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I am, primarily, a guitarist. Dabbling in keys and synths has always felt a bit unnatural from a physical standpoint. A keyboard doesn't respond the way a fretted instrument does. This isn't surprising, nor is it a bad thing. It's just not what I'm used to. The better part of a decade into my journey with synthesizers, I still find myself wiggling my fingers as if it's going to create vibrato, or trying to bend" one note while keeping the other rooted to create shifting harmonies.I've tried my share of MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) controllers, which can capture some of that nuance. But the Roli Seaboard Rise 2 is the first I've played that manages to deliver all of that expressiveness without also being an unmitigated headache in some way. It's probably my new favorite MIDI controller. But, I still have a hard time recommending it to most people.The immediately obvious issue is the price. $1,399 is a lot of money for a MIDI controller. There are some MIDI controllers that come close, but they generally have more generous software bundles; more extensive controls (including faders, knobs and pads); transport controls for your DAW; built-in arpeggiators or sequencers; and screens for viewing parameters and browsing presets.Of course, what those controllers usually lack is MPE functionality. And it's not like the Seaboard Rise 2 isn't a premium device. It's constructed almost entirely from metal, save for the silicone keybed and the small selection of controls to its left. It feels extremely durable, and I'm pretty sure I'd have to go out of my way to do any significant damage to it. Despite that, it's also surprisingly thin and light. At roughly 33 inches, it's slightly longer than your average 49-key controller, but it's less than an inch thick and only a hair over 12 pounds. And that's despite having a battery that can last eight hours when connected over Bluetooth. For comparison, Arturia's batteryless Keylab 49 MKII is nearly 3 inches thick and tips the scales at 14 pounds.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetI'd stop shy of calling it portable, but it's certainly luggable. I've moved it around my home studio quite a bit and it seems easy enough to drag to a gig, especially if you pick up the $100 soft case.You're not buying the Seaboard Rise 2 for the portability, though. You're here for the continuous Keywave2" surface. And let me tell you, once you get over how strange it feels it's pretty incredible.It's important to note that I've never played the original Seaboard Rise. But I have used many other MPE controllers, including Roli's Blocks lineup. They've all had some sort of significant shortcoming, and the Roli Blocks were borderline unusable. Almost everything I've tried has felt either like a novelty or a prototype, rather than a consumer-ready product. (The two exceptions to this being the latest Ableton Push and the Expressive E Osmose, though they're very different devices with drawbacks of their own.) So, while I'm fascinated with MPE and think there's a lot of potential in the technology, I came into this review with pretty low expectations.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetBut, the Seaboard Rise 2 feels like the first time a company has gotten almost everything right in a standalone MPE MIDI controller. The subtle Precision Frets" make feeling your way around the keyboard much easier. I am not a skilled pianist or keyboard player who's doing lightning-quick scale runs based entirely on muscle memory. Still, I welcomed their addition. They made it a lot more obvious when I should stop a slide and helped me make sure my strikes were centered on the keys so I didn't end up sounding out of tune.The squishy silicone keybed also provides excellent feedback. Most other MPE devices I've used have very little travel, if any at all. You might as well be trying to play on a coffee table. Not the Seaboard. The keys" (if you can really call them that) jut up, giving you a sense for where to put your fingers. The surface gently resists and bunches up under your finger when you're performing slides, delivering much needed tactile feedback. There's a lot of depth to the surface, too; this isn't just a thin silicone skin laid over the top of some sensors. It's not quite as satisfying as feeling a key bottom out beneath your fingers, but it's actually easier to coax nuance out of the velocity and aftertouch than on more traditional controllers.That ability to get subtle shifts in timbre, tone and pitch are what make MPE, and the Seaboard in particular, special. With the right combination of hardware or software, each note played can have its own unique expression. A basic example of this being controlling the filter cutoff of a synth patch with the slide parameter on the Seaboard. That means as you move your finger from the bottom of the control surface to the top, the filter opens up to create a brighter sound. But in this case you can raise the cutoff on the higher notes only to emphasize the melody, while keeping the lower register muted and droning.