Tag: review

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) Review: Portable Powerhouse Gaming

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The Mini LED display is the primary differentiator between last year’s Strix Scar 18 model. Both can be upgraded to the RTX 4090, and both come with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM (though the 2024 model’s is a bit faster). The 2024 model has a slightly newer 14th-generation Intel Core i9-14900HX processor. Based on specs alone, I might be tempted to suggest looking for last year’s model on sale, but the Mini LED display with local dimming is such a great upgrade that it makes the newer machine stand out.

A Powerhouse Engine

It’s hard to find a more tricked-out gaming laptop, and the ROG Strix Scar 18 performs like the beast it is. The Intel Core i9-14900HX is one of the best laptop processors for gaming in raw power, and the Nvidia RTX 4090 laptop GPU is a powerhouse.

In Starfield, I consistently hit 60 fps even in high-density, low-optimized areas like New Atlantis, and regularly hovered around 80 to 90 fps in less demanding areas. Cyberpunk 2077 hit an even more impressive 90 fps during combat. Overwatch 2—a team-based online shooter designed to be less graphically demanding—stayed near 240 fps even in wild, chaotic team fights.

All of that is when the laptop is plugged into the charger. Raw power isn’t just a metaphor; the harder you push a GPU the more electricity it takes, and it generates more heat. Even starting games like Starfield or Cyberpunk 2077 made the laptop’s fans audibly whirr to life. If I had the machine on my lap, it immediately felt warm—but not quite hot—to the touch. I’d advise employing a lap desk with a hard surface to keep the laptop separate from your legs, and to maintain airflow.

When it’s not connected to the charger, however, performance (understandably) drops. Starfield and Cyberpunk got closer to 60 to 90 fps, which was still more than playable. However, games that demand high frame rates for competitive play, like Overwatch 2, were a bit more of a challenge. I dropped the frame rate as low as I could manage, down to 60 fps and at a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, which would be more than enough for most other games. Still, it was simply too choppy for me to play my usual heroes, and I got through only two or three games before the battery was low enough that I didn’t think I could make it through another match.

This is typical for gaming laptops with this much power. Asus cites the ROG Strix Scar 18’s battery life at around 5.6 hours for normal work, and games use a lot more power than Slack and Excel. Combined with how powerful the processor and GPU are, you should really expect to do heavy gaming only while close to an outlet. If you want to play light games like Stardew Valley, this machine is overkill and you can meet those needs for a few thousand dollars less.

LED Overload

There are a couple of smaller issues I’d be remiss not to address. Asus still hasn’t shed the Edgy Gamer Aesthetic, and it shows with the excessive amount of RGB LEDs. There are the usual LEDs in every key on the keyboard, which is fine—plus a strip of LEDs wrapped around the front edge of the laptop, a second strip on the rear just behind the screen hinge, and LED backlighting inside the logo on the back side of the screen. While plugged in and charging but not in use, the LEDs animate with a red sweeping motion every few seconds. It was distracting and annoying.

Microsoft has also made it somewhat more annoying to figure out how to turn off lighting effects (for now). Typically, controlling built-in LEDs meant fiddling with every company’s proprietary RGB LED controller app. Microsoft recently added tools directly into Windows to control lighting, making things simpler for consumers and manufacturers. As manufacturers add more support for the new tools, the Dynamic Lighting features should help make things a bit more coherent.

Until that happens, however, things are a bit worse. In the Asus Armoury Crate app, there’s a tab for Aura Sync (Asus’ proprietary lighting controller system), with a link that kicks you out to Windows’ Settings app. But some functions, like the sleep mode LEDs, are still controlled by the Armoury Crate app under a different section. It took a while to find the right toggles and get things working the way I wanted.

The Asus Strix Scar 18 is an incredible gaming laptop that packs a truckload of raw power with a price and bulky frame to match. If you already have a gaming laptop with anything better than an RTX 2080 (or equivalent), you won’t need to upgrade to this unless you’ve started playing much more demanding games. However, if you’re looking for a gaming laptop that will last you for several years without feeling its age—with a screen so vivid it rivals most TVs, plus plenty of ports to connect to external hardware—the ROG Strix Scar 18 is well worth it.

