Teenage Engineering makes distinctive merchandise that stand on the intersection of artwork and music, and I have been a long-time consumer of its synthesizers. I began out with the inexpensive PO synths, and moved to the OP-1 discipline, which stands out in its personal method due to the design and {hardware} interface.
Within the context of cellphone design, Teenage Engineering is best-known for its collaboration with Nothing, and up to date merchandise just like the Telephone 4a present a transparent development of that distinctive design aesthetic.
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It is no surprise, then, that when Teenage Engineering units out to make a Bluetooth speaker, it is completely different to every thing else out there at this time. The OB-4 debuted over 5 years in the past, however the speaker continues to do effectively due to its refreshing design and feature-set that you just simply do not see wherever else.
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I am going to get to these options in a bit, however earlier than that, let’s do a high-level overview of the OB-4. As you’d think about from Teenage Engineering, the design is somewhat distinctive, with the OB-4 is styled to seem like a retro growth field — the carrying deal with reinforces that design alternative. The general look is fairly trendy, and I just like the crimson shade choice I acquired; it permits the OB-4 to face out visually in opposition to each different Bluetooth speaker I’ve in my home.
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It is not significantly heavy at 3.75lb (1.7kg), and the deal with makes it straightforward to take wherever — the boxy design works to its benefit in that regard. The deal with doubles as a stand as effectively, and it homes the built-in radio antenna, however extra on that later. Whereas the general design is placing, it’s liable to scratches; after 4 months of use, I see minute scratches on the physique.
Construct high quality is in any other case nice, and I did not see any issues with the OB-4 within the time I used it. The speaker has twin 4-inch drivers alongside two tweeters, and it delivers surprisingly detailed sound. Not like Bose’s audio system, the OB-4 is not tuned in direction of a impartial signature, as an alternative providing a bass-heavy sound that is pleasant in its personal method. If you’d like a impartial sound as an alternative, you may must get the Bose SoundLink Max.
Now, all of that is fairly commonplace on this class, nevertheless it’s the remainder of the options that make the OB-4 stand out a lot. Let’s get began.
You’ll be able to take heed to native FM radio stations
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Along with Bluetooth connectivity and three.5mm in, the OB-4 has an FM radio tuner, and it is simply plain cool to have the ability to take heed to native FM broadcasts. There is a built-in antenna that coils across the deal with, and whereas the sign varies fairly a bit based mostly in your environment, it’s novel to take heed to radio stations on the OB-4.
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Whereas 3.5mm is commonplace sufficient, it lets me join my OP-1 discipline to the OB-4, and it is a pairing that works rather well.
Prompt rewind is on the spot nostalgia
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A singular characteristic on the OB-4 is a built-in tape mode that allows you to mechanically rewind — you are able to do that with FM broadcasts as effectively. Mainly, the OB-4 continually information no matter is taking part in, and also you get the flexibility to rewind because of this. The rolling two-hour recordings is one thing that you just will not use extensively, nevertheless it’s such a cool characteristic that I discovered myself rewinding music only for the nostalgia.
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It has built-in ambient sounds — and you need to use it as a sampler
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Disk mode on the OB-4 is exclusive in that it has built-in sounds which can be very completely different. There’s an ambient mode, noise generator, and a metronome, and a karma mode with non secular sounds — it is bizarre sufficient that I did not use the mode after testing it out as soon as.
That mentioned, the ambient mode and noise generator options are fairly helpful, and also you additionally get the flexibility to create audio loops, turning it into an honest sampler.
The bodily controls are legitimately cool
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Sure, I do know that Teenage Engineering is not the one model that has bodily controls on their merchandise — I take advantage of Marshall’s Kilburn and Stanmore day by day — however the OB-4 controls are delightfully bizarre. The amount knob juts out from the physique and is straightforward sufficient to make use of, however the rewind characteristic wants you to bodily flip the dial.
You additionally get bodily buttons to change between connectivity choices, and cycle by the varied decisions out there in disk mode. On most Bluetooth gadgets, you get a gauge to point out remaining battery life. The OB-4 has one too, however you have to tilt it front and back for it to point out up, and that is the correct amount of quirky.
The OB-4 is exclusive in all the appropriate methods
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The OB-4 retails for $579 on Amazon and $599 for the crimson mannequin, and that is fairly a bit costlier than most mainstream Bluetooth audio system. Nonetheless, the OB-4 is something however mainstream, and the distinctive styling, sound signature, and litany of options make it a Bluetooth speaker like no different. When you simply want a Bluetooth speaker, there are dozens of options that ship nice sound. However if you’d like one thing that is really distinctive, the OB-4 is the plain alternative.
