New Old Speakers

These were a best seller for Diatone / Mitsubishi back in 1973, so there are quite a few in the secondhand markets now. They couldn’t be called transparent, but they are very nice to listen to — they have a distinct sound that I can only describe as smooth and liquid, with a chunky low end. Reference recordings don’t sound as good as on a reference system, but average recordings sound good, and even bad recordings are listenable.

Diatone DS-251 MkII Specifications:
Alignment: 3-way sealed cabinet
Woofer: 25cm paper cone
Tweeter: 5cm paper cone
Super Tweeter: 3cm aluminum cone
Crossover Frequency: 2000Hz, 10000Hz
Frequency Response: 40Hz – 25000Hz
Nominal impedance: 8Ω
Power Handling: 40W
Sensitivity: 91 dB/W
Size: 315 × 525 × 240mm WxHxD
Weight: 12kg

Chinese Shoes

A few months ago, Coolhunting mentioned some classic Chinese shoes that were supposed to be the next big thing in Europe. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but walking around Hongkou last week I saw the exact same Feiyue (飞跃) trainers at a sporting goods store on Sichuan N Rd. They’re light and comfortable, but most importantly they’re cheap — around ¥30 for men’s sizes. According to Coolhunting, they go for £40 (¥600) in London, but you can get them “direct” from Feiyue for only €50 (¥540). Seriously, if anyone wants to sell a container or two of these in the US I’ll split the 2000% markup.

At the same store, Damen bought a pair of Warrior (回力) low-top basketball shoes, also around ¥30. Apparently these were the standard gym shoe for schoolkids in the ’80s — sort of Chinese Chucks. I haven’t noticed anyone wearing them in Shanghai, but that’s probably just because Chinese kids haven’t figured out irony yet. Next time I’m in the neighborhood I plan on picking up a pair for myself, if only for the amazing retro cool packaging: