Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fortunately this century also invented noise isolating earphones.
cool, so now it's my duty to spend to not hear other people's bad manners.
If you prefer to suffer in dignity, more power to you!
OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
201–210 of 221 posts
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#202Teenage 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…
As several have pointed out, you can get a few Teenage Engineering products at IKEA. And they are surprisingly good (and not awfully expensive).
I replaced my Sonos with a Frekvens speaker (with a subwoofer) at the cabin for three reasons:
- It works with bluetooth, and to be frank, the Sonos' firmware is terrible if you have dicky wifi - It can handle audio that has been sped up (like Audible at 1.5-1.7 times normal speed, which is the speed range I currently listen to audio books at). The Sonos can't without getting severe hickups. - The Frekvens has room for a battery so I can take it out on the deck
Actually, we brought the Sonos home to have in my wife's home office but she sto^H^H^Hborrowed my second Frekvens speaker because she is "tired of dealing with all the shit the Sonos throws up".
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#203Earlier 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.
Is Nespresso the Apple of coffee? You must not like coffee :)
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#204Their PO modulars (https://teenage.engineering/products/po/modular) are so great looking I have almost bought one on impulse several times. Then I get to the checkout page and I realize I don't want it that badly.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#205I don't get why this product gets so many upvotes. The only thing that I find refreshing about it is the use of an active DSP instead of a passive crossover network. Maybe the aesthetics.
For the rest, way too expensive; says the guy who spent more days and money than he likes to admit building his speakers (4" FAST, 5 liter each, active DSP@250Hz, plays down to <40Hz).
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#206guys,
maybe someone is able to recognise wall clock from promo video?
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#207exposed 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.
The whole product reminds me a lot about the Braun T52.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#208Teenage 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…
"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.
Jura is the Apple of coffee, in my opinion. Swiss engineering, superb minimalist design, and fantastic coffee. (Nespresso not so much.)
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about KEF LSX or LS50? Or Devialet Reactors?
I wouldn't call that semi-portable.
The LS50's are a little large, but the others I would consider semi-portable. Look at the below image, the Reactor is the size of a small toaster and you just need to plug in a power cord. You could easily move that to different rooms, plug it in on the terrace, bring it to a friend's house, etc. If that's not at least semi-portable, I don't know what is.
Re: OB–4 – Portable high fidelity loudspeaker
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had good experience with the JBL lineup... I'm on the largest (boombox), and I find the quality acceptable (I don't find the quality of most audio products acceptable). The convenience OTOH is phenomenal -- it comes with me biking, kayaking, (it's submergible) and camping to charge devices and play music, and the charge can last >week. I can only remember it dying on me 2 times in the months I've owned it, and I…
I have an xtreme 2 and it's a very convenient and enjoyable device. My pet-peeve is that when I bought it, its sound-signature was very close to my JBL studio monitors. I was astounded by the quality. It could give you goose-bumps. Unfortunately people started complaining that it does not have enough bass and with every firmware update since then, JBL increases the bass response and destroys everything else. There is…
Interesting. Since Sony, whose Bluetooth speakers I'd been using for most of a decade, discontinued most of their higher-end stuff, I tried out the JBL Charge 4 earlier this year and was astounded at how bad the sound quality was. There was a very ugly rumble in the low mids that was grating. I'd wondered if I'd gotten a defective unit since the sound quality was so bad, but was disenchanted enough to look elsewhere. From what you're saying, it sounds like they may have been another victim of the bass wars. I ended up going for the Anker SoundCore Boost, which I genuinely thought sounded better and is a third the cost.