Pocket Squares

Koss Portapro First Day

ronaldleong — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:53:55 +0000

I have heard many good things about the Koss Portapros for a few years already but I only actually heard them recently in Sweden while watching a 3D documentary in a museum. It was a little tricky evaluating the cans then – I was listening to the English translation with them while the original Swedish was being blasted through the theatre’s sound system. But the listening experience was good enough to entice me to get a pair.

So I finally got my hands on what is arguably the most legendary ‘bang-for-buck’ portable headphone ever made. Today is the first day of it’s working life. I know that a PortaPro bought today probably won’t sound or feel exactly the same as one bought a decade ago due to tweaking on Koss’s part and the inevitable variations in quality control. So this little write up is just based on my ears, this pair of cans that arrived today and whatever personal opinion I have.

The build quality is interesting. It feels cheap; yet sturdy. It is flimsy to handle and adjust; but once you are all settled, it is so comfortable, you’d forget it’s there. You do have to be careful when adjusting the head band… I lost a strand of hair within the first 5 seconds of fiddling with it. Aesthetically it belongs to the 80′s, which translates to most people as ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’. For me, I like that it’s got a quirky personality – which is a wonderful trait, 80′s or not.

I decided to check the sound out before my 150hr burn-in ritual. I’m told that Koss may have done some minor tweaking for a better out-of-the-box experience, and that the PortaPros degrade relatively quickly after they have been burnt-in to peak sound. I’m not sure how true that is though.

Sound. This little guy belches out bass like its warranty depended on it. Which brings to mind the question – ‘Can you have too much bass?’ Depending on whether you are an audiophile or a techno-head, opinions will vary. But I think everyone can agree that oomph without clarity is bad. And any amount of muddy bass is too much bass. Which is the PortaPro. A Grado it is not. It’s an unfair comparison I know, but I think it’s a good reference. The PortaPro feels like it’s struggling to keep up with the music – not just for the bass, but for the other frequencies as well. I’m hoping that this is due to the lack of burn-in. It probably is. I’ll need to burn them in for a fairer assessment.

For what it’s worth, the PortaPros sound way more exciting than my default iPod earphones. It’s strange. At this point, the thoroughly burnt-in iPod earphones sound better, yet not as exciting as the Portapros.

Giggles

ronaldleong — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:17:55 +0000

Perspective Please.

ronaldleong — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:09:12 +0000

Haven’t had time to really sit down and think/write. My jeans went through their first wash. Well, first soak actually. And yes, i did document it but haven’t posted it cos it’s in my work machine, which has been doing more work than usual these days. Anyway, I’ll post it when I post it. Meanwhile, here’s some perspective.

Got it.

ronaldleong — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:49:29 +0000

Twist and Shout

ronaldleong — Thu, 13 May 2010 08:53:30 +0000

I’ve been looking at other people’s denims and I notice that the twisting of the jeans leg (if any) only happens on the RIGHT LEG and is always twisted COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. I can’t seem to find any information that’s specific to this issue and I welcome any input at this point.

Birthday

ronaldleong — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:14:42 +0000

A bunch of the awesomest people I know pooled together to get me a birthday gift. It’s a pair of size 29 APC New Standards. It’s like, one of the best gifts ever. THANKS GUYS! I tried it and yes it’s crazy tight and crazy sexy. And yes, I like it.
I know in my first APC post, I said that sizing down so much is insane. Living with them changed my mind. These denims have the highest amount of stretch that I have ever experienced and somehow as a result of this stretch, both the size 30 and 29 look and fit really well in their own way. They sort of stretch themselves into their own unique balance.
A pair of Church’s would go nicely with the denims. Mmm.

Steamy Standards Part Two

ronaldleong — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:04:44 +0000

I honestly did not expect a ‘part two’ here… but here it is anyway.

