoy hi-fi nirvana as its limited bandwidth makes for audio loss during transmission. Even with BT’s AptX codec (an algorithm that manages to reduce the bit rate of audio files without compromising on sound quality), your ear can always discern the world of difference when playing the same high-res, lossless-encoded song (FLAC, or ALAC) on your hi-fi audio system.

You might also contend with occasional disconnects of the AirPort Express -and AirPlay – even though it’s always powered on.

If the status light turns amber (disconnected), simply unplug the power cord (or the unit), wait for 10 seconds, and plug it back to put the unit back in action – green light (connected) status.

All our TVs, streaming devices, and audio systems are networked via gigabit Ethernet so that access to the web is instantaneous. This is ideal, especially when streaming high-res audio files via the Internet.

So, if you’re on a budget but would like to stream your music collection to your vintage audio system and don’t mind switching to either device via the AUX port for $60, this is not the wrong route.

The second but better option– if you have between $400 – $500 to spare- would be to get Yamaha’s WXC-50 Wireless Streaming Preamplifier.

Yamaha has a similar-looking unit – the WXA-50 with a built-in amplifier that delivers 55 watts per channel (8 ohms, 20 Hz – 20 kHz with two channels driven). It’s a tad more expensive and requires only your choice of speakers, which merits another blog post of its own.

With the Yamaha WXC-50 and the Toshiba Aurex System 15, you have two (2) ways to connect one to the other:

1). Use only the Aurex main amp (SC-M15) and connect it to the pre-out RCA jacks of the WXC-50. Make sure to slide the mode selector switch on the WXC-50 to ‘PRE AMP‘.

In this mode, all the features of the WXC-50 are active such as volume control, muting, equalizer, enhancer, direct, monoaural downmix, and speaker type. You will have total control of the WXC-50 either through your phone (via the MusicCast app) or the included remote control.

But note that in this setup, you’re also foregoing the functions of your Aurex System 15’s pre-amp (SY-C15), the FM-only tuner (ST-F15) and if you still have a functional one – the magical, 2-head, direct-drive, cassette tape deck player (PC-D15).

With remote control capability, the WXC-50 truly complements the small footprint of the Toshiba Aurex SC-M15 main amp. High-res audio streaming powered by a diminutive but elegant 40-year-old power amplifier is impressive!

2). Use the Yamaha WXC-50 in player mode only. Do this by keeping your current Aurex System 15 setup (where the pre-amp and tuner are both functional) as it is. Then, using a 2-channel RCA audio cable (white/red on both ends), simply connect one end to the AUX OUT of the WXC-50 and the other end to the AUX port on the Aurex (SY-C15) pre-amp.

Make sure that you slide the mode switch on the Yamaha WXC-50 to ‘PLAYER‘ and check that you’re also switched to AUX mode on the Aurex pre-amp – when you don’t hear any sound from your speakers.

With the Yamaha WXC-50 in PLAYER mode, the unit outputs at maximum volume, but most of the unit’s features are disabled, including volume control. You lose all remote control capabilities except to turn the WXC-50 on or off. All the stereo functionalities are handled by the Aurex System 15.

The app’s (Yamaha MusicCast) phone interface is almost identical — either iOS or Android, easy to navigate, and even offers 30-day trials to hi-res audio streaming via Tidal and Deezer.

I tried both while running iOS v 14.7.1 –later, v 15.3.1 (iPhone SE & XR) and Android 10 (Motorola G7), and you can hardly discern any difference.

So, the choice is yours. Use only the Aurex System 15’s main amp but have total control of the WXC-50 and how your music sources will be served – all via the MusicCast app on your phone or tablet.

But, if you want to enjoy the hi-fi capabilities of your Toshiba Aurex System 15, hooking it up via the AUX port is the way to go.

Like the original Argentine tango, which can have many variations, it always takes two to fully appreciate the dance.

Last week, Don, my brother-in-law, picked up his metallic deep-blue  Tesla Model 3 from one of the company’s showrooms –they sell their cars direct and not through a dealership–  in Fremont, California.