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April 15, 2024
Rolser Wallaby Tweed 2-Wheel Foldable Shopping Trolley Review: Practical Good Looks

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Some of the greatest icons of the streets of Paris are les dames d’un certain âge pulling their grocery trolleys down the sidewalk. In my mind, theirs always seem to be rickety things, giant wire baskets on cheap plastic wheels all holding a tarp-like bag into which they can put wine, cheese, leeks, and baguettes. Trolleys are supremely practical, particularly if you are on foot or even in the Métro, but thanks to a touch of modernization, they may be ready to make the leap across the pond.

Photograph: KELSEY MCCLELLAN

Spanish trolley manufacturer Rolser is leading that charge. The company sells a full line of trolleys, including my favorite, the Wallaby Tweed 2 Wheel Foldable Shopping Trolley. First, and kinda crucially, it’s good-looking, trading the rattling basket for a folding tubular frame with a 40-liter bag that, at roughly 7.5 inches deep, 13 inches wide, and 26 inches tall, looks a bit like a giant, fold-flat pannier. That sturdy fabric allows the bag to have sharp corners, and it’s rubberized to keep your Cheerios from getting soggy if you get caught in the rain. Combine that with fat-toothed zippers nestled in natty contrasting tape and the whole thing has a surprising hipness. Plus, big wheels with a 6.5-inch diameter and a bit of squish help smooth out bumps in the pavement.

I love using my trolley because it allows me to make a full grocery run without having to lug heavy bags all over my neighborhood, but what I immediately noticed about my Wallaby once I started using it was how many compliments I got every time I hit the street with it. A nice lady at the Mexican grocery down the block switched from admiring its practicality to making sure she knew the make and model before I left the store. Two other people on that same outing went out of their way to ask about it. At the grocery store, I came to appreciate a feature on this model where you fold it in half and then use a row of plastic hooks to clamp the empty trolley to the grocery cart while you shop. At the register, you want to make sure you load heavy stuff in first to keep from crushing more delicate or more delicate items, and there’s a large zipper that runs down most of the outer panel, making loading and unloading a bit easier. While other models have a cinch with a flap at the top, this one just has a stiff flap that gets in the way a bit when it’s time to load it. However, there are also a few well-placed pockets, both on the top flap and inside the bag for items like pens, keys, and produce bags. As someone who frequently marches around the supermarket with the grocery list on a clipboard, I like the large pouch on the back of the bag that accommodates it nicely.

Out of the sidewalk, it functions surprisingly well under load. Rolser has both a recommended load limit of 55 pounds and a “maximum load” of 88 pounds. For months, I’ve pushed mine toward what feels like it could be the limit, stuffing it with a few six packs, a big jug of kombucha, milk, and other heavy groceries to fill the bag. With its fairly large wheels and sturdy frame, it handles just fine. One day, I loaded it about two-thirds full with a fat stack of cookbooks to donate to the Seattle Public Library and, while the tires felt a little splashy on the way over to the Columbia Branch, the multi-block walk was still pretty easy. If you happen to have extra totes, those can be hung over the main bag, helping you free up a hand for waving to your jealous neighbors.

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April 14, 2024
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 Review: Big but Still Beautiful

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How much is great sound worth to you? Sennheiser’s top wireless earbuds ask that question in more ways than one. The previous version, the True Wireless 3, was praised by reviewers, but some users raised issues like battery drain and connection glitches. The Momentum True Wireless 4 set out to address these complaints with an all-new battery system among “over a dozen major upgrades,” according to Sennheiser.

Within this context, the two earbud dropouts I experienced in my first few days of testing the MTW4 stood out more than the usual new bud jitters. Especially since the latest pair sports the exact same exterior design as the MTW3, which is, in 2024, looking downright chunky compared to the competition. Size aside, a firmware update seems to have fixed those connection woes, and I’ve experienced no other dropouts over multiple days of testing.

One thing that’s never been in question with Sennheiser is sound quality. Even given their superb sonic pedigree, the Momentum 4 caught me off guard with their clarity, their sensitivity, and the sheer sweetness and delicacy with which they render every tone. They pair that with competitive noise canceling and a solid app. The result is a package that’s worthy of a little faith—especially for those who put great sound first.

