7 ms·

I mean...neat? But the price is insane. £195 for a very basic case that you have to assemble yourself?

gorgoiler 5y ago
Teenage Engineering had previously been victims of their own success. They openly admitted that the reason why their prices are so eye-wateringly high — at least with another product of theirs, the OP-1 synth emulator — is because they can’t produce in high enough supply, and they got fed up with seeing scalpers / touts buying up all their stock and selling it on at twice the price.
Kirby64 5y ago
It's Teenage Engineering. None of their stuff is cheap, and you're paying mainly for the aesthetic.
- MengerSponge 5y ago
  I think you mean A E S T H E T I C
  - organsnyder 5y ago
    Don't you mean a e s t h e t i c?
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - throwaway889900 5y ago
      You mean ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ ?
- acomjean 5y ago
  except those pocket operators. Those are pretty affordable music thing. Its basically a circuit board, even the hanging part is part of the board. https://teenage.engineering/products/po https://teenage.engineering/products/po They're lots of fun. (I have the rythmn and robot ones). Its weird you could do this on a cell phone now, but the separate device kinda works well. of course the optional case is about half the cost of the device.. but I never bought one and haven't had a problem.. and runs on regular aaa batteries!
- Zanneth 5y ago
  They make high quality stuff. I have an OP-1 synthesizer. It's not just good looking, it's an amazingly innovative and fun device.
  - thih9 5y ago
    I agree that their stuff is high quality concept-wise; at the same time their products are not very durable. E.g. OP-1 is prone to failures; knobs break, ports and keys stop working. In case someone likes high quality and durable products, I recommend doing careful research before buying from this brand.
  - Kirby64 5y ago
    Not saying OP-1 is a bad product, but it is VERY expensive, and one could argue that the aesthetic of the OP-1 is what makes it a good device. For something like a PC case, there's already a LOT of options in aesthetics, so asking for nearly $200 for a case (that, as pointed out, you have to assemble yourself!) is a bit much to swallow. $200 gets you basically the highest end case in ANY look that you want. Perhaps not this 'unique', but you have a plethora of options.
  - neom 5y ago
    They used to make high quality stuff. OPZ and OB4 have been a huge let down in terms of build quality and sturdiness.
  - breadzeppelin__ 5y ago
    I'm not sure that is still the case. I have an OP-Z and lurking forums for that device reveals tons of posts about build / hardware issues. Luckily my secondhand unit only has SOME broken components but it's pretty widely known as an incredibly fragile device with many design flaws
    - hbosch 5y ago
      The OP-Z is made of plastic. The OP-1 is all aluminum.
BoorishBears 5y ago
On one hand mini ITX cases tend to come with a price premium if they're anything more than the most basic plastic case. But on the other, usually you get excellent sound absorption, clever mounting solutions etc. At first glance this is an objectively bad case by the usual measures of high-end mini ITX cases. This is another functional display piece for a designer's desk, just like the Playdate. It's overpriced, but in a similar way to how a clay brick with Supreme stamped on it goes for hundreds of dollars.
- antiterra 5y ago
  What was your experience using the Playdate that informed you that it should be relegated to a designers desk?
  - BoorishBears 5y ago
    Teenage Engineering is literally selling a dock with a pen holder for the thing. I feel like this is supposed to be a well-laid trap of a question, but c'mon... technically Amiibo are for unlocking in-game extras, what's my experience with those for them to end up relegated to a designer's desk?
    - caconym_ 5y ago
      It's not a "trap". If you say something like this: > This is another functional display piece for a designer's desk, just like the Playdate. Then you'd better have something to back it up. And unless you're one of the few people who've actually used a Playdate (who actually had largely positive impressions IIRC) then what basis in fact, or even in subjective experience does your comment actually have? Seems to me the answer is none. And that's worth calling out.
      - BoorishBears 5y ago
        The fact that it literally turns into a desk clock instead of turning off by default isn't something? The fact the creators of it are letting you put it on double duty as a pen holder isn't something? Are you joking? - The problem is you're getting upset someone dared to imply this amazing device is going to end up unused... As if Teenage Engineering of all companies didn't realize a lot of people will treat these like an interactive desk ornament. So they made it look striking. And maybe thought of a cool way to display it. Maybe like, a stand. With a pen holder. As if something that's intentionally niche in functionality and divergent in design is never released in limited quantity to double as a statement piece... (Not a chance: https://www.kanyewest.com/ https://www.kanyewest.com/) I know HN users do enjoy purposefully acting like they lack basic context on things they're braying about so they can turn around and go "Cite your sources! How dare you assume I know what I'm talking about!"... but how like how does anyone with any idea what Teenage Engineering is as a company and un-ironically think: "What blasphemy! To imply their items are aesthetically pleasing enough to become ornaments rather than be heavily used!"
LegitShady 5y ago
Its not for computer people it's for teenage engineering people. There's a big difference. Not to be too mean about it (I do own an op-z) but there's a subset of synthheads who will buy whatever they put out. The price is about double what i expect anyone else to sell it for so that is about on par with most of their stuff. The most interesting thing to me is that they don't seem to give you a reason to want to buy it over some other mitx case. Its just "we made a small computer case it's small!". They're marketing to their own fans with this.