A year ago, he had put up a US$ 1,000 deposit for the promised US$35, 000 Model 3 unit that had just gotten off Tesla’s designers’ drawing boards and into production mode then.

The Tesla Model 3  was supposed to catapult the fledgling company into the mainstream car market.

All their previous models, the Roadster, the Model S  as well as the Model X (an SUV – sports utility vehicle) are relatively expensive, and only a few middle-income American consumers could afford them.

Tesla had been at the forefront in the rebirth of the all-electric vehicle boom that had seen the release of competing models from the big Japanese and European carmakers  -notably Nissan (the ‘Leaf‘) and BMW (the i3 – with the latest release, a 2-cylinder ‘range extender’ engine is now just optional )- as well as from the top 2 American car firms — General Motors (the Chevy ‘Bolt‘) and Ford (coming up with its ‘CUV‘).

As it turned out, Tesla’s promised consumer-friendly price tag of US$35,000 for the Model 3 ‘base model’ ballooned to almost US$57,000 after the company failed in its promise to offer one with the ‘standard batteries‘ during the consumer rollout.

Eager to drive home with his Model 3, Don was compelled to buy a more expensive unit with long-range (up to 310 miles) batteries + a premium exterior with rear-wheel drive.  His choice of color, deep blue metallic (extra $1500), and alloy sports wheels (extra $1500) set him back another $3,000 plus all the taxes and fees.

The price would have gone even higher had he opted for one with an all-wheel-drive (extra $6,000 for the ‘basic’ all-wheel drive and an extra $15,000 for the ‘performance’ all-wheel drive) & enhanced Autopilot (extra $5,000).

After all the extras, a fully loaded, top-of-the-line Model 3 goes for about $75,500 before all the taxes and fees –and that’s not a price for the average consumer.  For all that money, you could buy four (4)  brand-new (latest model) Toyota Corollas and still have a few thousand left in your pocket.

So for the US$57K price, he shelled out -before Federal & State tax incentives- Don’s Model 3 car should, at least, be impressive.  It is but not without some drawbacks.

Most electric cars have impressive torques, and the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 5.1 seconds.  The car’s handling was impressive as the 19″ wheels were big enough to mitigate some road imperfections.

You can’t say enough praise for all the tech goodies inside and outside the car with its gaggle of radars, sensors, cameras, software updates for the touchscreen control panel as well as the very impressive all-glass roof.   All of the Model 3’s glass parts, including the windows, were made by Saint-Gobain Sekurit, which traces its roots all the way back to 1665 in France as the Royal Glass Works.

And, as this is an all-electric vehicle, you tend to rely less on the brakes to slow down the car —just release your foot on the accelerator, and you accomplish two things: 1). slows the car down to a halt, and 2). you charge the batteries (regenerative braking).

Let’s get to the things that I didn’t like about the Tesla Model 3:

Firstly, the door handles.  Opening a door is a two-handed affair.  What??? You have the push the recessed handle with one hand and grab the handle’s end once it pops out with your other hand —yes, just to open a door.

Second, there is no manual override to open the glove box compartment.  To open it, you must turn on the touchscreen tablet (which acts as the sole instrument panel and controls everything inside the car) and push the ‘open glove box‘ button.  Too cool but also too dumb.  Any determined thief can simply use a screwdriver and force it open.

Third, and as mentioned above, the car relied too much on the 15″ touchscreen tablet in the dashboard’s center.  I honestly believe that Tesla did it to cut costs in the guise of the ‘cool’ factor.

This is especially too distracting when driving around the city as you have to deal with all the functionalities of the car on a touchscreen panel.  As if texting while driving is just not bad enough.

Fourth, for the steep price tag on any premium variants of the Tesla Model 3, real leather seats should be standard.  As it is, the ‘premium interior’ model could only boast of faux leather in black.

Lastly, except for topping off the windshield washer fluid, there’s nothing a Tesla Model 3 owner who’s keen on maintaining the car himself can do.  Most of the other end-user replaceable parts & fluids are either hidden underneath the car’s chassis –where the engine sits in your typical internal combustion vehicle is now a front luggage compartment-  or, not that easily accessible.