Not-So-Spyware

If you’re at all familiar with Sennheiser’s long-running Momentum line, you’ll be feeling déjà vu with the fourth-gen version. The buds arrive nestled in what looks like the same boxy case from the original 2019 Momentum. It feels downright massive when compared to cases from Apple, Sony, and others. Still, you have to admire Sennheiser’s style, cloaking it with sleek fabric straight out of the James Bond Corduroy Collection.

The buds have morphed over time, but Sennheiser made no exterior changes from 2022’s MTW3 to maintain their “timeless aesthetic.” They certainly look premium with their angled, smoked-chrome housings but, timeless or not, I would have appreciated some ergonomic updates.

The buds barely wedge into my medium-size ears with the default band that flexes around the main housing, but swapping it for the smaller of two spares made them stable and relatively comfy for a few hours at a clip. They still feel bulgy and somewhat invasive, and at 6 grams per side, they don’t quite pull the disappearing trick of Apple’s AirPods Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) or other favorites. Four ear tip sizes let you further customize the fit, but those with smaller ears may want to try before you buy.

Plenty of Goodies

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Beneath their enameled shells, the MTW4 have undergone a relatively thorough makeover, from their new battery system (and firmware to optimize it) to support for the latest Bluetooth 5.4 protocol and a new low-latency mode for gaming. They’ve also now got dust protection, with an IP54 rating.

The battery is arguably the most important upgrade, which includes a new provider to ensure improved reliability. Playback is rated at a respectable 7.5 hours per charge, and 30 hours total with the charging case. This matched my testing, with the buds keeping pace at around seven to eight hours per charge with noise canceling on.

Call quality has been upgraded, with AI optimization designed to offer advanced clarity via the buds’ new Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. I didn’t notice anything special on my end, but I also never received major complaints from others, even while talking outdoors.

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April 12, 2024
Humane Ai Pin Review: Too Clunky, Too Limited

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“This is what I messaged you about!”

That was my mom’s reaction when she saw me wearing the Humane Ai Pin. This new artificial-intelligence-enabled wearable lets you access the power of AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4.0 and Google’s Gemini, plus a mix of others, wherever you are with a simple tap of the finger. My mom learned about it by watching her routine Indian news—a testament to the far-reaching buzz that Humane’s first product has generated.

She naturally wanted to see it in action, and I was happy to oblige. She was cooking in the kitchen, so I tapped on the Ai Pin and said, “Look and tell me what this is.” It took a glance at what was in front of me using its onboard camera, then told me I was staring at lettuce. (Correct!) My mom asked me to peel a cucumber, so I tapped the device to wake it up, then asked, “Do you need to peel a cucumber?” The Pin said it’s unnecessary unless the skin has been waxed or you plan to cook with it. My mom said she was making fish molee, so I asked the Pin what it was and, to our surprise, it understood and answered:

Fish Molly, also known as Fish Molee, is a Kerala-style fish stew made with coconut milk, coconut oil, curry leaves, green chilies, and lemon juice. It is a mildly spiced and creamy dish that is popular in Kerala cuisine.

This went on for a bit, but I increasingly began to doubt the accuracy of the information the Humane wearable was providing. My mom told me to avoid high-fructose corn syrup right as my dad handed me a bottle of Malta Goya—she said the sweetener in it was banned in California. The Ai Pin agreed with this when I asked it. However, California did not ban it; the state banned four food additives last year, none of which are high-fructose corn syrup.

On my parents’ TV screen, an image of a temple popped up on the Chromecast’s screensaver. My dad asked where it was, so I positioned my Ai Pin toward the screen and said, “Look and tell me where this picture is from.” The answer? Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I didn’t have a specific reason to doubt this, but because the Pin doesn’t have a proper screen, there’s no way to verify it. I launched Google Lens on my phone, pointed the camera at the screen, and … well, the temple is the Phraya Nakhon Cave in Thailand. The images in the Google search matched perfectly with the screensaver.

Not being able to fully trust the results from the Ai Pin’s Ai Mic and Vision features (the latter is still in beta) is just one problem with this wearable computer. Unfortunately, there’s not much else to do with it as it’s missing a great many features. The Humane Ai Pin could be an interesting gadget a year from now after promised software updates, but at the moment it’s a party trick.