- wyre 5y ago
  A synth head looking for a SFF should get a Mac mini, much better value for music production than this tiny pc. I think their just showcasing their proof of concept.
  - LegitShady 5y ago
    They were for sale so it's not really about the showcase. This ain't for all synth heads this is for the teenage engineering enthusiast synthheads.
  - whywhywhywhy 5y ago
    It's not a PC it's a case and it was designed for their own team computer needs which is presumably a nice looking case for a high end build to run CAD software. The number of PC components that look nice, not the designed for gamers RGB aesthetic is miniscule, so they're definitely going to do alright with sales of this.
throw_m239339 5y ago
It's Teenage Engineer! And behold their 600€ radio: https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 Yes, I said a radio. While the OP-1 is a unique musical instrument (sold a $700 10 years ago, now $1200 new, god only knows why...), these designers will make you pay a premium for most of their products, aside from the low quality pocket operators.
- zepto 5y ago
  The radio is incomplete without the $400 leather bag.
- augustuspolius 5y ago
  It looks like you at least heard of this product before and yet you completely misrepresent it for some reason. This is not just a radio, it’s a music instrument of sorts: it continuously records what you hear on the radio and allows you to manipulate it in real time (rewind, loop, time stretch).
- nathanvanfleet 5y ago
  I agree with everything you are saying except that pocket operators are actually quite neat. But yeah, everything else is actually really pricey and actually has a lot of reliability problems. You see a lot of people paying that $1200 for the OP-1 and it just breaks and TE doesn't support their product either.
- marcodiego 5y ago
  Looks like something designed by Dieter Rams.
  - TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
    Looks like something designed by Dieter Rams around 1969. Which I guess is the point. Zero appeal for me, but I'm clearly not the target audience.
- wodenokoto 5y ago
  It’s a Bluetooth speaker. Compared to other high end design speakers such as B&O / BeoSound it’s not particularly pricey, if at all.
tengbretson 5y ago
The price is pretty comparable to other enthusiast-tier mini-ITX cases, like the Skyreach 4 mini.
Puts 5y ago
I think anyone complaining about the price is missing something. Anything produced in small quantities will be expensive and I wouldn’t even assume they themselves thinks this product is gonna be profitable. I suspect a lot of the projects TE puts out is more about showcasing their design language to then be able to do collaborations with other brands like IKEA who can take a product to a broader market. In other words their products are like business cards sold to a niche category of people who like products that look like a collaboration between Dieter Rams and Simone Giertz.
- bruce343434 5y ago
  I get what you're saying. But as a consumer, I don't care what the production costs. I care what the product itself costs and what I'm getting out of it vs what similar products cost and what I get out of those.
  - ssully 5y ago
    Exactly. The PC case market is actually really competitive these days. It seems like new high quality cases at a good cost are coming out on a monthly basis at this point. Teenage Engineering makes cool stuff and this case looks nice, but I don't think I would ever spend this kind of money on a case.
  - spaniard89277 5y ago
    Well, maybe you as a consumer can value the effort this guy made and pay it. I mean, not every one of your consumer decisions has to be based on the lowest price possible.
  - caconym_ 5y ago
    The people buying Mini-ITX cases for custom PC builds are typically hobbyists, and the value they derive from these cases (which are expensive across the board, it's a niche low-volume market) is not the same value you or I get from buying a (relatively) cheap ATX tower and throwing whatever parts into it. If you go looking for "similar products", I guarantee that you will find some very expensive cases indeed. Not every product is for every consumer. This case is already sold out, so apparently somebody wants it.
shantanujoshi 5y ago
In the SFF (small form factor) case game this is a quite reasonable price. Check out the ncase, ghost s1, etc.
- favorited 5y ago
  The Ncase is no more, sadly. The company is still around, so everyone is expecting they'll have a new case eventually, but the M1 is EOL.
  - listic 5y ago
    But why?
    - favorited 5y ago
      Here's their statement: https://ncases.com/blogs/news/farewell-m1-classic https://ncases.com/blogs/news/farewell-m1-classic My read is that there's a lot more competition now. The M1 just isn't as competitive with (for example) the NR200 being so similar, 1/2 the price, and produced by a major manufacturer/system integrator. It's not the SFF case that I'm using now, but it's the one I used the longest and was certainly the most versatile. If I hadn't decided to build my first custom loop in the Meshlicious, I'd still be using my M1 today.
whywhywhywhy 5y ago
Niche product you’re buying for the design and aesthetic, 200 seems very fair to me. I’ll never understand the complaining about case prices, it’s big enough to be a piece of furniture in your house, why wouldn’t you pay more for something that looks and feels premium or has a design you like.
beachy 5y ago
Not just assemble but actually bend/form the corners yourself. Without the benefit of seeing it in the flesh, I fear either I would struggle to get accurate bends (which would annoy me for the rest of it's life) or the case has been made flimsy so it bends easily. Beautiful web site and digging the orange though.
fnord77 5y ago
I mean, popular sliger m-itx cases are around $250 https://www.sliger.com/products/cases/s620/ https://www.sliger.com/products/cases/s620/
stjohnswarts 5y ago
Yeah, you can absolutely buy much cheaper cases. I think this type of thing is to appeal to people who like to look fashionable. The same group that forks over a couple of extra hundred bucks per build on RGB accessories.

