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> doesn't break Can get behind the rest of your comment but I don't think anyone's ever accused TE of making durable products. To their credit though, they rep

> doesn't break Can get behind the rest of your comment but I don't think anyone's ever accused TE of making durable products. To their credit though, they replaced my broken PO without a fuss, so I'm not a detractor.

IAmPym 5y ago
I have used TE products on occasion and looked into them deeply from a bunch of engineering perspectives. Compared to other products in a similar price point and form factor the likelihood of a problem is far lower. When you reduce the size you eliminate structural components and if you can't mill aluminum you're left with a lot of difficult choices to make to keep things stable. TE does a good job of balancing those things. Customer service is where you see the end result of this. Replacing things quickly and easily means they aren't struggling to support bad design decisions in terms of stability.
- thih9 5y ago
  Another data point, I own OP-1 and I find it of low durability, especially for the price. E.g. its knobs, buttons and jacks seem delicate compared to other gear in similar price range.
- prmoustache 5y ago
  Tell that to all the bent Op-Z owners whose dials pop out randomly from the case.
- lamp_book 5y ago
  Good to know! Very jealous of your line of work, btw, seems like a great place to be!
- LegitShady 5y ago
  this has not been my experience with several TE products. My experience suggests that TE charges a lot because they 1) they're a status symbol so they can and 2) they replace a lot of devices. TE to me does not at all signify high quality or 'good build quality'. Just 'ok' and 'it will likely fail long before its purchase price justifies itself'. They're the pre-intel apple of the synth world - overpriced and not worth the cost, but status symbols for those who want them.
- bmitc 5y ago
  There is an entire aftermarket for OP-1 USB and audio I/O boards because they fail so often, both physically and electronically, and somewhat the same for the buttons and knobs. But yes, the milled aluminum is solid. I still love the OP-1 though. Nothing quite like it.
relaxing 5y ago
The PO series are a different beast entirely. You can’t compare their $80 toy synths made of PC board to their high end stuff.
- LegitShady 5y ago
  OP-Z - bends straight out of the box and causes double trigs, keyboard is plastic welded so can't be repaired outside of depot. custom battery only so once TE stops supporting it this thing is dead. OP-1 - commonly has power switch issues, as well as other quirks that are harder to nail down, as well as keyboard issues. Teenage engineering support is extremely slow sometimes taking a week+ to reply to support issues. I've heard of people not getting responses at all. Their high end stuff is just expensive - the high price tag doesn't mean high quality. I say all this as an op-z owner and former owner of multiple pocket operators who wishes it was a better device than it is. It isn't. I wouldn't pay them $1200 for anything.
aetherspawn 5y ago
TE is a trademark of Tyco Electronics, a very popular connector and electrical device supplier (audio included), and could be a confusing acronym to use for Teenage Engineering.
- imwillofficial 5y ago
  In the context of the linked post, nobody is confused.

IAmPym 5y ago

I have used TE products on occasion and looked into them deeply from a bunch of engineering perspectives. Compared to other products in a similar price point and form factor the likelihood of a problem is far lower. When you reduce the size you eliminate structural components and if you can't mill aluminum you're left with a lot of difficult choices to make to keep things stable. TE does a good job of balancing those things. Customer service is where you see the end result of this. Replacing things quickly and easily means they aren't struggling to support bad design decisions in terms of stability.

thih9 5y ago
Another data point, I own OP-1 and I find it of low durability, especially for the price. E.g. its knobs, buttons and jacks seem delicate compared to other gear in similar price range.
prmoustache 5y ago
Tell that to all the bent Op-Z owners whose dials pop out randomly from the case.
lamp_book 5y ago
Good to know! Very jealous of your line of work, btw, seems like a great place to be!
LegitShady 5y ago
this has not been my experience with several TE products. My experience suggests that TE charges a lot because they 1) they're a status symbol so they can and 2) they replace a lot of devices. TE to me does not at all signify high quality or 'good build quality'. Just 'ok' and 'it will likely fail long before its purchase price justifies itself'. They're the pre-intel apple of the synth world - overpriced and not worth the cost, but status symbols for those who want them.
bmitc 5y ago
There is an entire aftermarket for OP-1 USB and audio I/O boards because they fail so often, both physically and electronically, and somewhat the same for the buttons and knobs. But yes, the milled aluminum is solid. I still love the OP-1 though. Nothing quite like it.

relaxing 5y ago

The PO series are a different beast entirely. You can’t compare their $80 toy synths made of PC board to their high end stuff.

LegitShady 5y ago
OP-Z - bends straight out of the box and causes double trigs, keyboard is plastic welded so can't be repaired outside of depot. custom battery only so once TE stops supporting it this thing is dead. OP-1 - commonly has power switch issues, as well as other quirks that are harder to nail down, as well as keyboard issues. Teenage engineering support is extremely slow sometimes taking a week+ to reply to support issues. I've heard of people not getting responses at all. Their high end stuff is just expensive - the high price tag doesn't mean high quality. I say all this as an op-z owner and former owner of multiple pocket operators who wishes it was a better device than it is. It isn't. I wouldn't pay them $1200 for anything.

aetherspawn 5y ago

TE is a trademark of Tyco Electronics, a very popular connector and electrical device supplier (audio included), and could be a confusing acronym to use for Teenage Engineering.

imwillofficial 5y ago
In the context of the linked post, nobody is confused.