This means that if ever the car needs even the most simple maintenance, you may have to take it back to a Tesla dealership.  Bottom line: costlier upkeep. 

Other minor flaws need no mentioning and can be ignored, but the ones above are simply too obvious to be overlooked.

After all, Tesla’s mass-production model cars -starting with the 2012 Model S- had only been around for a few years.  Improvements should come in the next iterations of those models.

That is, if  -with their massive debt and government subsidies in the form of tax incentives ending soon-  they will remain viable and, most importantly, become profitable, as a company in the coming years.

Old habits die hard and R/C flying is one of them.

Since I caught the aerial remote-control bug during my almost 4-year stint in Saudi Arabia in the early 80s, I had never forgotten this sometimes expensive hobby.  They say that the hearts of adventurous people lies in the extreme desire to fly like birds.

R/C flying had come a long way since the days of gas-powered COX engines and radio controllers with telescopic antennas –with small banners attached to them that denoted the radio frequencies.

In today’s world dominated by computers, software, cell phones, and other Internet-connected devices, it comes as no surprise that the hobby of R/C flying had also evolved to take advantage of them.

Today, you no longer need a dedicated controller to operate an R/C device –a smartphone and the appropriate app will do it for you.  Changing crystals (to change radio frequency transmission) inside the transmitters are so passé –almost all new R/C these days have Wi-Fi built-in (mostly, at 2.4 GHz) and utilize that same wireless frequency to connect to the smartphone.   Bluetooth is also built-in for pairing with a dedicated remote controller for easier flying.

More sophisticated but expensive models incorporate a GPS, 1080p, or 4K cameras propped on small but high-end gimbals as well as a gaggle of extras for easy maneuvering even at long-range distances.  Not to mention longer flight times as well as apps with sophisticated features.

Currently, a Chinese company called DJI dominates the aerial R/C market and had relegated the term ‘R/C’ to something more futuristic — ‘drone‘.

The drone market had exploded in the last six or so years after amateur and professional photographers alike had made them an essential part of their toolkits to take visually stunning aerial photos and video footage.

DJI not only makes a variety of off-the-shelf hobbyist drones that caters to everyone’s budget but also custom-made ones depending on the application — be it in military, science, agriculture, engineering, and of course, the movie industry.

To capture the lowest end of the hobbyist drone market, DJI partnered with Intel and Shenzhen, China-based Ryze Tech, and brought out the Ryze Tello.

It’s a vision positioning system-equipped US$99 toy-hobbyist drone with a programmable Intel processor as well as a 5-megapixel 720p camera (at 30 fps) -not sure though, if some Hasselblad technologies were incorporated after DJI bought into the Swedish camera company in 2015- as well as some other tech goodies packed in 80 grams -battery included- of good-quality plastic and miniature circuit boards.

It’s basically a very, very small home computer with a nice webcam that flies.

What makes this little toy drone so fun is that it won’t hurt your pocketbook so much if ever you crash or lose it.  But, it’s so stable to fly that the only way you can lose or damage it is to fly it in very windy conditions.

In actual use, the Ryze Tello flies for a good 10 minutes -specs say 13 mins.- on a full charge with a range of about 100 meters.  But hacks like using a US$10 Wi-Fi repeater or range extender improve not only the range but also the video quality transmission.

Also, software hacks like TALS (free) and Altitude Limit for Tello (US$ 0.99) – but both are available only for iOS devices– can extend the 10-meter height limit of this little drone to 10x or 100 meters.  Be careful though as the vision positioning system of the drone gets compromised at over 10 meters.

Accessories for the Tello are also inexpensive like the US$29 GameSir T1d Bluetooth controller and about US$ 15 to $25 for a 3 to 4  battery-charging hub.  Extra original batteries -made by FullyMax– are about US$19.

These prices might be even lower if you get the Ryze Tello in ‘bundle deals‘.  I once saw a DJI stall inside a very popular shopping mall in downtown San Francisco selling the Ryze Tello with an extra battery for as low as US$ 89.

