Teenage Engineering’s new OP–XY makes me want I had a much bigger price range for music gear

Teenage Engineering’s new OP-XY is a transportable synthesizer and sequencer that appears just like the corporate’s OP–1 Area. However functionally it’s as an alternative a extra succesful improve to the corporate’s six-year-old OP-Z, with a stronger give attention to layering sounds with numerous results and a steeper $2,299 price ticket.

With an “anodized, all-black end,” the OP-XY is one more pleasant instance of Teenage Engineering’s design chops. Its black and white motif accented with a grayscale gradient operating throughout its 16 sequencer inputs is the antithesis of the shiny yellow Playdate handheld that Teenage Engineering helped Panic design. In contrast to the $429 OP-Z that relied on a cellular gadget like a smartphone for its display screen, the OP-XY now has a black and white OLED show in-built, which in all probability contributes to the excessive price.

Powered by a twin Blackfin CPU system paired with 512GB of RAM and 8GB of inside storage, the OP-XY gives eight “distinctive synth engines” and punch-in results carried over from the OP-Z and Teenage Engineering’s calculator-sized Pocket Operators. There’s additionally a six-axis accelerometer inside permitting sounds and results to alter by merely shifting the sequencer round.

The OP-XY consists of sampling capabilities by way of a built-in microphone or inputs that embrace a 3.5mm audio port. There’s additionally a USB-C port, a 3.5mm multipurpose output that features MIDI capabilities for controlling exterior synthesizers, and a 3.5mm port for analog audio output. If you happen to don’t wish to take care of wires, the OP-XY’s rechargeable battery will preserve it powered for as much as 16 hours, and there’s assist for MIDI over Bluetooth.

Though Teenage Engineering continues to promote its $59 Pocket Operators, the corporate’s audio gear has shifted in the direction of extra premium and pricier choices in recent times. Its TP-7 Area Recorder, a digital audio recorder with a novel spinning “tape” reel, debuted final yr for $1,499, following a tiny mixer known as the TX-6 that arrived the yr earlier than for $1,199. Even the corporate’s authentic OP-1 synth, which debuted in 2011 for $849, has been changed by the $1,999 OP-1 Area.