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetGiving each note its own unique velocity, cutoff, et cetera can add incredible depth to even the most simplistic performance. In a more advanced example of how this might work, imagine a software instrument based on orchestral strings. On something like the Seaboard Rise 2, quickly tapping the keys and immediately pulling off could be used to play pizzicato for stabbing chords. But lightly pressing into the silicone surface would produce a slower attack, allowing you to play languid melodies over the top of sharp harmonies. Sliding your finger up to the top could add gentle vibrato to emphasize particular notes, and dragging it left or right would produce realistic glides that are normally only possible on an unfretted, stringed instrument, not a keyboard.I highlight that example because the Seaboard seems especially suited to scoring work. While it's fine for playing your typical lead and bass patches, it separates itself from the pack once you start exploring sounds that are slower and have more evolution. The slight dissonance I could introduce by moving one finger just slightly off the center of a key created this spooky atmosphere that I kept getting lost in. Maybe it was just the season I was doing most of my testing during, but all I kept thinking about was how much I wanted to score a horror movie.Terrence O'Brien / EngadgetClearly Roli knows this is a strength, because a lot of the presets in its Equator 2 softsynth seem geared toward soundtrack work. Normally, the plugin costs $249, but thankfully it's included for free with the Seaboard Rise 2. It easily does the best job of showcasing the controller's various powers. The unfortunate thing is, only a little over a third of the presets are MPE-compatible. And while it's certainly a powerful instrument, Equator 2 has a number of quirks that keep it from feeling fully polished.Perhaps the biggest of those issues is that, when you first install it, many of the factory presets are completely broken and nonfunctional. That's because there are two additional libraries you need to install. But these are in a drop-down list, and there is zero indication that anything else is needed until you actually open the app and it repeatedly tells you that files are missing. I uninstalled and reinstalled Equator and all its preset packs, hoping that would fix the issue. It was only after some Googling that I discovered there were more required downloads hiding right inside the Roli Connect app.The Roli Dashboard at least feels a little less slapdash, and it's arguably a more essential part of the experience. This is where you'll do all the necessary configuring, like choosing whether the Seaboard is in MPE mode or standard MIDI, selecting what MIDI CCs the XY pad controls and setting the sensitivity levels of things like glide and slide. You'll basically always want to have the Dashboard open because, the unfortunate truth is, MPE is still kind of messy. Non-MPE-compatible instruments and plugins might not work right if you don't switch the Rise to single channel mode. I've found getting MPE-enabled plugins to work properly in Ableton Live 11 a little tricky.Even when you do get an MPE-enabled instrument (hardware or software) paired up with a controller like the Seaboard Rise, you'll probably need to do some finetuning to get them completely in sync. For example, you'll have to make sure the pitch bend range in both the Dashboard and whatever you're controlling match up. If the Seaboard is set for a 48-note range, but, let's say, Pigments is set for only two, slides will never land where you expect them and even narrowly missing the deadcenter of a key will result in chords that are painfully out of tune.When everything works, though, it's pretty special. The Seaboard Rise 2 is easier to play and more versatile than any other MPE MIDI controller I've tried. It's probably the most successful showcase of what is possible with the technology.Sure, it's expensive, can be finicky to configure, and there are limited options for instruments that take advantage of its full expressive capabilities. But MPE-capable softsynths are likely only going to grow in popularity over the next few years. Most people should probably hold out and see what the consensus from reviewers is on the more affordable Seaboard Block M. But if you just want the best MPE MIDI controller you can currently buy and don't mind shelling out for a premium device, the Roli Seaboard Rise 2 is it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roli-seaboard-rise-2-review-i-wish-i-had-a-horror-movie-to-score-150028305.html?src=rss