Put a Pin in It

Tapping the wearable Pin is the main way to interact with it.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

After you buy a Humane Ai Pin, you’ll need to set up a Humane account and passcode. This way, once you receive your device, everything is ready to go; just enter your passcode. It’s seamless.

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April 11, 2024
Arturia AstroLab Review: World-Class Synths in a Keyboard

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But perhaps AstroLab’s best trick for finding what you need is playlists and songs. These are grouped presets that you’re able to bounce between with the push of a button. So if you need a quiet pad from an Ensoniq SQ-80 for the verse and a razor-sharp lead from an MS-20 for the chorus, you can group them into a song, which turns the instrument type buttons into direct shortcuts to specific presets. Songs are then further organized into playlists. You just press the arrow buttons below the screen encoder to jump to the next track in your set and load up another batch of presets.

If you can’t find what you need among the factory sounds or any of the countless sound packs available from Arturia, you can always design a patch from scratch in one of the instruments as part of the V Collection. Then you can save it as a preset and load it on the keyboard. Granted, this requires shelling out for V Collection, but it frequently goes on sale, and if you already own Analog Lab Pro, which is included with AstroLab, you get an even steeper discount.

World-Class Soft Synths

I’m halfway into this review, and I haven’t talked about the sound at all. This is partly because, well, it’s Analog Lab. It’s an industry staple and sounds fantastic. If you’re not familiar though, rest assured you’re getting some of the finest emulations of vintage instruments available. When you compare the price to even one of the iconic keyboards it’s recreating, the value is undeniable.

The Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Hammond B3 compare favorably with what you’d find on a Nord stage keyboard, but for almost half the price. It convincingly delivers that percussive dizzying effect you’d get from an organ running through a Leslie and the smooth chime of a Fender Rhodes.

In addition, you get rather faithful versions of basically unobtainable synth gems like a Moog Modular, a Yamaha CS-80, or a Fairlight CMI II. Not to mention mass-market classics like the Yamaha DX7 and Casio CZ-101. Plus Arturia’s Pigments and Augmented lineup, which marry orchestral, piano, and vocal samples with a robust synth engine. You’ve got access to everything from crunchy lo-fi piano and EDM bass wubs to soaring string pads perfect for scoring a sci-fi thriller.

The only real weak spot is the acoustic pianos. They’re not terrible and have definitely improved over the years, but they still feel a touch thin and flat compared to the real thing. The chances that anyone would complain about them at your next gig, though, are slim to none.

It’s worth noting that this is currently the only way to get Arturia’s Pigments in hardware form. That’s something that gets me personally really excited. I think it’s the best softsynth on the market, and it can easily go toe-to-toe with other giants in the space like Massive and Serum.

Some will speak of things being a VST but built into a MIDI controller derisively. But that feels reductive here. For one thing, this isn’t just some bare-bones digital synth. And the hardware it’s crammed into is luxurious. The semi-weighted keys feel incredible, and they have aftertouch (though sadly not polyphonic). The pitch and mod wheels are solid pieces of aluminum, and the screen, while small, is bright and colorful. There are even some handsome wooden cheeks on the side. This looks and feels like a high-quality piece of gear.

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April 9, 2024
KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine Review: Quiet and Compact

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KitchenAid is a brand that’s had a place in every home kitchen I’ve ever had, even growing up. When I bought my own KitchenAid stand mixer for the first time after college, my apartment finally felt like a place where a grown-up lived. My affection for that stand mixer cannot be overstated, so naturally my ears perked up when KitchenAid announced it was revamping its espresso machine lineup.

There are three new fully automatic espresso machines: the KF8, KF7, and KF6. Then there’s the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine, plus a 2-in-1 with a built-in burr grinder. I love a good fully automatic espresso machine for its expedience and ease, but there’s a part of me that just craves the practiced ritual of brewing your own espresso at home. The first of these machines to make their way to my doorstep was the Semi Automatic, so here we are. Keep an eye out for my review of the automatics soon.

Considerate Counter Footprint

I’m a lifelong apartment-dweller, and one of the many lessons I’ve learned from a life spent apartment-hopping is the value of counter space. When I set the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine on my counter for the first time, I couldn’t help but smile.