All in all, for about US$ 200, you can truly enjoy the thrills of R/C flying -or, shall I say, drone flying- without the nasty additional expenses associated with the learning experience alone.

Once you had mastered it -it’s so easy flying this tiny toy drone or, simply has grown tired of it but truly enjoy aerial photography, then, you could upgrade to a DJI Spark…and then to a Mavic Air, Mavic 2, or Pro.

April 2019 update:

In late 2018, a new app -available only for Android- called Tello FPV + RTH was released by a German hobbyist called Volate!lo.  Priced at $5.49, the feature-rich app made the Ryze Tello drone much more capable particularly the return-to-home feature despite the unit’s lack of a GPS.

Last November 2018, Ryze sold their Tello Boost Combo at a discounted price of only $99 (plus tax) from the current/regular price of $149 (plus tax) on DJI’s website.

The package includes the Tello drone, two (2) sets of spare propellers, three (3) original FullyMax flight batteries, a 3-battery charging hub, and a USB cable.

All the contents in the Boost Combo set would have easily cost between $150 to $170 if purchased individually.

It was such a steal that I couldn’t resist but get one as a spare unit.

Also, early this year, Ryze Tech released an Iron Man Edition of their best-selling beginner drone for die-hard Marvel fans which currently sells for US$ 129 (plus tax).

It is essentially the same Tello unit except for the Iron Man-themed protective shell, colors, and trims of predominantly metallic red and gold.   This special edition Tello also comes with its very own app called Tello Hero.

Note that you can use the standard Tello app to fly the Iron Man Edition Tello aircraft but you can’t use the special Tello Hero app to fly the $99 ‘ordinary edition’ Tello.

But, of course, you can also use the much better Tello FPV +RTH app by VolaTe!lo on the Iron Man Edition unit.

A must-buy for all Marvel fans and avid Tello flyers!

Sometime in May of this year, my six years old (purchased in January 2011) Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer  (HID-C10) received a control panel update to inform me that service for the device would end in July.

The last firmware update (from version 1.7.1461 to 1.7.1526) was done on April 08, 2016, after the device had issues “downloading the main control panel” and rendered it useless.

Over the 6+ years that I had owned the unit, there were intermittent issues with Sony’s backend servers that kept it inactive. But, Sony was always able to come up with firmware updates to keep the service going — until July of this year.

The Sony Dash is a small tabletop alarm clock-radio-weather/gadget with a 7″ touchscreen that sold for $199 when initially released in April 2010.  Its functionality relied 100% on the Internet, hence, WiFi (a/g) is built-in.

Aside from the beautiful design, the main attraction of the gadget, just like a smartphone, is its capability to load additional “widgets” (or, apps) via its built-in memory.  It enabled owners to stream videos and music from content providers like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Pandora, Slacker, Sony Music, etc.  There are also thousands of other useful widgets that range from the arts to zoology.

And so, one day in July this year, I saw the dreaded firmware update – 1.7.1604– that would turn an otherwise very useful device into a door stopper.

Of course, I did not do the firmware update but, instead, called Sony’s customer service (in the U.S., it’s: 1-800-222-7669) to ask them what to do with a useless unit.

To the company’s credit, it promptly replaced a product that had reached its ‘end-of-life’ (aka, planned obsolescence), with a choice of either an alarm clock/AM-FM radio (ICF-C1) or a Bluetooth speaker (XB10) after I e-mailed the image of the unit’s serial number.

When the replacement ICF-C1 clock radio arrived a week later via FedEx (shipping also paid by Sony), I grabbed the Dash that sat atop one of my stereo speakers – still with the ‘Update available’ screen- and yanked out its power supply.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the coastal city of San Diego, California, a guy had been very busy writing code to port the Dash (running firmware 1.7.1526) to make it work with Chumby.com’s server(s) after Sony’s May software update alert.

Chumby (now, operated by Blue Octy, LLC) is a small company behind a line of very affordable “Internet viewers” similar to the Dash. The Dash runs on an OS modified from the Chumby OS.