Teenage Engineering had previously been victims of their own success. They openly admitted that the reason why their prices are so eye-wateringly high — at least with another product of theirs, the OP-1 synth emulator — is because they can’t produce in high enough supply, and they got fed up with seeing scalpers / touts buying up all their stock and selling it on at twice the price.

Kirby64 5y ago

It's Teenage Engineering. None of their stuff is cheap, and you're paying mainly for the aesthetic.

MengerSponge 5y ago
I think you mean A E S T H E T I C
- organsnyder 5y ago
  Don't you mean a e s t h e t i c?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - throwaway889900 5y ago
    You mean ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ ?
acomjean 5y ago
except those pocket operators. Those are pretty affordable music thing. Its basically a circuit board, even the hanging part is part of the board. https://teenage.engineering/products/po https://teenage.engineering/products/po They're lots of fun. (I have the rythmn and robot ones). Its weird you could do this on a cell phone now, but the separate device kinda works well. of course the optional case is about half the cost of the device.. but I never bought one and haven't had a problem.. and runs on regular aaa batteries!
Zanneth 5y ago
They make high quality stuff. I have an OP-1 synthesizer. It's not just good looking, it's an amazingly innovative and fun device.
- thih9 5y ago
  I agree that their stuff is high quality concept-wise; at the same time their products are not very durable. E.g. OP-1 is prone to failures; knobs break, ports and keys stop working. In case someone likes high quality and durable products, I recommend doing careful research before buying from this brand.
- Kirby64 5y ago
  Not saying OP-1 is a bad product, but it is VERY expensive, and one could argue that the aesthetic of the OP-1 is what makes it a good device. For something like a PC case, there's already a LOT of options in aesthetics, so asking for nearly $200 for a case (that, as pointed out, you have to assemble yourself!) is a bit much to swallow. $200 gets you basically the highest end case in ANY look that you want. Perhaps not this 'unique', but you have a plethora of options.
- neom 5y ago
  They used to make high quality stuff. OPZ and OB4 have been a huge let down in terms of build quality and sturdiness.
- breadzeppelin__ 5y ago
  I'm not sure that is still the case. I have an OP-Z and lurking forums for that device reveals tons of posts about build / hardware issues. Luckily my secondhand unit only has SOME broken components but it's pretty widely known as an incredibly fragile device with many design flaws
  - hbosch 5y ago
    The OP-Z is made of plastic. The OP-1 is all aluminum.