This is a fully-featured espresso machine with a built-in burr grinder, and it fits in the area previously occupied by my rice cooker—a strip of counter too narrow for other practical uses. This machine is narrow, clocking in at about 13 inches wide and 15 inches tall. It fits comfortably, with room to spare, underneath my somewhat low-hanging kitchen cabinets.

Photograph: Jaina Grey

Because of the tight space in my kitchen, it’s sometimes hard to access the water tank on the back of espresso machines I test. Usually, I have to either wrestle to remove the tank and bring it to the faucet, or resign myself to filling it by carrying cup after cup from my sink to the machine. The KitchenAid Semi Automatic effortlessly navigates that little stumbling block by having wheels on the bottom. I can just pull the machine away from the wall, turn it sideways, and fully remove the water tank.

I initially worried the machine would be too slippery with wheels, making it hard to tighten the portafilter into place without the whole thing sliding all the time. Thankfully, the wheels are smooth but they do require a little muscle to move—a good thing. To twist the portafilter in place, you still have to brace it with one hand, but you typically have to do that with small espresso machines anyway.

The wheels also make it so much easier to clean under and behind the machine. I’m currently testing another espresso machine on my other countertop, and it’s so heavy that moving it to clean up any spilled grounds or ultrafine coffee dust that’s accumulated behind the machine is a huge pain. A literal pain, given my chronic back issues.

Whisper Quiet

This KitchenAid machine features a certification from Quiet Mark, meaning it’s been tested to ensure it’s as quiet as possible (there’s a cute little Q sticker on the front of the machine). I was skeptical because even quiet grinders can get pretty loud. I was wrong. This Semi Automatic just might be the quietest espresso machine I’ve ever tested.

Grinding the beans produces only a little mechanical whirr sound. It’s quiet enough that you can continue to have a conversation while it grinds—a test every other grinder that’s come through my kitchen has failed, even the quiet ones. The grinder is also remarkably consistent. It produces grounds fine enough for espresso and coarse enough for other brewing methods. I think it can fully replace a countertop coffee grinder, no matter what kind of other coffee you like brewing.

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April 8, 2024
Cherry MX2A Review: A Revamped Classic

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The Cherry MX switch is, arguably, one of the most important mechanical keyboard switches of all time. Some might argue it’s one of the best mechanical switches ever. No other switch has quite the same legacy. It’s been around for decades and is one of the few switches that run the whole gamut of keyboards. You can find it in everything from point-of-sale systems, office cubicles, and police cars to gaming setups and even premium, limited-run custom keyboards.

Until recently, nearly every mechanical gaming keyboard shipped with MX Reds, Browns, or Blues. For a long time, Cherry’s switches were the best option—mechanical switch or otherwise—for building a keyboard, and they had a reputation for their outstanding typing feel and longevity when compared to their rubber dome and scissor-switch contemporaries.

I have a love for the original Cherry MX switches. They still have a personality and charm no other switch has been able to replicate. I type on them regularly, almost every day, and always find them a treat to use, despite their shortcomings. So it came as a surprise when Cherry announced a successor with the MX2A. How could one of the most beloved and long-lasting mechanical switches suddenly change so drastically? Could these changes make the MX better?

Photograph: Henri Robbins

Cherry’s Legacy

The Cherry MX Black is the mechanical switch. It’s a fairly heavy linear switch made entirely of Cherry’s proprietary blend of plastics and has been in production since 1983 with only minimal changes until now. Cherry rates its MX switches for 100 million keypresses, and it’s not unheard of for MX Blacks to be in operation even after two decades of near-constant use. They eventually became a signifier of quality: If you saw a keyboard with MX switches, you could be pretty sure that it would be both reliable and enjoyable to type on.

As the custom keyboard scene started to form in the early 2000s, people realized something interesting—the longer you used MX switches, the smoother they were to type on. This was true for all of them but most noticeably for MX Blacks. They were the most common in high-use office and point-of-sale systems and had a heavier spring that required more force to be pushed down, resulting in the plastics seeing large amounts of wear.

These “vintage” MX Blacks—which had to be desoldered from older keyboards—became incredibly sought out by enthusiasts for their smoothness, and their scarcity increased demand even further. At the time, Vintage MX Blacks were the best switches possible for a custom-built keyboard kit.

