Pagani Design Speedmaster

I'd eye'd this off for a while and finally decided that I would spring for the Mark iii version. I'm attracted to it because 

1. I've always loved the look of the classic Speedmaster
2. I'm quite a fan of Seiko movements (and this has a VK63 mechaquartz movement)

So its like a fusion of two great houses

I'm not fond of the supplied straps so I put it onto a grey (ex) NATO I had hanging around.

Its smart, well made and frankly I was pretty impressed with the fit and finish. Much ado is made about not having AR coatings (which scratch) but in the days wearing I've found it no harder to read than every other watch I've had in the last 40 years. NOTE: I've since found that it does have AR coating on the inside surface of the crystal (see this post).

As there are plenty of YouTube videos about it I'll only add here some things which are often neglected, such as for instance that it has two holes for spring-bars which allows a NATO to sit more nicely.

Which I thought was a nice touch.

When compared to my SRPE65k1 Seiko 5 its actually not much bigger 

I created an overlay of these two in photoshop and while they do not match up perfectly I did center them on the axis of the hands (the issues pertain to my failure to perfectly align for rotation as well as the lens distortions and perspective distortions of phone cameras and their wide angle lenses).

So this has helped me adjust to the Seiko always feeling bigger than I'd like soon after wearing the Pagani ;-)

Also we can see that the PD is not much thicker than the Seiko and would indeed be the same thickness if it had a flat crystal (something I'm entertaining. not least because of the way a convex crystal really exacerbates the reflections, but may not be worth the effort).

Its also worth noting that the springbar is lower on the PD helping it sit nicely on the wrist too. It is however not as comfortable as the Seiko. The Pagani however, worn for a whole day of activity, is tiring and has actually hurt the back of my hand when doing serious labour. This is due to the way the Pagani (and probably Omega) watch isn't sculptured to fit a wrist. Some quick and dirty images to compare these two again.

and the backs:

So the "footprint" is significantly smaller at the back of the Seiko. This is most important when you are actually doing things and your hand is not straight with your arm (like picking things up, supporting your weight, using a screwdriver or a spanner ...) as it is in a brochure picture of a well dressed Gentlman with big wrists. To me this means that the Omega isn't a daily wear watch for anyone except an office worker.

Interestingly on the Apollo missions they wore these watches on the outside of their jump suits, not against their skin. So the PD has become the watch I wear for smart casual or when driving the car for a longer journey. Here it often sits better in a place of visibility and I do like timing things (like a section of a route). Measuring elapsed time is what this watch is really all about.

Interestingly at 65.8g its not much heavier than the Seiko (6g heavier).

I found it very legible (reflections not withstanding) and didn't feel "bigger on the wrist" than my Seiko.

So the basics are:

• Seiko Mechaquartz (with around 20 seconds a month accuracy)
• Sapphire crystal (meh, I'd be ok with acrylic)
• apparently very good build quality

and given that it cost me less than US$75 I find that outstanding value for money. Heck the Seiko VK63 movement alone is nearly half that (unless buying wholesale).

Some points which have emerged after a day or so that I've not seen in any reviews:

• finishing of the machined surface edges is not really excellent, leaving them looking good, but feeling sharp. The same goes with the crown at the end of it where it touches you. I took some silicon carbide paper and very carefully (with a small strip of it to control it) took the edge off around the base of the watch and on the lugs too.
• despite being large, the flatness of the back really helps it sit nicely in place with my small 6.5" wrist.
• the positioning of the straps in different holes (as pictured above) makes a substantial difference
• Hands, even on the subdials are nicely aligned 

I believe I now have a new daily driver. I might even sell a few watches (probably for more each than this cost) to "fund it". I'll be keeping the SRPE65k1 though, its already got too many marks on it for most watch buyers.

Lastly a point on the philosophy

People react strongly about watches which are copies (to be blunt) or homages (to be pretending its something else). Setting aside the fully hand made watch by a craftsman in his workshop, pretty much all modern watches are "reproductions". When seen from the view that; they are designed in CAD, then a machine produces the parts from a file (and in some cases does a lot of the assembly too). From this perspective  a maker (say) Rolex just reproduces watches from a design.

I'm looking at my PD-1701 and seeing that others have (by measurement) done a reproduction of this but at a price which can be purchased by anyone who loves the look and design. The real thing that differentiates it is the logo and copyright.

While the PD-1701 is not finished to the microscopic examination of the case and the mechaquartz movement is not a hand made highly complex mechanical one. Most owners of the Omega would probably not know that you had swapped out their mechanical movement until they went to wind it, for they don't actually see the movement in daily life with the watch. Few if any owners would have taken the case back off in the 1960's to see.