BoorishBears 5y ago

On one hand mini ITX cases tend to come with a price premium if they're anything more than the most basic plastic case. But on the other, usually you get excellent sound absorption, clever mounting solutions etc. At first glance this is an objectively bad case by the usual measures of high-end mini ITX cases. This is another functional display piece for a designer's desk, just like the Playdate. It's overpriced, but in a similar way to how a clay brick with Supreme stamped on it goes for hundreds of dollars.

antiterra 5y ago
What was your experience using the Playdate that informed you that it should be relegated to a designers desk?
- BoorishBears 5y ago
  Teenage Engineering is literally selling a dock with a pen holder for the thing. I feel like this is supposed to be a well-laid trap of a question, but c'mon... technically Amiibo are for unlocking in-game extras, what's my experience with those for them to end up relegated to a designer's desk?
  - caconym_ 5y ago
    It's not a "trap". If you say something like this: > This is another functional display piece for a designer's desk, just like the Playdate. Then you'd better have something to back it up. And unless you're one of the few people who've actually used a Playdate (who actually had largely positive impressions IIRC) then what basis in fact, or even in subjective experience does your comment actually have? Seems to me the answer is none. And that's worth calling out.
    - BoorishBears 5y ago
      The fact that it literally turns into a desk clock instead of turning off by default isn't something? The fact the creators of it are letting you put it on double duty as a pen holder isn't something? Are you joking? - The problem is you're getting upset someone dared to imply this amazing device is going to end up unused... As if Teenage Engineering of all companies didn't realize a lot of people will treat these like an interactive desk ornament. So they made it look striking. And maybe thought of a cool way to display it. Maybe like, a stand. With a pen holder. As if something that's intentionally niche in functionality and divergent in design is never released in limited quantity to double as a statement piece... (Not a chance: https://www.kanyewest.com/ https://www.kanyewest.com/) I know HN users do enjoy purposefully acting like they lack basic context on things they're braying about so they can turn around and go "Cite your sources! How dare you assume I know what I'm talking about!"... but how like how does anyone with any idea what Teenage Engineering is as a company and un-ironically think: "What blasphemy! To imply their items are aesthetically pleasing enough to become ornaments rather than be heavily used!"

LegitShady 5y ago

Its not for computer people it's for teenage engineering people. There's a big difference. Not to be too mean about it (I do own an op-z) but there's a subset of synthheads who will buy whatever they put out. The price is about double what i expect anyone else to sell it for so that is about on par with most of their stuff. The most interesting thing to me is that they don't seem to give you a reason to want to buy it over some other mitx case. Its just "we made a small computer case it's small!". They're marketing to their own fans with this.

wyre 5y ago
A synth head looking for a SFF should get a Mac mini, much better value for music production than this tiny pc. I think their just showcasing their proof of concept.
- LegitShady 5y ago
  They were for sale so it's not really about the showcase. This ain't for all synth heads this is for the teenage engineering enthusiast synthheads.
- whywhywhywhy 5y ago
  It's not a PC it's a case and it was designed for their own team computer needs which is presumably a nice looking case for a high end build to run CAD software. The number of PC components that look nice, not the designed for gamers RGB aesthetic is miniscule, so they're definitely going to do alright with sales of this.

throw_m239339 5y ago

It's Teenage Engineer! And behold their 600€ radio: https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 Yes, I said a radio. While the OP-1 is a unique musical instrument (sold a $700 10 years ago, now $1200 new, god only knows why...), these designers will make you pay a premium for most of their products, aside from the low quality pocket operators.