It’s worth noting that these worn-in switches are fairly scratchy by today’s standards. Modern switches, made from higher-end materials and lubed from the factory, are leagues ahead of MX switches in smoothness. However, many keyboard hobbyists today see the MX Black as having a “good” scratch compared to the scratchiness of other switches. It’s consistent, subtle, and rather charming as long as you don’t expect perfection. There are no sudden bumps or catches, but instead a consistent friction that feels more “real” and satisfying than something engineered for perfect smoothness.

Photograph: Henri Robbins

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April 7, 2024
Fender Tone Master Pro Review: The Classiest Modeling Amp

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While enthusiasts are still fussing over tube amps and drooling over effects pedal collections, gigging musicians are in the midst of a digital revolution. Offerings from brands like Kemper, Line 6, Fractal Audio, and Neural DSP all allow musicians to model tube amps digitally, with results that come astonishingly close to the real deal.

These new digital modeling amps are easy to set up, reliable, and much lighter and more compact than previous rigs. These days, the sounds are also remarkable. Unless they’re in the studio, many modern musicians are using digital options for their sounds, and many of those options are making their way onto hit tracks.

Fender has competed in the digital amp space for decades, but its new $1,700 Tone Master Pro, which launched late last year, is the first truly pro-tier option that we’ve seen from the brand in recent memory. It’s also one of the most intuitive I’ve ever laid eyes on. With classic models of iconic amps and effects, a touchscreen, excellent onboard controls, and a shocking amount of digital processing power, it’s essentially a portable guitar studio. It also has a four-channel audio interface and hundreds of microphone modeling and cabinet modeling options that easily compete with the real deal—even in the studio. It’s even pretty awesome for karaoke.

If I were shopping for an all-in-one guitar solution that works both in my bedroom and on stage, especially if I didn’t want to fuss around in menu screens forever, this is the one I’d pick.

Photograph: Parker Hall

The New Black Box

The Tone Master Pro looks nearly identical to most of the other all-in-one amp/pedalboard solutions I’ve seen. Essentially, it’s a black slab that is supposed to sit in front of you while you play, either on the floor or on a desk. A 7-inch touchscreen sits between two silver knobs on the top of the device, flanked at the bottom by 10 pedal switches and associated LED screens. It’s all very clean and modern, easy to hide while you play on stage.

One quirky and familiar thing I love is that Fender included its classic red power light on the back of the device, so you can easily tell it is on like a “normal” Fender amp. The rest of the rear of the Tone Master is a smorgasbord of inputs and outputs the likes of which I’ve never seen on a guitar amp.

There are stereo outputs in both quarter inch and XLR; four separate effects sends and returns (two stereo) for using outboard pedals and effects with the device; two expression pedal outlets; a mic/line and instrument input; as well as a foot switch control, 3.5-mm aux in, headphone output, MIDI in and out, USB-C, and MicroSD. And also, Bluetooth. If you need more, you probably need a mixing board or a patch bay.

Photograph: Parker Hall

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April 7, 2024
Teenage Engineering TP-7 Field Recorder Review: Price, Specs, Availability, Features

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Recorders, generally speaking, are meant to sit in the background, quietly absorbing sound without contributing to it. They’re a neutral, inconspicuous product type almost by necessity. If you’re recording field audio, like trying to capture the perfect loon call out in the wild, you’d be better served by a proper shotgun mic to pinpoint the sound. Audio recorded directly in a studio sounds great on the TP-7, but again, you can handle that with some far less expensive yet still really good microphones.

The device can also be tricky to navigate, with some menu diving required to access certain features that won’t feel intuitive right away. There’s also some kinks you’ll find if you’re coming from another type of recorder.

As one example, I tried to feed music from Spotify through the TP-7 to test the line-in functions, with a pair of headphones plugged into the output jack so I could monitor the sound. At the time, I didn’t realize that by default the audio still played through both the plugged-in headphones and the on-device speakers. That is, until my girlfriend came in from the other room, laptop in hand, to tap me on the shoulder and say, “I’m getting on a call with my boss. Can you please stop blasting that song.”

I was able to solve this little problem, along with a few similar snafus, by sifting through the thick little flip-book that is the instruction manual. But sometimes there wasn’t exactly an intuitive way of figuring that out without manual diving. And some interactions take a bit to get the hang of.

