Aiwa AD-F350U Used a tape deck very much like the one pictured here. It was the first audio equipment I purchased. It played through a little amplifier I purchased in kit form and assembled in a high-school electronics class. I dubbed many, many records from friends. Listened to hundreds of albums purchased new on cassette. Thousands of hours of my life are connected to this. Such an 80s artifact. It survived into the early 2000s but one too many lightning strikes to the power grid took it out.

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Despite the shipping company doing almost everything possible to unbox my AirPods for me, Apple’s overkill packaging protected the cargo very well. The setup experience has been truly lovely, the controls are lovely, integration with Apple Watch is lovely, audio is lovely, Transparency is lovely, Noise Cancelling is impressive. Okay, I’ve only had them for scant hours now. These aren’t the first bluetooth headphones or earbuds I’ve worn, nor the first true wireless pair.

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