Category: play

For about the past five years now, I’ve known that bookshelf speakers would be an essential component of my living space. The stereo output, with good separation of left and right sound, is tailored to our binaural hearing. I leave the more elaborate 5.1 speaker configurations to complex home cinema setups. To me, there is a purity to a two-piece bookshelf speaker format.

The 685 S2’s deliver the classic B&W sound: sibilant clarity, excellent dynamics, and punchy, but unoverwhelming, bass. Each unit is equipped with a decoupled reinforced dome tweeter and kevlar drivers – all packed into its compact rectangular body. Its black wooden exterior calls no unnecessary attention to itself. Instead, the speaker focuses on simply being an effective medium for music.

I have found myself losing track of time in the listening experience with these speakers. When I first got them, I was astonished by their immersive sound. Today, two years on, I still find myself enamoured on lazy afternoons, as they swiftly deliver rhythm and tone. 

There is design that is good by measure of its intuitiveness and effortlessness in usage (this might be well exemplified by the inevitable curve of a spoon), but the Fujifilm X100 is a child birthed from design of a different measure.

In 2010, Fujifilm released the X100 to much fanfare, but also frustration. The camera descends from multiple photographic lineages. The APS-C sensor is standard for an SLR, but it works mirrorlessly like a rangefinder. A quirky reverse Galilean viewfinder makes it possible for the contraptions to work together within its compact body.

The X100’s distinctive body style was a pleasant surprise to the photography community. It has a lightweight magnesium build with solid metal top controls and dials. The traditional analog inputs are reminiscent of the halcyon days of film.

Yet despite its beauty, using the camera is hardly intuitive. Its many quirks make spontaneously shooting a picture just about impossible at first. Each photographic outcome requires active thoughtfulness and an overall sense of deliberateness. Odd as it may sound, this turns out to be a somewhat noble pursuit. After all, it results in each individual photograph having more human and less machine put into it. And is that not wonderful? 

When the iPhone 5 was first released in 2012, it was arguably the most beautiful smartphone to have been produced. My friend @julian described his slate coloured variant as “holding perfection in his hands”. And after seeing it in the flesh, I was resigned to agreement. This 7mm block of aluminium was a practice in both inventive modernisation and confident restraint. The chamfered edges, flat build, and rounded corners were a manufacturing chef d’oeuvre. So when Apple announced the iPhone SE in 2016, I was overjoyed. 

The SE essentially packs the improved internals of the newer iPhone 6S into the compact body of an iPhone 5S. We live in the chaotic infant stages of the information age where apps are constantly wrestling for our attention. The 4-inch screen taunts me less to be preoccupied with a two-dimensional display. My most used apps on the phone are Telegram, Spotify, Podcasts, and Safari. Which highlights how the SE serves the function of being first a communication tool, followed by a digital audio player, and only then a visual media device. There might be a day when a notchless edge-to-edge screen becomes irresistible, but for now, I am enchanted by this slab of space grey aluminium. 

First released in 2010, these ruby wonders are still a treasure. The bass is punchy without being overwhelming and the soundstage spacious. But where these compact in-ears really sing are the treble and mids. Even without an amplifier, the clarity of the sound reveals details in the most familiar of songs that were previously missed. They are accurate without being too scientific – still lending a bit of fun to the hearer. The fit isn’t perfect, but they fit me well enough with the medium-sized foam tips. And short of going full custom with some JH13’s, these are arguably the choice universal fit IEMs for us mortals out there