Leaving the recorder running, for instance, takes two button presses—one tap of the red Record button, then a separate press of the Play button right next to it. On similar devices from other brands, you usually just tap the Record button once and it starts taping. These little idiosyncrasies are the price you pay for something like this. (Besides, you know, the actual price you pay for it.)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Viewing the TP-7 from some kind of hoity-toity professional standpoint is perhaps a little disingenuous. Because the TP-7 is just a good time. It’s far more fun than you’d expect a recorder to be. After all, you’ll recall that the whole front disc spins while you’re recording, and the thing just feels great in your hand, with all its clicky-clacky buttons and smooth switches.

There’s also clever, well-thought-out functions that make recording more interesting. If you press the Play button a second time while playback is going, the disk will reverse its spin and play the audio backward. It’s a fun little option that could be great for music producers fiddling a sample or anyone checking their recordings for any secret satanic messages.

Also the ability to mix and match inputs and outputs with the plugs at the top offers a great deal of flexibility for combining with other audio gizmos. I paired the TP-7 with another of Teenage Engineering’s creations: the EP-133 K.O.2, a remarkably affordable (for Teenage Engineering) sampling device. By mixing and matching the input and output cables between the devices, I could record from the sampler into the TP-7, then manipulate the sound there and port it back over to the sampler, with the DJ scratch sounds fully intact.

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April 7, 2024
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 Review: These Solid-State Earbuds Sound Insane

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For those of us who can’t stop listening to music on the go, the past decade has been a whirlwind. We’ve seen the rise of AirPods—and the associated loss of the headphone jack—in addition to a vast array of microphone, noise-canceling, and other feature improvements that make listening on the go more convenient. One thing we haven’t really seen? A big jump in audio quality.

With its new solid-state drivers, California-based xMems has finally offered us a real leap in how earbuds generate sound. Using the same technology pioneered for producing microchips, these silicon earbud drivers provide a flatter, cleaner overall signature, in addition to significantly added robustness when compared to previous technology.

We first tested xMems’ tech inside a ludicrously expensive (and awesome-sounding) pair of milled titanium earbuds from Singularity Industries, but that felt akin to trying a new eco fuel inside a Ferrari. With two new pairs of earbuds (confusingly named the Aurvana Ace and Aurvana Ace 2, despite simultaneous releases), the folks at Creative Audio have made this brand-new tech accessible to all. In essentially the same form factor, and for the same price as Apple’s standard AirPods, you can now hear the drivers of the future. When it comes to audio quality for the money, there is no contest: Solid state is the future.

Twinsies

Both pairs of Creative’s new earbuds appear almost identical from the outside, sporting familiar elephant-trunked designs in black with copper-gold accents on the outside of each bud. You can tell which pair is which from the charging case. The standard Ace come with an opaque black shell, whereas the Ace 2 come with a see-through gray that reveals a shiny gold interior to the clamshell.

Photograph: Parker Hall

Under the surface, they both get the same xMems driver technology, but the Ace 2 get better processing. The Ace 2 also support lossless Bluetooth audio and come with adaptive noise canceling rather than the non-adaptive, non-lossless technology inside the regular Ace. Both rounded cases offer 18 hours of battery reserve and Qi wireless or USB-C charging, in addition to the six hours of playback inside the buds. For the purposes of the rest of the review, I’ll focus on the Ace 2, which have the same drivers as the Ace but have the aforementioned higher-end chipset. At just $20 more (MSRP), they’re a better buy.

Touch Type

Touch controls on the outside of each bud allow you to tap twice to play or pause music, or hold the outside of each bud to increase or decrease volume (the left side turns it down, right turns it up). These buttons weren’t easy to use; I tended to use Creative’s headphone app and my phone’s controls to mess with the buds when I needed to, which worked fine.

One thing I do like is their simple, easy-to-understand code for telling how much battery is left in the charging case. A red light means 0 to 30 percent, yellow 31 to 70 percent, and green 71 to 99 percent. It’s simple, and it’s helpful for those of us who leave buds in bags for gym time and rarely take them to the charger.

Speaking of gym time, you’ll have no problem breaking a sweat in these, or at least I didn’t, thanks to an included IPX5 rating for water resistance. I used them for many trips to my gym and even some time in the sauna with no issues.

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April 6, 2024