The GH60 project is a tutorial and process for letting users assemble their own mechanical keyboard. There’s a decent intro here, and you can dig into foreign sites for the details. For us users, though, all you really need to know is that GH60 is the process of assembling a mechanical keyboard yourself. GH60 itself is just a keyboard PCB. Once you have the PCB, all that’s left is soldering switches, adding a case, and deciding whether to throw in LEDs. At first I stuck to the principle of “if you’re gonna do it, do it big” when picking parts, and by the end I found that an original Cherry switch + aluminum case + steel plate + custom purple-black-orange three-color keycap combo had already shot the price past 900. Damn it, at that price why wouldn’t I just buy a Filco?

It’s been almost two years since the Audio-Technica IM03 arrived… I actually really like these buds. At first I thought they sounded muffled, but later, whether they got burned in or something else happened, they ended up being the most “balanced across all three frequency bands” earphones I own. Treble is clear, mids are dense, and while the bass is a bit light, I personally lean toward a cleaner sound anyway — if I want bass, I’ve got the IE80. So these became my first choice whenever I’m in a bad mood. The IM03 I bought was a Japanese-market unit, no warranty. I used to worry it might suddenly die like my late, lamented TF10 — and that day finally came, though it wasn’t within any so-called warranty period.

The Chord Mojo is a DAC/headphone amp combo that’s been getting a lot of buzz lately, mostly because it’s tiny yet supposedly packs a serious punch. According to Digital Multi (数码多), the Mojo’s whole deal is its technical sophistication and advanced build, which is how they got it so small. Science and technology are the primary productive forces, as they say, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to grab one — at the very least it takes up less room in my backpack. Honestly, after getting my hands on it, it feels like a solid deal. The sound is decent, and the tinkering potential is through the roof.

Buying this was pure impulse — I was ordering one for someone else, saw the color and really liked it, it’s the purple I like, so I grabbed one for myself too. After ordering on the official site, I found out they also have a Taobao flagship store. And with the official site order, you don’t even know when the hell it’ll arrive, seriously… Later I asked the official staff on Weibo, and they said the official site is the same as Taobao, nothing to worry about. The pen supports engraving, but only in English. I got plumlis engraved on it… because I really couldn’t think of anything else. kiritanihaha is too long, hentai is too short. When it arrived I was struck by how it’s a proper China-market version — the packaging is way better than the blue Alstar I bought on Taobao.

I’d been wanting a hybrid IEM for ages, but I kept going back and forth: K3003, or the DUNU DN2000J? Some people said just get the K3003 and stop thinking about it. But the K3003 is way too fucking expensive. Others said the DN2000J matches the K3003 on technical ability — it just can’t command the K3003 price because it’s made in China. W at work, the train lover, has heard the K3003. He said it’s nothing special: the sound is too high, too floaty, too sharp, not a good buy — especially once he learned I listen to everything. “Honestly, for your taste, an Audio-Technica IM03 plus a Sennheiser IE80 is plenty. Don’t you already have the ER4P? Rotate those three and you’re covered.” But I still wanted a hybrid, just to experience one. At least something above the 100-yuan mark — below 100 yuan I’ve already got the Xiaomi hybrid. Thanks to a JD sale and 12 months of interest-free Baitiao, the dream came true.

I don’t remember where I read it, but at least one line stuck with me as pretty reasonable. “A lot of people gradually realize that their devices — everything except Apple — have almost all been replaced by Xiaomi.” I don’t use Apple, but looking back, there’s quite a bit of Xiaomi around me too. Mi Band, Redmi phone, Mi Power Bank, Mi batteries, Mi Piston earphones, Mi power strip, and… a Mi latex pillow.

Honestly, for the Surface Pro 4, being thin and light is the whole selling point. Slapping a case on it is kind of dumb. But in my case, there are still reasons it made sense.

Even though I use a laptop, and nobody really needs optical discs anymore these days — discs are old and stupid, after all. But back in the day, I thought optical discs were something utterly cool and aloof.

I remember when I bought the FiiO X7, I raised a suggestion on their forum. “Could you make the screen stay on and support phone or car Bluetooth control without sound output? I always run AUX out to the car stereo.” FiiO’s official reply said they understood my need and knew that controlling a car stereo through AUX input was a real problem, and they’d find a way to solve it. So direct car control really did turn out to be difficult. FiiO instead released this little thing, a Bluetooth remote…

The FiiO EM3 is FiiO’s new pair of flat-head earbuds. Honestly, my goodwill toward FiiO has been climbing steadily lately. The accessories are minimal — just the buds themselves and a few foam covers. That’s it. Since it’s positioned under 100 yuan, this earbud’s strengths and weaknesses are equally obvious.