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OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

teenage.engineering

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Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#71

Post by AgloeDreams »

CarVac wrote: post #63
AgloeDreams wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the Eneby, the tiny Frekvens, and twin Symfonisk speakers. Ikea's Symfonisk Sonos speakers are Eneby taken much further... but thats it. Like they are literally Eneby Drivers married to Sonos One SL boards. Add some porting and a case and boom, Symfonisk. But what they can do is pretty shocking, The TruePlay tech really irons the package into incredible quality by tuning out all of the downsides of the Eneby's…

Hm, the Symfonisk are much smaller than the Eneby 30. The volume of the Eneby gives it surprising bass extension (40 Hz) but it's a bit lumpy on the way down there. I've never dared to test max volume at the risk of disturbing my neighbors…

Symfonisk is based on Eneby 20, Max volume I tested was with a twin pair (As they do stereo pairing via Sonos.) You will probably hear better quality out of a pair like I did but post TruePlay tuning, it sounded very different before and after. In the smaller room of mine, Trueplay seemed to think it was too muddy sounding and tuned out a lot of lower end EQ. The notable Eneby 20 vs Symfonisk sound to me was that the Eneby had bass that seemed...not crisp? I don't know the right word but the highs in a drum line were not there. The vocals could have sharp highs but then you couldn't hit the stick hit the drum, just the sound of the drum. Despite the exact same drivers, Symfonisk had a WAY different profile that was more crisp and had more dynamic feeling bass. I wonder if the speaker's Z-Depth helps that.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#72

Post by danielrpa »

comboy wrote: post #10
mrspeaker wrote: post #7

I 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 operator (don't remember which one) was an impulse purchase for me and one of the very few musical instruments I've ever returned. I couldn't use it productively and honestly I didn't even really like the best youtube videos made with it.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#73

Post by altdatathrow »

crumbshot wrote: post #62

Is HN being subjected to some astroturf marketing techniques here? Seems rather suspicious to see so many commenters enthusiastically salivating over an advert for a very expensive radio. And also for said advert to hit the #1 spot on this site, despite not fitting into the usual categories for a compelling post.

HN is always subject to astroturfing, it's just generally managed by YC directly. Ensuring positive opinion and adoption of their investments while keeping the competition soundly off the radar.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#74

Post by coldpie »

crumbshot wrote: post #62

Is HN being subjected to some astroturf marketing techniques here? Seems rather suspicious to see so many commenters enthusiastically salivating over an advert for a very expensive radio. And also for said advert to hit the #1 spot on this site, despite not fitting into the usual categories for a compelling post.

TE made one really stand-out product, the OP-1, and one kinda-pretty-good product, the OP-Z. They have a few other products of mixed reception and a bunch of typical high-end boutique junk if you really want their logo on your t-shirt or whatever. They're coasting on their reputation of the OP-1, which is deserved, but they haven't really come up with anything worthy of their reputation since.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#75

Post by meowface »

comboy wrote: post #10
mrspeaker wrote: post #7

I 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?

I have 2 and used them fairly often, but I later grew tired of sequencers in general (in favor of trying to do as few quantized/beat-synced things as possible, most of the time). I really liked the little effects each button had.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#76

Post by moogly »

speedgoose wrote: post #68
rtkwe wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Teenage Engineering is Swedish.

http://public-service.net/docu/DABFactsSweden.pdf

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#77

Post by mmastrac »

I totally bought into the hype and paid $1k (CAD) for an OP-1 that's unfortunately collecting dust. It's a marvel of design and engineering, but I suck at making music.

For anyone not familiar, these guys are kind of like a cheeky Apple of musical hardware design.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#78

Post by wodenokoto »

I've been looking for a high-end pair of bluetooth speakers, so this really peaks my interest.

I've been wanting the B&O Beolit, but they used to come with built-in charger, so you could just plug in directly into the wall.

But now they switched to USB-C charging, which means that you need to use an external charger unit. Not every USB charger will deliver enough power, so that's just a step back in user experience. The older models had a room for the cable, so what was the point of changing it?

Nothing was added in place of the internal charger and the price didn't drop. They just took away a feature and wrote "Now with USB-C!" on the box, as if they added something.

So this one having "universal built-in power supply" and a power cable in the box, is a really big plus for me!

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#80

Post by [deleted] »

crumbshot wrote: post #62

Is HN being subjected to some astroturf marketing techniques here? Seems rather suspicious to see so many commenters enthusiastically salivating over an advert for a very expensive radio. And also for said advert to hit the #1 spot on this site, despite not fitting into the usual categories for a compelling post.

[deleted]
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