Thus these Homages or reproductions are really just enriching our lives (those of us who aren't uber wealthy or willing to make sacrifices to get the originals) with being able to enjoy the essential parts of the watch - how it looks and how it functions - at a much more affordable price. I suspect this desire to be 'exclusive' (meaning exclude you from my club) is what's really hurt in people when they find out "its a copy"

Pagani ... Pagan ... mmmm I think I'm going to proceed with this Mod ...

The watch is not without fault, but for under US$80 its a lot of watch.

Lastly another strap

Lastly while I was happy with this strap I genuinely don't find it worth the extra money of the eBay leather ones which have exactly the same hardware and equal in leather quality. Still it was only 20% dearer.

LP records, cleaning and playing (at the same time)

People love to spend money on things, sometimes they work.

To me the most obvious thing to clean a record with is something that it encounters quite often, and something designed to actually be used with the record: The Stylus

The Stylus (with a little help from some friends) is perfect and if you're worried about damaging your LP by playing it then you really do need to be thinking of optical ... and maybe even CD?

Anyway I digress

I started years ago (like in the 80's) playing my LP's "damp". Not so wet that water flings off, but not dry either. I'd add a small amount of plain fragrance free, uncoloured and unscented detergent to de-mineralised water (like 5ml to 150ml of water) and then carefully gently spray the LP (taking care not to spray the label to get a smooth surface coating on the LP but that doesn't pond.

I would do this with the LP on the platter and the platter turning. It became pretty obvious if there was too little or too much.

Then begin playing normally.

You'll also need a small soft but stiff bristle brush to gently wipe down the stylus because if you watch during this process you'll be stunned just how much comes out of the tracks and gathers on the stylus.

Lift the stylus up, move it away from the LP, gently in a rolling action designed to bring the bristles (side on) down the stylus as to wipe the gunk off the stylus.

I found on first plays of this with older LP's which were not always mine from new that this must be done a few times per side.

Added Benefits

Since there is moisture on the LP this brings another agent in contact with the stylus, which given its speed through the groove (about 20 inches per second at the outside and decreasing) and the pressure in PSI of the stylus on the vinyl (something like 50psi) some heat  is inevitable ... so the water also acts as a cooling agent.

I have found that this method has greatly reduced the sound quality losses of my records over years of playing and indeed reduces the snap crackle and pop of playing.

HTH

How to regulate a watch

I often see people asking how to "service" their watch or what to do about a watch that runs too fast or too slow. Often the answer to this is as simple as just regulating it.

Watches are designed to be simple to adjust, but there is an assumption that you're not a dickhead and that you:

• can do delicate work
• aren't messy
• have some basic tools
• are patient

The place to regulate a watch can be seen through the back of your watch if you have something modern with a display back (or just by taking the back off).

This is the guts (genius) of how a watch keeps time, the balance wheel (the "pendulum" of the watch) and the lever to tune the watch "frequency" of oscillation. 

Just like a guitar plays a different note by pressing on a fret, this lever changes the tune of the spring which times the frequency (or note) of how balance wheel spins back and forth around and around.

Expectation Management

Now before we go any further I want you to think about something. If the balance wheel swings back and forth (say) 6 times a second and you want your watch to be better than 20 seconds per day accurate you need to make an adjustment so that it beats its little heart exactly 518,400.  That means you want to adjust that to be less than 120 beats per day different. 

That's 0.0231% change just to go from 20 seconds fast to perfect.

So yes, we're talking a tiny adjustment.

What this is telling you is that the adjustment movement you'll apply to that lever is tiny. No, seriously tiny.

So having said that basically all you do is move that lever so that the "nipple" on the ring moves towards the + or the - as you desire (in the blue circle there). Moving towards + speeds up the beat.

Now some other things. Seiko claim that this movement is between +45 seconds and -35 seconds a day if its within spec. So before you start on this process check that you're perhaps not already inside that.

If that's not to your liking then perhaps you should have bought a Quartz watch? I mean that is why Quartz watches dominated watchmaking until the COVID boredom set in and people went spakko looking for stuff to buy on YouTube.

Presently my watch (yes, that's mine above) runs to about 6 seconds fast per day. I would prefer to have it a tiny bit fast than a tiny bit slow because all I have to to is every couple of weeks pull out the crown. So something for 2 minutes put the crown back in and now its about a minute slow.

