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OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

teenage.engineering

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Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#211

Post by elliottkember »

jascii wrote: post #121

I would be in the market for a powered/bluetooth speaker that doesn't sound like shit. For the price I'd expect (near) audiophile sound, however little in the marketing even seems to mention sound quality, it just seems very gimmicky. Does anyone have any recommendations for a semi portable powered/bluetooth speaker that focuses on accurate sound reproduction (within the limits physics puts on a smaller enclosure)?

I've really enjoyed my UE Boom. It's totally waterproof and shockproof, great sound, battery life is good - it's been just about perfect for me.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#212

Post by mieses »

kemonocode wrote: post #100

Teenage Engineering makes cute, fun things, but more often than not they feel like they're very overpriced cute fun things for their functionality, and this is honestly no exception. In a sense they're like the Apple of nerdy products. Their Pocket Operators are the closest thing to a "cheap" product they have and even then, last time I checked, they don't even come with a protective case, which I personally find pre…

they collaborated with ikea on a very, very cheap hackable speaker so their stuff is not always overpriced. maybe the exception that proves the rule. https://teenage.engineering/designs/frekvens-hacks

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#213

Post by bni »

Does it support Apt-X?

AAC is mentioned in spec sheet so I would assume its possible to get acceptable sound quality from iPhone, when using the Music app with AAC files, or even MP3 files.

Anyone knows when using Spotify on iPhone and selecting bluetooth as output, will it use AAC then? or will it re-encode the sound from Spotify, either into AAC or, god forbid SBC?

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#214

Post by 52-6F-62 »

serf wrote: post #34

exposed drivers on a 'outdoor use' 600 dollar device gives me an extreme sense of anxiety. Reminds me of Braun products; products designed to look nice, but in general usability suffers in favor of sleek metal human interfaces, nice weights, and a generally 'quality' feel.

Did their usability suffer? I always remembered Braun as being simple and intuitive growing up. Like you almost knew how to use whatever it was immediately without inspection.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#215

Post by mnw21cam »

dimnsionofsound wrote: post #164
mnw21cam wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, 4-inch woofers? That's pretty small to be attempting to produce any serious amount of bass. (Source: I made myself a bass amp for my bass guitar when I was a teenager. It had a 12-inch woofer, and needed it. I don't think speakers have broken the laws of physics quite that well in the intervening years.)

You’d be surprised what modern neodymium drivers in a well designed enclosure can accomplish bass-wise. Though you are right in that the laws of physics have not changed, and something has to give, usually what has “given” is the increase in power output of small amplifier boards, thus allowing DIYers (like myself) and manufacturers alike to throw more power into lower efficiency, but higher mass (and thus more bass…

I you're on the button with the efficiency thing. My speaker only had a 50W amplifier, but it was quite capable of being loud in a large (capacity 600 seated) school hall.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#216

Post by ehsankia »

morsch wrote: post #186
ehsankia wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Apple of X" categorization is very apt, but I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with trying to occupy that part of the market. I also consider Nespresso and Dyson to also be in that category, for example. It's obviously not everyone, and far from being the best value you can get, but I'm glad they exist.

Nespresso and Dyson? Wow. That comparison doesn't reflect positively on Apple.

I don't think Nespresso and Dyson are particularly bad products, it's just that nowadays, you can find equally good stuff for much cheaper, although probably less good customer service and support. But they are also fairly consistent with quality, so if you don't want to bother researching and have money to spend, it's a decent way to go.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#217

Post by BHSPitMonkey »

JohnBooty wrote: post #133

I have not heard this speaker, but like many portable speakers, the design is distinctly suboptimal even by portable standards. In a portable device, stereo is actually not desirable. Two reasons. One, you will certainly not experience the intended effect of stereo (the illusion of spatial separation) when the drivers are so close together. Two, the drivers will actually interfere with each other. Not only are you no…

(Off-topic warning)

I'm hijacking your most recent comment since I'm past the time limit to be able to respond to your reply[1] from before - sorry! Here's[2] some[3] links[4] on the subject of learning to see in stereo after using VR (and those posts/threads contain links to even more articles/studies on the matter)

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24504473

[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/Strabismus/comments/ert2dh/wow_i_ha...

[3] https://old.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4kkhnp/i_was_stereo...

[4] https://old.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/39x4sx/as_many_as_1...

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#218

Post by panpanna »

npmaile wrote: post #18

Like the rest of teenage engineering's products, I'm not sure what this thing is about, but I probably will be buying it.

I was sceptical to their OP1 until I saw youtubers recording Stranger Things theme on a op1.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lu5XB1Y2rHk

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hKupFmiMvbw

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#219

Post by panpanna »

v-yadli wrote: post #42
AgloeDreams wrote: post #3

Just in case you're like "Why does this look familiar?" https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/frekvens-portable-speaker-black... https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/frekvens-speaker-with-subwoofer... TE designed both this OB4 and the Frekvens, this seems like the Ikea line taken to a very far extreme. Very neat, lots of cash though. I have to say, it kinda reminds me of Ikea's Eneby too, but TE did not design that: https://www.ikea.…

Wow, thanks for revealing that. Didn't know TE has connection with IKEA! The big yellow dial on the top makes me think it's a XXL-sized op-z. ..And > like the Ikea line taken to a very far extreme Looking up the specs, 1x2.2W vs. 2x38W. Wondering how they designed the structure so that the speakers don't blow up the unit into pieces.

Ikea sells both Sonos and TE wifi/BL speakers.

You can test them side by side in the store, next to Ikeas own brand.

Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker

#220

Post by panoply »

I used to hang out with one of their engineers, he was a great guy and I tell you what, he took his job serious, lived and breathed the company and his work. Teenage Engineering is a small team and from what I know this tech was 5 years in the making. I think it is a great accomplishment from them.
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