- Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 K.O. II: sampler-sequencer, $299 – CDM Create Digital Music Create Digital Music
- Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 KO II synthesizer: price, features, and specs The Verge
- Teenage Engineering’s new £299 EP-133 KO II sampler, sequencer and composer looks like a genuine knockout MusicRadar
- Teenage Engineering’s K.O. II groovebox is feature-rich and only $300 Engadget
- The Pocket Operator goes pro! Teenage Engineering debuts wild new must-see EP–133 K.O. II sampler 9to5Toys
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Engineerings
Teenage Engineering’s latest audio device invites you to turn its knobs
Teenage Engineering, the company behind ultra-stylish synthesizers, speakers, and PC cases, has released a new audio gadget: it’s called the TX-6, and it’s a tiny (in size, not price) field mixer absolutely festooned with knobs. In addition to letting you mix together sound from six stereo inputs and output them to a computer, speaker, or both, in true Teenage Engineering fashion, the TX-6 can also act as a basic synthesizer, drum sequencer, and USB-C audio interface.
We gotta talk about those knobs first though. By default they act as controls for a three-band equalizer, letting you tweak the highs, mids, and lows for each input. But a peek at Teenage Engineering’s guide reveals the tons of other things you can do with them, from controlling compressor settings to adjusting pan or note length. Whatever you use them for, you’ll be doing it in style; the knobs are colorful and knurled at the top, which should help you grip something that’s otherwise approximately the size of a large Q-Tip.
If you can tear your eyes away from the knobs, the rest of the controls are also absolutely mint. You’ve got fader sliders (which are arguably more important than the knobs because they actually let you mix), a bevy of buttons, as well as a combo button / knob for navigating menus — be still my heart. There are also LED volume meters, with controllable brightness.
In terms of I/O, the TX-6 has those six audio jacks for input (Apple could never), and three output jacks; two are 3.5 mm for aux and cue out, and the main output is 6.35 mm, or a quarter-inch. It’s also got a built-in battery, which Teenage Engineering says is good for around eight hours of use, and charges via the USB-C port that also handles connecting the TX-6 to your device. That can be a computer or an iPhone / iPad, if you’ve got an appropriate cable or adapter. Again, all of this, plus those delicious knobs, are packed into something that has an absolutely tiny package.
By the way, yes I can hear the entirety of the UK snickering that I am once again talking about my love of knobs. You don’t need to comment about it, my sides still hurt from reading all the jokes on the last article. But come on, just look at them.
Of course, I don’t want to sleep on the other parts of this design — it’s got a CNC aluminum frame, an adorable little screen to show you menus, and artificial leather backing. To me, it looks a little like an old-school Sony device, but taken up a notch.
Hey, actually, Teenage Engineering says the knobs are customizable. I’m sure there’s some parameter you can control with them that goes to 11…
Speaking of going past the upper limit, let’s talk about the price. The TX-6 costs — deep breath now — $1,199. That’s for the actual unit itself, along with a 3.5 mm adapter for the main output, and a USB-C cable. Extra cables, like a 3.5 mm to RCA or dual-TS adapter, will cost a reasonable $10 or $15.
While that price is almost unbelievable, I struggled to think of any other devices like the TX-6. The $150 Yamaha MG06X is compact, but it’d be hard to call it small, and it certainly doesn’t look as cool, in my opinion. The $350 Zoom H6 can be configured to have the same number of inputs, but it’s substantially bulkier and is nowhere near as feature-rich as the TX-6. Plus, while you could use it as a mixer, it’s definitely more of a field recorder. The Mackie MCaster Live is even less expensive at $230 and seems to be a similar size, but it doesn’t have a battery and only has four inputs (though one of them is XLR, which could come in handy if you want to plug in a microphone).
While it being in a league of its own may or may not justify its price, the TX-6’s price is probably going to turn away a lot of DJ wannabes or music making casuals like me — though it does count a “DJ mode” among its many extra features. But if I’m totally honest with myself, I’d probably spend an embarrassing amount of money to play with one for a day, just so I could feel those sweet, sweet knobs (again, I really shouldn’t be posting this just as the UK is waking up).
The TX-6 is available on Teenage Engineering’s website.
Teenage Engineering’s orange Computer-1 PC case is back on sale
You can finally get your hands on Teenage Engineering’s absolutely tiny and absolutely orange Computer-1 PC case again, months after it initially went on sale and sold out. If you were really hoping to buy the $195 build-it-yourself mini-ITX case, you can head over to the company’s website and add it to your cart — though before you do, it’s probably worth refreshing yourself on the Computer-1’s… particularities.
When Teenage Engineering announced this case, we had some concerns. It has barely any room for a modern graphics card (even this tiny RTX 3060 is bigger than Teenage Engineering recommends), the airflow situation seemed a little suspicious, and the “think twice, bend once” warning in assembly guide made the building process seem high-stakes.
People who have since built systems in the case say the bending and the airflow aren’t huge problems, but they also discovered that the holes don’t come pre-tapped. That means that screwing into them might be a time-consuming forearm workout — not exactly the experience you’d expect with such an expensive piece of kit. (Quality Mini-ITX cases range from under $100 to around $200 — but those usually come pre-assembled).
With all that said, the Computer-1 is undeniably a fashion statement, something that can’t be said about the rather plain boxes most PCs call home (there are, of course, exceptions). And while there may be better ways to spend $200 on an orange flatpack PC frame — the Playdate that TE designed with Panic seems pretty fun and plenty stylish too — you don’t have many other options if you absolutely need a computer case that looks inspired by the Half-Life HEV suit. Just be ready to spend a lot for something you have to bend and build yourself; beauty doesn’t come cheap.