If you're going to now say under a minute out per week is a big issue, then I'm going to say "get a Quartz watch"

no really ... there's nothing wrong with Quartz and unless you're wanting to spend well over a thousand bucks (and still need to regulate it), get a Quartz movement watch.

Ok, to remember that its only a tiny movement needed on that lever. Worse the lever is tight (because obviously) and designed not to move by vibrations or bumps to the watch. You'll need also

• a case back opening tool (as below they are not expensive) 
• a match stick 
• an accurate time source (like say, your phone)
• a fresh clean cotton tip

Have a clean work area, quite dust free. Also have a vinyl or leather surface (clean and dust free) to put the watch when working on it. If you're older or need glasses consider whatever else is needed to allow you to see really fine and really close to the watch to see what you're doing.

Procedure

Take the back off and just as you're about to turn the last part, turn the watch with the back down so that the back falls off into your hand. Holding the watch above you with the open movement facing down, use the cotton tip to carefully remove any dust or gunk that was on the case (so that it'll also fall down).

Now place the watch with the face town (movement up) and get that match stick. Make the smallest possible movement to the lever in the direction you want the nipple to go (think about how its going to move when you move the lever).

Probably it went too far unless you were super careful. If you even think it moved it probably did.

Now put the case back back on (not to tight, firm; because you're probably going to need a few goes at this) and set the watch to the second against your phone's time.

Wear it for a day and check the time in an hour ... if its like running crazy fast or slow then you know you've moved it too far, so move it back. If its less than a second in an hour then give it 24 hours.

If its within 10 seconds per day then you'll probably only get it worse by trying again, if not then try that process again. If its the last time, then just make sure that the case back is snuggled in firmly with the tool (not just finger tight).

Its really not even worth doing this if the watch hasn't been worn daily for at least 6 months, but if you want to then its good practice.

That's it

Happy Watching

PineBuds Pro - Open Firmware Capable ANC Wireless Earbuds

With more and more phones dropping the headphone socket and more and more cameras enforcing driving and talking on the phone as illegal its becoming necessary to really look at the landscape of Bluetooth (BT) headsets and ear buds. Personally I like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) buds because they 

As you may know I've got a few sets of BT buds (Bose Generation 1 and SkullCandy INDY ANC buds). Recently I read of the PineBuds Pro and was impressed with their specifications and also intrigued by the fact that they were programmable too.

Their site boasts of the following (more as I've selected only those of interest:

• User can flash in PINE64 community open firmware when becomes available. The community firmware may beyond typical TWS earbuds functionality.
• A custom design 6mm small size transducer packs high output and strong bass performance despite its compact size and can outperform typical 10mm transducers. (LOL and the other one plays jingle bells)
• Dual mic voice beam foaming, echo cancellation, and environment noise cancellation (ENC).  

SPECIFICATIONS:

6 microphones Hybrid Adaptive ANC technology, effectively block out background noise up to 45dB 

Frequency Response (Output): 20Hz-20KHz

Noise Reduction:

• -45dB attenuation nominal 50-200Hz
• -55dB max attenuation @150Hz

The key point is the price under US$70 (plus postage). How could I resist?

Please see the section on bugs

Sounded too good to be true for the money, unsurprisingly I found that it indeed did not live up to the claims. However I thought I'd give them a good looking at here and compare to my Bose QC Buds (first generation) which makes less substantial ANC claims. So lets have a look at what you get

So, the PineBuds are clearly much smaller (which brings disadvantages I'll come back to) and the case has a slider lid not a flip lid. Both have magnets to help lock them into the charging points but the Pine case is much easier to open (even if the buds are harder to pull out with your fingers.

Unlike the Bose you can leave the lid open because they don't "turn on" until you remove them from the case. Further you can actually turn them off (or if they loose bluetooth they'll turn off automatically after 5 minutes).  This is itself a great advantage over the Bose which if left alone will run till the battery is down and if that condition lasts too long (say, a few weeks) you may find that the Bose won't re-charge.

That's covered under warranty, but why have them gone for a few weeks?

Looking closer we can see the size difference more clearly

and the part which fits into your ear is quite different (because they both have a different strategy of fitting).

Both buds have a different strategy for touch input, and I'd expected when reading the documentation that these would be more like the SkullCandy INDY ANC buds (which I prefer the operation of) than the Bose. Turned out this assumption was wrong (but may be programmable to how I want it).

This results in a more subtle ear presence, but not as much as you may like to imagine

What isn't perhaps obvious is the difference that this makes in terms of actually touching the right part of the earbud when giving it your request (you know, answer that call, turn the volume up/down, change track, change ANC levels ...). This has meant that I get a lot more mis-touch operations when using the PineBuds than I do with the Bose.

