PortaPro3
I’ve always been a fan of the Koss PortaPro headphones. They were designed in the early 1980′s and have been through a few revisions over the past 25 years. The original designs are still the best. They are an open ear headphone design, with outstanding sound. These are perfect for use walking down the street or working in an office. The PortaPros are comfortable for long term use, yet fold up to a compact pocket size.
The PortaPro’s styling is charmingly vintage. My goal is to update the design and function while respecting the heritage appearance and features. This project will be posted as a series of steps in the order i complete them. At the end, I will post a complete project.
To kick this thing off, I’ve compiled a few boards of 1) inspiration from current “designerly” headphones 2) the PortaPro timeline of products and I’ve identified 3) headphone user groups. I’ve also quickly noted pluses and minuses for these headphones. This feedback is derived from 6 years of personal use and online headphone forum discussions.
1) inspiration from current “designerly” headphones
2) three headphone user groups
3) the PortaPro timeline of products
4) I’ve also quickly noted pluses and minuses for these headphones. This feedback is derived from 6 years of personal use and online headphone forum discussion.
PortaPro3 : Concept 1
Starting out with some concept ideation, I’ve taken the existing mechanism and foldability and tried to freshen it up. I’ve repurposed the brushed metal on some. I’ve tried using friction instead of the stepped block for adjustable pressure. It’s awkward having a cable emerging from both earphones, so I’ve modifed the headband to be thin, flat and flexible yet still accomodate a wire channel. This concept direction, named Audiopile-P (for portable) takes the original proven architecture of the portapro and updates it for 2010.
