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TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

teenage.engineering

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Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#161

Post by lamp_book »

IAmPym wrote: post #159

"Why is it so expensive?" - commentary from someone who does this for a living at Sequential Small Volume - each unit is more expensive than a large volume product, you don't get price breaks on any components or tooling costs Design focused - Who is the product for? It isn't for people who want to spend 250$ on a Behringer mixer. It is for people who want something that is high quality and doesn't break. Reliable. F…

> doesn't break

Can get behind the rest of your comment but I don't think anyone's ever accused TE of making durable products. To their credit though, they replaced my broken PO without a fuss, so I'm not a detractor.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#162

Post by jeffbee »

CharlesW wrote: post #146
jeffbee wrote: post #85

I guess I'm alone in my preference for the design of e.g. the Sony DMX-P01 or the Zoom F8n. Maybe it's because I'm from the past.

I hope you don't feel bad for not vibing with Teenage Engineering's design choices. I personally really like the Dieter Rams-ian aesthetic, but this is a product for people with more money than sense.

Now that you mention it this does somehow invoke the visual aesthetic of the World Receiver. I wonder if that is intentional.

For me a portable audio device with this many knobs should also be covered in writing and scales, like a Nagra IV.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#163

Post by koof »

IAmPym wrote: post #159

"Why is it so expensive?" - commentary from someone who does this for a living at Sequential Small Volume - each unit is more expensive than a large volume product, you don't get price breaks on any components or tooling costs Design focused - Who is the product for? It isn't for people who want to spend 250$ on a Behringer mixer. It is for people who want something that is high quality and doesn't break. Reliable. F…

I've been looking for a tiny mixer with 3 band eq + FX sends per channel for a while to run synths and/or decks through. This look like this might fit the bill. The compressor on each channel is a bonus. I'm not entirely sure if there's alternative products that would work for me instead, but this has my attention.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#164

Post by officeplant »

dmd wrote: post #56
alias_neo wrote: post #23

I absolutely love their design language. I'll never have a need to own any of their products but I wish I could buy the gadgets I do need/want with this kind of design/style.

I don't need to own my OP-1, but I'm glad I do. It makes me happy every time I look at it.

It's always depressing to look back on the time I hopped on a backorder list for one then gave up after months of waiting only to have them gradually get more and more expensive when restocked. I really wanted to get one early on but dear lord they are so expensive now days.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#165

Post by oriolid »

jelling wrote: post #104
ng55QPSK wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Synths were always expensive. Polyphonic, analog Stuff was clearly in the 5-digit prices. Digitalisation brought this down to 4...5000€.

The Yamaha DX7, the quintessential digital-replacing-analog synth, cost $2k USD in 1983, not $4-5k. I can't speak for what that cost in Euros (which didn't exist yet) or with import tariffs in an unspecified country. Today you can get one used for $500 USD. And while analog is and was more expensive, today you can get a Behringer Deep Mind 12 for $900 USD new and it sounds fantastic. Meanwhile, Teenage Engineering is…

Maybe an accident, but adjusted for inflation $2000 in 1983 USD corresponds to $5800 in current money. Electronics was expensive in the past.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#166

Post by koofdoof »

alias_neo wrote: post #23

I absolutely love their design language. I'll never have a need to own any of their products but I wish I could buy the gadgets I do need/want with this kind of design/style.

The Panic Playdate they designed just came out, if you're in the market for a $200 game machine it might be suitable.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#167

Post by IAmPym »

lamp_book wrote: post #161
IAmPym wrote: post #159

"Why is it so expensive?" - commentary from someone who does this for a living at Sequential Small Volume - each unit is more expensive than a large volume product, you don't get price breaks on any components or tooling costs Design focused - Who is the product for? It isn't for people who want to spend 250$ on a Behringer mixer. It is for people who want something that is high quality and doesn't break. Reliable. F…

> doesn't break Can get behind the rest of your comment but I don't think anyone's ever accused TE of making durable products. To their credit though, they replaced my broken PO without a fuss, so I'm not a detractor.

I have used TE products on occasion and looked into them deeply from a bunch of engineering perspectives. Compared to other products in a similar price point and form factor the likelihood of a problem is far lower. When you reduce the size you eliminate structural components and if you can't mill aluminum you're left with a lot of difficult choices to make to keep things stable. TE does a good job of balancing those things.

Customer service is where you see the end result of this. Replacing things quickly and easily means they aren't struggling to support bad design decisions in terms of stability.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#169

Post by fredoliveira »

tmountain wrote: post #147
Tijdreiziger wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, you're not kidding.

Especially with the Focusrite Scarlett Solo is obtainable for $119.

But the Solo is also nowhere near this in terms of functionality, so I'm not sure this is a great comparison.

Re: TX-6 – Teenage Engineering

#170

Post by [deleted] »

pmags wrote: post #36

Small, portable mixers with lots of stereo inputs are relatively rare. That plus the Teenage Engineering "tax" (think Apple tax but for synth-heads) is driving the price. A cheaper, but slightly less tactile alternative is the 1010 Music Bluebox: https://1010music.com/product/bluebox

[deleted]
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