The denims got steamed again today, and this time it was a thorough one. My spot therapy yesterday was a little too spot-on so the waist area shrunk while the rest of the garment remained considerably loose. This was particularly apparent in the knee and thigh area. I was also tempted to steam them again because the fabric somehow felt ‘crunchy’ after the first steaming. It’s almost like a ‘new jeans’ kind of feeling. And the sadomasochistic side of me kinda likes that.

The intense steaming today brought out the more faded portions of the denim. It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there. The knee bulge was significantly reduced as well, though that did not last very long. The moment I did a few squats to crunch up the honeycombs, the bulge came back. The warping on the right leg also seemed to have corrected itself slightly, but I’m not expecting that to be permanent.

This steaming thing may not be news to some of you, but it’s certainly new to me. Clothes should always be this fun for the anal retentive.

Steamy Standards

ronaldleong — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:06:54 +0000

I was thinking about whether I should have gotten the insanely unbuttonable size 29s instead of my current pair of initially-snug size 30s for the APC New Standard. My current pair is comfy and isn’t anywhere near dropping down my waist, but it has expanded such that it is now easier for me to slide four fingers in anywhere around the waist than it is for me to do the same into the front pockets.

I can live with that, but then again, why should I? So I tested this logic I had known for a while, but never applied in this context before.

Wet jeans + Dryer = shrunken jeans.

Wet=Water and Dryer=Crazy Heat.

Water + Crazy Heat = STEAM.

Therefore, STEAM + Jeans = Shrinkage.

At this stage of enlightenment, I had a few options.

1. Shower room steam power. (the heat involved here isn’t ‘crazy heat’ and if it does work, it’ll affect the entire garment)

2. Boiling vat of water. (seriously?)

3. Steam iron. (eureka! controlled steam-on-demand that’s ‘crazy hot’ and allows for spot therapy)

And so I steamed away. I spent a lot more time on the waist area while giving everywhere else a general once-over. I was also careful not to steam off several months’ worth of creases.

And the result?

I wasn’t wowed initially when I wore the jeans immediately after steaming them. Then as they cooled and dried off more, there was this odd sensation of… ‘shrinkage’. It’s like how I imagined it when I watched cartoons with garment-shrinking-on-wearer scenes! Anyway, I now have problems sliding my fingers into the waist. The denim and I have never been more symbiotically connected. Let’s see how long this lasts. I’m still curious about the size 29s, but after this steamy experience, my curiosity can be shelved for now.

Hello Goodbye

ronaldleong — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:50:37 +0000

To all the friends I haven’t seen in a while (that essentially means everyone), here’s an update.

I’m moving to a bigger studio.

Yeah. That’s it.

The KMW 2010 Model Conundrum

ronaldleong — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:04:56 +0000

The pair of ironically named KMWs I have are going out of my rotation rack today. That means it’s going into the wash. It seems the weather today reflects my mixed sentiments about it. As I type this, the sun is scorching amidst a medium strength rain. It’s a tropical thing.

While the 2010 (that’s what its called) is one of my most amazing pairs of jeans, it is not a daily wearer for life in 2010. My life at least. It’s not something you can pair easily with oxfords (it shrouds most of the shoe) or a (fitted) sports coat. It’s pretty tragic because for what it is, it is beautifully cut. The fit is amazing and the workmanship sublime. The fabric itself feels like a work of art. If I had this pair when I was a student in the 90′s, I’d be set till graduation. Actually if I were a student today, this KMW would still be my armour of choice. It is flattering to the physique and has a solid dependable feel about it.

So I have mixed feelings about retiring this pair (for now) and even greater frustration about throwing it into the wash. This is the virgin first wash you see. And though it has been with me for way more than 6 months, the actual wear-time it got was less than half of that. This translates to a compromised fade for such a marvelous pair of denims.

My game plan here is to give it a cold soak and rinse with no scrubbing. I just need it relatively odour free for storage till I find an excuse to break it out again. Meanwhile, I’ve swapped it with a pair of Adidas/Diesel Adi-Vikers. (I know they aren’t raw, nor are they selvedge, and the supposed Italian workmanship is really dubious at best. Don’t you judge me )