Finally, in early August, Blue Octy released the software patch (but only for the Dash HID-C10 model) that resurrected some Dash units.  The patch is Chumby-HIDC10-1.0.0.zip.  It could also be downloaded here.

So, if you have an HID-C10 Sony Dash, just ensure that your unit is running firmware 1.7.1526.  If you had accidentally installed firmware 1.7.1604 and bricked the unit, simply revert to firmware 1.7.1526 via the instructions here before applying the patch.

If you applied the patch correctly, you should have restored some usefulness to your Dash such as the clock, weather, and a few radio stations.  A $3 monthly subscription fee would enable one to get numerous apps as well as multiple channels on this gadget that — simply, refuses to go away.

If you’re a hard-core music enthusiast but still listen to your collections on your phone, then, you’re missing out a lot.

And, if you’re an Apple fanboy still buying songs through the iTunes Store and listening to them through your iPhone or iPad, then, you’re simply paying a hefty premium for the brand.

Songs bought from the Apple store are encoded in Apple’s version of the venerated (especially during the Napster years) MP3 format, AAC (Apple Audio Codec). It is streamed at 128 kbps bit rate with a sample rate of 44.100 kHz.  AAC (and, MP3) is a ‘lossy’ format but is very popular due to its small file size as a result of compression.

Although you could rip all your CDs to a lossless format within iTunes using ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), the resulting files are huge and are playable only in, of course, Apple’s devices.

FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an open-source musical format that will give you bit-perfect copies of CDs.  Not only that but also supports ‘tags’ that enable you to retain artists, album covers, lyrics, etc., on the format.

With FLAC, you’re not only getting half the space occupied by a CD with no loss in quality but you’re also going to be able to get up to 24-bit at 192 kHz of music.  That’s studio-master quality.  Clearly, MP3 and AAC are no match for FLAC.

Rare is the true high-definition audio enthusiast that listens to his FLAC collection on a smartphone.  For Android phone users, even with the rock-bottom prices of microSD cards these days, it’s just so obvious that smartphone makers are just too focused to make the camera features better.

And for iPhone users, it’s going to look ugly if you want to stick in a Lightning-capable microSD card adapter to expand the memory capacity of the unit as there’s no memory expansion slot on those phones.  And, the saddest part of all, you can only transfer pictures and videos using the adapter –no music files.   Apple simply wants you to pay $970 for their top-of-the-line unit with 256 GB built-in.

But even most high-end smartphones from Samsung and Apple don’t have the top-tier, audiophile-grade chips to support FLAC at 192 kHz/24-bit nor do they offer native DSD (direct stream digital) decoding which is the best way to listen to streaming music.

While high-quality audio always comes with a price, this doesn’t mean that you’ll have to break your piggy bank.  So, what are the cheaper options?

For content, there’s nothing that will beat allflac.com.  The U.K-based music website has one of the cheapest rates around and you’ll be surprised to find some of the songs that you can’t find elsewhere including the iTunes Music Store.

What’s more, not only do they have albums for as low as $1.99 but you can also download them in either FLAC, M4A, and MP3 (or, all) format.  There is no membership fee and you can fund your account for as low as $10 with no balance expiration.

There are a handful of high-definition audio players available especially in Asia, Europe, and the North American markets including the Kickstarter-funded, Neil Young-backed PonoPlayer as well as from well-known companies like Sony, Onkyo, Pioneer, and others.

But one company stands out because of its low price without sacrificing quality: FiiO. 

Highly recommended to budding audio enthusiasts with limited budgets would be the FiiO X1 (2nd generation) model.  It retails for US$120 but could be had for as low as US$80 discounted if you shop around.

It’s a mid-entry model but surely not lacking in features found in their more expensive ones.  Most importantly, it supports microSD cards up to 256 GB or approximately 8,700 plus FLAC songs (at 30 MB per song).  That’s a lot of studio-master-quality tunes to keep you in the groove.

The company’s catchphrase is “Born for Music and Happy” and, indeed, you’ll be more than happy once you had listened to some of your music collections – in the FLAC format.  Of course, using one of their portable high-definition players.

The difference in sound quality will astound you.