zepto 5y ago
The radio is incomplete without the $400 leather bag.
augustuspolius 5y ago
It looks like you at least heard of this product before and yet you completely misrepresent it for some reason. This is not just a radio, it’s a music instrument of sorts: it continuously records what you hear on the radio and allows you to manipulate it in real time (rewind, loop, time stretch).
nathanvanfleet 5y ago
I agree with everything you are saying except that pocket operators are actually quite neat. But yeah, everything else is actually really pricey and actually has a lot of reliability problems. You see a lot of people paying that $1200 for the OP-1 and it just breaks and TE doesn't support their product either.
marcodiego 5y ago
Looks like something designed by Dieter Rams.
- TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
  Looks like something designed by Dieter Rams around 1969. Which I guess is the point. Zero appeal for me, but I'm clearly not the target audience.
wodenokoto 5y ago
It’s a Bluetooth speaker. Compared to other high end design speakers such as B&O / BeoSound it’s not particularly pricey, if at all.

tengbretson 5y ago

The price is pretty comparable to other enthusiast-tier mini-ITX cases, like the Skyreach 4 mini.

Puts 5y ago

I think anyone complaining about the price is missing something. Anything produced in small quantities will be expensive and I wouldn’t even assume they themselves thinks this product is gonna be profitable. I suspect a lot of the projects TE puts out is more about showcasing their design language to then be able to do collaborations with other brands like IKEA who can take a product to a broader market. In other words their products are like business cards sold to a niche category of people who like products that look like a collaboration between Dieter Rams and Simone Giertz.

bruce343434 5y ago
I get what you're saying. But as a consumer, I don't care what the production costs. I care what the product itself costs and what I'm getting out of it vs what similar products cost and what I get out of those.
- ssully 5y ago
  Exactly. The PC case market is actually really competitive these days. It seems like new high quality cases at a good cost are coming out on a monthly basis at this point. Teenage Engineering makes cool stuff and this case looks nice, but I don't think I would ever spend this kind of money on a case.
- spaniard89277 5y ago
  Well, maybe you as a consumer can value the effort this guy made and pay it. I mean, not every one of your consumer decisions has to be based on the lowest price possible.
- caconym_ 5y ago
  The people buying Mini-ITX cases for custom PC builds are typically hobbyists, and the value they derive from these cases (which are expensive across the board, it's a niche low-volume market) is not the same value you or I get from buying a (relatively) cheap ATX tower and throwing whatever parts into it. If you go looking for "similar products", I guarantee that you will find some very expensive cases indeed. Not every product is for every consumer. This case is already sold out, so apparently somebody wants it.

shantanujoshi 5y ago

In the SFF (small form factor) case game this is a quite reasonable price. Check out the ncase, ghost s1, etc.

favorited 5y ago
The Ncase is no more, sadly. The company is still around, so everyone is expecting they'll have a new case eventually, but the M1 is EOL.
- listic 5y ago
  But why?
  - favorited 5y ago
    Here's their statement: https://ncases.com/blogs/news/farewell-m1-classic https://ncases.com/blogs/news/farewell-m1-classic My read is that there's a lot more competition now. The M1 just isn't as competitive with (for example) the NR200 being so similar, 1/2 the price, and produced by a major manufacturer/system integrator. It's not the SFF case that I'm using now, but it's the one I used the longest and was certainly the most versatile. If I hadn't decided to build my first custom loop in the Meshlicious, I'd still be using my M1 today.

whywhywhywhy 5y ago

Niche product you’re buying for the design and aesthetic, 200 seems very fair to me. I’ll never understand the complaining about case prices, it’s big enough to be a piece of furniture in your house, why wouldn’t you pay more for something that looks and feels premium or has a design you like.

beachy 5y ago

Not just assemble but actually bend/form the corners yourself. Without the benefit of seeing it in the flesh, I fear either I would struggle to get accurate bends (which would annoy me for the rest of it's life) or the case has been made flimsy so it bends easily. Beautiful web site and digging the orange though.

fnord77 5y ago

I mean, popular sliger m-itx cases are around $250 https://www.sliger.com/products/cases/s620/ https://www.sliger.com/products/cases/s620/

stjohnswarts 5y ago

Yeah, you can absolutely buy much cheaper cases. I think this type of thing is to appeal to people who like to look fashionable. The same group that forks over a couple of extra hundred bucks per build on RGB accessories.