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Teenage Engineering's free computer case

teenage.engineering

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Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#31

Post by cole-k »

gyomu wrote: post #29
brandokyk wrote: post #7

they have a branding problem - they are starting to being perceived like a snobby brand with ridiculously overpriced products sold as a status symbol - a Balanciaga of creative tech basically so they are trying to put out some cheap good value products to signal a return of the original hacker ethos

The world of music hardware is an interesting one. You'll meet some amazing musicians who have been touring for decades and are still playing on the same guitar they got for $800 15 years ago. And you'll meet people who drop 5 figures on synth gear every year and have never put together a single track. If you're running a business selling electronic music gear, who would you rather target?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_(guitar)

Not to defend Teenage Engineering, but I have seen a surprising number of OP-1s in music videos/live performances of bands I respect. Does that justify its price tag? I feel somewhat certain in saying "no," but I have no expertise. Love its aesthetics though.

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#32

Post by fifilura »

ornornor wrote: post #30
fifilura wrote: post #26

Giving things away for free is one way to round tariffs I guess. "More flipped out '25 offers will be presented during the rest of the year (Or until the world is a little more stable)." https://teenage.engineering/25-the-flipped-out-year

That completely flew over my head. I can’t parse the sentence to understand if they’re making a statement or what they mean. What is a “flipped out ‘25 offer”?

I was focusing more on the "Or until the world is a little more stable" part. I am guessing they have a lot of customers in USA, so they are hit by tariffs.

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#33

Post by maxbond »

ludicrousdispla wrote: post #23
dmos62 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't the power supply ground all static?

Probably not guaranteed, I've often wondered why my clothes out of the dryer have a static charge when the dryer is plugged into a grounded outlet.

That had never occurred to me but is a great question. I suppose between the poor conductivity of the fabric and the paint inside the dryer, the system is very well insulated. Maybe a dryer with bare walls could be antistatic without the use of dryer sheets. But maybe that would be a fire hazard.

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#34

Post by gyomu »

cole-k wrote: post #31
gyomu wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world of music hardware is an interesting one. You'll meet some amazing musicians who have been touring for decades and are still playing on the same guitar they got for $800 15 years ago. And you'll meet people who drop 5 figures on synth gear every year and have never put together a single track. If you're running a business selling electronic music gear, who would you rather target?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_(guitar) Not to defend Teenage Engineering, but I have seen a surprising number of OP-1s in music videos/live performances of bands I respect. Does that justify its price tag? I feel somewhat certain in saying "no," but I have no expertise. Love its aesthetics though.

The OP1 is a genius piece of design tbh. It is very flexible and powerful for its small size, and devices in its category were very rare when it first came out (it helped define the modern incarnation of that category).

It was pricy but still under the $1k mark - pretty standard for a piece of consumer creative gear.

The design made it extremely approachable, which means a ton of techie people who wouldn't be into music gear otherwise still wanted to grab one just to try it and who knows, maybe it'd turn them into musicians.

So yeah, fantastically designed piece of kit. Lots of respect to TE for having brought that into the world.

I think a lot of the frustration directed at TE more recently is due to the fact that that base equation around price/features/quality of the product, which was very good for the OP1, has only gotten worse for later products.

And the OP1 itself, despite being an almost 15 year old product, has gone up in price A LOT (and the 1f upgrades don't justify the bump).

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#35

Post by zevon »

senectus1 wrote: post #13
al_borland wrote: post #2

Sold Out. I was expected this to be a 3D print design people could grab for free.

i mean... this should be a thing. hmmm now you have me thinking.

It is a thing. ;) Here's a meta-search on different 3D model sharing platforms for "ATX case": https://thangs.com/search/atx%20case?scope=all

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#36

Post by phatskat »

gyomu wrote: post #34
cole-k wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_(guitar) Not to defend Teenage Engineering, but I have seen a surprising number of OP-1s in music videos/live performances of bands I respect. Does that justify its price tag? I feel somewhat certain in saying "no," but I have no expertise. Love its aesthetics though.

The OP1 is a genius piece of design tbh. It is very flexible and powerful for its small size, and devices in its category were very rare when it first came out (it helped define the modern incarnation of that category). It was pricy but still under the $1k mark - pretty standard for a piece of consumer creative gear. The design made it extremely approachable, which means a ton of techie people who wouldn't be into mu…

I fell in love with the OP1 when I first saw it many many years ago. A few years back I took some of my bonus and finally got one, despite the price being a little higher than launch (I want to say maybe $1500?).

It’s an amazing little piece of gear and is super fun - it’s definitely not for everyone, and requires a different approach to music making that (for me) focuses less on the functional, reproducible aspect, and more on an ephemeral journey that might end in a new track or might just be a jam, but I hardly ever fire it up and walk way not having a good time.

Currently have it wired to a Deluge and a POM-400, and mostly I send some MIDI notes to the OP1 for some added depth. But the synth engine feels so rich and powerful for such a little bugger!

10/10 would recommend and also there’s probably a lot more bang for your musical buck out there (cough couch Deluge)

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#38

Post by c-c-c-c-c »

TabTwo wrote: post #37

Curious question, this case is pure PP. What about shilding EMV emissions? Is this "legal" to run a pc open like that?

Yes because this is just a case, if you build a product in it and sell it then you need to meet EMC regulations (EC marking in europe).

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#39

Post by bob1029 »

ludicrousdispla wrote: post #23
dmos62 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't the power supply ground all static?

Probably not guaranteed, I've often wondered why my clothes out of the dryer have a static charge when the dryer is plugged into a grounded outlet.

As the clothes get dryer they become less conductive. Even if there was a perfect path to ground, the charge wouldn't be able to get there across the material itself.

Re: Teenage Engineering's free computer case

#40

Post by dspillett »

TabTwo wrote: post #37

Curious question, this case is pure PP. What about shilding EMV emissions? Is this "legal" to run a pc open like that?

It varies, but in many places you couldn't sell a device without proper shielding, but unless you are causing disruption to a public service or safety equipment there is nothing that stops a person owning and running one. Just think of the world full of rPi units, other SBCs, and other PCs, running completely caseless or in cases without much/any thought towards EMC shielding - it obviously isn't a problem, or it would be a big problem.

Most rPi units and similar are fine as they can be argued to be sold as parts rather than devices just like any other motherboard¹. The Pi400 presumably gets away with it, as something this is conspicuously sold as a device not a part, because that chonky heatsink² is enough to disrupt any errant EM fields outside the ranges that it should be emitting (those around 2.4GHz and 5GHz).

There are many grey areas, and indeed those where the letter of the regs is broken but not enforced. To cut a long story short wrt “Is this "legal" to run a pc open like that?”: yes running a PC in a case like that with no extra shielding is legal pretty much everywhere, though selling a complete PC with a case like that probably breaks regs and maybe even laws.

----

[1] putting the responsibility with the purchaser, where it isn't enforced unless it is a problem (I chose not to shield my TV-box Pi4, not the company, and it isn't putting enough junk out to disrupt anyone else's anything else)

[2] everything else about the case is plastic

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