While the "granularity" of volume adjustments was better on the PineBuds the mistouch events pissed me off more than the steps clearly audible as being a bit too much on the Bose. Using the Bose App solves this problem but when you're driving or doing something else on the phone do you really want to go through the app for every fucking thing?

At this point its worth saying "I'm not leaving my Bose Buds for this product".

Audio quality

This is of course subjective, but having used buds, over ear, on ear and whatnot in listening (even professionally) for some dozens of years I can say that the PineBuds are sufficient but they are not in the same league as the Bose, when it comes to accuracy and clarity or even depth of bass (no I don't mean just cranked up artificial bass).

Worse, in phone calls strange digital processing artifacts occur from time to time. This results in strange "independence" of the voice in each ear (probably caused by brief failure of comb filters) or even some vocal distortion (not unlike clipping) to be briefly heard.

When no music is playing background low level noise can be heard. Note, this is not typical white (or pink) noise but is more consistent with little bits of binary chatter in the background. Perhaps some bleed from the small CPU system?

Overall I'd rate audio as a 6 or 7 out of 10 (and the Bose a solid 9.5 out of 10)

NOTE: for some people an important point will be that they can be used independently. That's right, if you like being able to use one bud in one ear then these allow this. Better it can be either bud, which is helpful if you drive on the left side or the right side of the vehicle as you can pick which one fits what you want to achieve. Say have the window down but still make calls by putting the "inside ear" in, or if you have a passenger and want to make calls putting the earbud in the opposite ear to the passenger.

bonus points for that feature.

ANC levels

Its hard to say without measurements but subjectively the ANC (any level that it had right out of the box) is inferior to the ANC of the Bose. Its worth noting I only have ANC and Aware programmed in as my preferred settings on the Bose. As it happens one has to toggle through 5 settings on the PineBuds to get to the setting before where you are ... fuck me.

ANC is hard to judge but I've got a few tests (like the pushing down of the background birds here or the neighbours quintet of yapping little irritating dogs).

So lackluster is this ANC (sure ain't 55db says a guy who regularly uses 28db earplugs) that I'm wondering if replacing the standard silicone tips with "memory foam" types will actually make them better.

• ambient mode: again another change in curve for music reproduction (bass sounds a bit wooly) doesn't really seem to pass much through
• ANC off: best audio of them all and basically behaves like nice BT buds (no noise)
• standard ANC: fridge motor sounds fade into the background (subtle change in music playback curve)
• Super ANC (not so subtle but not offensive different change in curve deepness of bass disappears)

all a bit subtle, but the thing is when you compare it to the Bose you don't get anything like this. That's why you pay the extra for the Bose. Its up to you if you think you can afford the Bose (or say the Apple or even the SkullCandy) or will notice the difference. Finally you are in no danger of situational awareness failures caused by ANC.

Ear fit (and the silicone tips)

As seen above these buds use a "common" half sphere dome silicone bullet that allows a seal in the ear canal. Accordingly its important to try the sizes to find the right fit for you. In my case I found the middle one the right one, while with the Bose I found the smallest to be best. So try them.

When put into my ear (like most) they sat nicely and weren't annoying (well more than buds are actually are full time annoying unless you're sitting and not chewing, talking or drinking when they suck). 

what I think about ANC?

Basically when you make a call the listener will need to hear you (gosh, calls you say?), in this respect I had hoped that the lack of ANC may translate to a better listening experience for the person I talk to. This is so far shaping up to be about on a par with every BT headset I've used.

Summary

So, if you're:

• on a budget
• interested in modding the software
• like the features such as powering off each bud

I won't be giving up my Bose for long trips in my (noisy) car (4WD wagon) but will most certainly be keeping these PineBuds ... besides I'm still interested to see how the new foam tips go.

Annoyances

• tap registration is patchy, made worse by the small active area on what are small buds to begin with
• a double edged sword is that "Volume Down" is a very small increment (which I like) but requires a few presses to activate. So if you have "volume blasting in your ear" you end up not being able to turn them down fast without doing all sorts of other things (like pausing or hanging up) 

Bugs

I'll update this as I find more

• bluetooth driver bug: When playing music using my default music player, putting my phone in my pocket pauses the music (no other BT device I have causes this)
• occasionally fails to pass through phone calls (or indeed anything). At this time they show connected, the phone shows its connected but nothing. Turn off bluetooth and turn back on again to fix.
• bluetooth range is crappy, even in my own kitchen (especially when power is not 100%)