Baclaran Parañaque Rizal

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 directly 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 been taken off Tesla’s designers’ drawing boards and put into production mode.

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

All their previous models, including the Roadster, Model S, and Model X (an SUV), are relatively expensive, and only a few middle-income American consumers can 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 and a premium exterior, featuring rear-wheel drive.  His choice of color, a deep blue metallic (an additional $1,500), and alloy sports wheels (an additional $1,500) added $3,000 to the cost, plus all taxes and fees.

The price would have gone even higher had he opted for one with an all-wheel drive (an extra $6,000 for the ‘basic‘ all-wheel drive and an additional $15,000 for the ‘performance‘ all-wheel drive) & enhanced Autopilot (an 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 three (3)  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 and 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 torque, and the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 5.1 seconds.  The car’s handling was exceptional 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, including its array of radars, sensors, cameras, and software updates for the touchscreen control panel, as well as the imposing all-glass roof.   All of the Model 3’s glass parts, including the windows, were manufactured by Saint-Gobain Sekurit, which traces its roots 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 —release your foot on the accelerator, and you accomplish two things: 1) Slows the vehicle 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 to push the recessed handle with one hand and grab the handle’s end once it pops out with your other hand — yes, 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 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 distracting when driving around the city, as you have to deal with all the car’s functionalities 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, or are now in the front luggage compartment, or are not easily accessible.

This means that if ever the car needs even the simplest 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 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 are expected to be introduced in the subsequent iterations of those models.

That is, if they – with their massive debt and government subsidies in the form of tax incentives ending soon- 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 have never forgotten this sometimes expensive hobby.  They say that the hearts of adventurous people lie 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, each with small banners attached to denote 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 has 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 corresponding app will suffice.  Changing crystals (to change radio frequency transmission) inside the transmitters is so passé; almost all new R/C models these days have Wi-Fi built in (primarily, 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, making it easier to fly.

More sophisticated but expensive models incorporate a GPS, 1080p, or 4K camera mounted on a small but high-end gimbal, as well as a range 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 has relegated the term ‘R/C’ to something more futuristic — ‘drone‘.

The drone market has experienced explosive growth over the last six (6) years, as amateur and professional photographers alike have made them an essential part of their ‘toolkits’ for capturing visually stunning aerial photos and video footage.

DJI not only manufactures a variety of “off-the-shelf” hobbyist drones catering to every budget but also “custom-made” ones tailored to specific applications, including military, science, agriculture, engineering, and, of course, the movie industry.

To capture the lower end of the hobbyist drone market, DJI partnered with CPU-maker Intel and Shenzhen, China-based Ryze Tech, and introduced 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 essentially a handy, portable computer with a nice 5MP webcam that flies.

What makes this little toy drone so fun is that it won’t hurt your pocketbook if you ever 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 approximately 10 minutes -according to the specs, it’s supposed to last 13 minutes (on a full charge) with a range of about 100 meters.  However, hacks like using a US$10 Wi-Fi repeater or range extender not only improve the range but also enhance the video quality transmission.

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

Accessories for the Tello are also inexpensive, such as the US$29 GameSir T1d Bluetooth controller, and cost around US$15 to US$25 for a 3 to 4-battery charging hub.  Extra original batteries, made by FullyMax, are approximately 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 genuinely 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 have mastered it, flying this tiny toy drone is remarkably easy. If you have grown tired of it but truly enjoy aerial photography, you could consider upgrading to a DJI Spark, followed by 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 named Volate!lo.  Priced at $5.49, the feature-rich app significantly enhanced the capabilities of the Ryze Tello drone, particularly the return-to-home feature, despite the unit’s lack of GPS.

Last November 2018, Ryze sold its Tello Boost Combo at a discounted price of only $99 (plus tax), down 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 and $170 if purchased individually.

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

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

It is essentially the same Tello unit, except for the Iron Man-themed protective shell, colors, and trims, which are 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!