Why no DAB radio?
First guess is the FM is more of a toy experimental feature combined with DAB probably requiring license fees. Also there's no DAB in the US or regular service outside of Europe.
OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
21–30 of 221 posts
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#22£599. Nope.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#23Their line of synths is great, but a radio which doesn't support DAB? How am I going to listen to 6music?
The US digital radio effort has been complicated and slow to ramp up. Many digital streams are commercial free in an attempt to drive receiver adoption.
Many cars still ship with no digital capability.
Ordinary FM makes reasonable sense here.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#24Pity it's not DAB, this looks great.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I understand say OP-1. But how much time on average have you spent on each of those pocket operators? And are you able to use it productively after leaving it alone for some time without checking manual?
Personally, when I was commuting for work I would spend the 90 min ride in or back working on some things, though I spent more time with the OP-Z. Sure it takes time to reacclimate to the controls but these things are not simple machines like bicycles. The overlays with the OP-Z for example are really handy for quick reference.
I was going to mention the OP-Z - I was uncertain about it until I got one, but it turns out to be a really good example of an "expert" UI. No screen, lots of button combos to memorise, an enormous amount of functionality. Completely unapproachable without hours of studying the manual, but when you know it it's very efficient to use.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#26I love everything Teenage Engineering make. My first impression is always "eh, that's too weird, who would want that... who is their target market?", and over time end up at "OK, I WANT ONE!". I own way too many of their Pocket Operators now. Though, I REALLY think I'm not their target market here: "designed to be played outdoors, in public spaces and at high volume"... that's exactly situations I now try to avoid. H…
I understand say OP-1. But how much time on average have you spent on each of those pocket operators? And are you able to use it productively after leaving it alone for some time without checking manual?
The Pocket Operators are genuinely pretty inuitive, simply because they have so many buttons, and each one has at most two functions (from memory).
The labelling is also pretty good for the first 2 series at least, I haven't tried any of the third. That said, the original official case hid the LEDs which reduces usability substantially - the only useful elements on the screen are the BPM and sync status in the corner.
My issue with them is the lack of a case makes them not very ergonomic and not very portable, for the sake of an aesthetic. All the after market cases have a major downside: doubling the volume (size), hiding elements of the interface, requiring gluing components, price, etc. Also they're pretty expensive for what they are - you really want at least two, by which time you could buy a Volca.
I've thought about desoldering all the buttons and pots to build a more durable unit with bigger mechanical Cherry style switches and bigger LEDs, but I'll never get around to it.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#27£599. Nope.
Quality engineering. But for the average user, it's expensive for a radio.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#28you know this is a minimalist company because they don't use capital letters.
i understand
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#29£599. Nope.
Yeah I'm with you but I can totally understand people that do.
Unlike £250 bluetooth ear buds. That I'll never understand
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#30Their line of synths is great, but a radio which doesn't support DAB? How am I going to listen to 6music?
My very basic understanding is that most regular DAB (not DAB+) is inferior in audio quality compared to FM?
Also, and I don't know how much it has decided their design decisions, but Teenage Engineering is Swedish based, and here DAB hasn't really become a thing.
It's been, more or less, in a "trial" state since 1995, not covering the whole country and steps to upgrade to DAB+ and replacing FM canceled a few years ago.