The Sonos Beam has been our top pick for compact soundbars for a while now. It offers a lot in a small package and the second-gen version also supports more immersive Dolby Atmos audio. The Beam doesn't have any upfiring drivers though, so the impact of that spatial sound is limited. That's not an issue with the Ambeo Soundbar Mini ($799.95), Sennheiser's smallest soundbar yet to feature its impressive Ambeo 3D audio technology. It cranks out more sonic oomph with dual upfiring woofers on top of all of its virtualization tricks, in a unit roughly the same size as the Beam. The bigger sound comes at a significantly higher price, though.The designWhile the overall shape of the Ambeo Soundbar Mini is similar to the Sonos Beam, there are differences in the details. Most notably, Sennheiser has opted for illuminated (dimmable) Ambeo branding on the front right corner. The top panel of the mini also slopes back to front and the sides are wrapped in a fabric all the way around. Up top, there are controls for volume, playback, Bluetooth, input selection and muting the microphone. There's also a white light that gets longer from left to right as you increase the volume.The Ambeo Mini is about an inch and a half wider than the Beam at around 27.25 inches, but the height and depth are nearly identical. Not that you'll be moving the speaker around much, but the Mini is also almost a pound heavier than its primary competition. Still, this is a compact unit that's perfectly sized for smaller living rooms and spaces where you don't have the real estate for a bigger soundbar.Inside, there are four 1.6-inch full-range drivers. Two of them are front facing while two more are at the ends, angled slightly outward. A pair of four-inch woofers are positioned near the middle of the soundbar, but they face upward. Sennheiser has also included six class D amplifiers capable of 250 watts of power. Four far-field microphones handle the room calibration and you'll need to make sure they're unmuted before that process can be completed.Sound qualitySennheiserIt's impressive what Sennheiser has managed to get out of a small speaker. When listening to music, there's great bass that provides plenty of low-end thump to the driving drum beats of TesseracT's prog metal and the hip-hop musings of Kaytramine. Even if a soundbar has woofers, most of the living room speakers can't muster enough bass for them to be useful as a music setup without an additional sub. That's not the case here. Still, you'll want to consider an Ambeo Sub if you're planning to use it in a medium-to-large room as the bass tends to get lost in bigger spaces. The Mini also supports Sony's 360 Reality Audio and MPEG-H if you're into them, but the Ambeo does a great job upscaling stereo content.The Ambeo Soundbar Mini's key feature is Sennheiser's 3D audio tech. It has been a staple of the company's soundbars since the first Ambeo model in 2019. Both of the larger, pricier Sennheiser soundbars have more drivers, including two upfiring units in addition to the two upwards facing woofers inside the Ambeo Soundbar Plus. The Mini does a solid job with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content, but the effect isn't as enveloping since it's more reliant on virtualization. I particularly enjoyed the immersive, directional audio in quidditch matches during my annual fall viewing of the Harry Potter series.This soundbar still gives you a 7.1.4 setup after the room calibration places virtual speakers around. That's the same channel layout as the Plus, though that bigger unit has seven total drivers and two woofers for a fuller sound and more immersive experience.Software and featuresLike a lot of smaller soundbars these days, the Ambeo Mini connects to your TV via HDMI eARC. It supports HDMI 2.1, which is the latest spec that allows higher resolution (up to 10K) and higher frame rates (up to 120fps) thanks to increased bandwidth. Most new TVs have at least one HDMI 2.1 port and both PS5 and Xbox Series X support it.All of the settings for the Ambeo Soundbar Mini are accessible in Sennheiser's Smart Control app. This includes the initial setup and room calibration, the latter of which takes about three minutes to complete. First, you have the ability to change the sources between HDMI, Bluetooth or Spotify Connect. There's a volume slider here too and just below reside the Ambeo 3D audio on/off buttons. The company offers a few sound presets next, with Adaptive, Music, Movie, News, Neutral and Sports as the choices. During my tests, I found Adaptive best suited for most viewing and listening, so I kept it locked there. Lastly, the app's main interface provides access to Night Mode and Voice Enhancement features should you need those.Photo by Billy Steele/EngadgetThere's a more detailed settings menu, but I'll only point out one item. Under both Audio and System is where you'll need to go to add an Ambeo Subwoofer to the Mini (the same stuff is available from both places). Once you do, you'll have the ability to adjust the additional speaker's volume and enable a tool called Phase 180. This balances out the low-end from the sub when it's positioned close to the soundbar. Sennheiser says otherwise the bass can have a hollow character and this helps correct that. You'll also need to recalibrate the system once you add a sub, which you can do from this menu.The Mini runs Sennheiser's Ambeo OS, which allows a whole host of connectivity options. You'll primarily connect via Wi-Fi, but as I've already mentioned Bluetooth is here as well. Wi-Fi gives you the choice of Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, in addition to Alexa built-in and Google Chromecast. The wireless connectivity allows you to easily use the Mini as part of a multiroom setup too. I was able to select it and a HomePod from the connections menu in Apple Music with no additional setup required. The company promises a future-proof experience" thanks to regular" Ambeo OS updates as well.The competitionPhoto by Billy Steele/EngadgetAs you've probably guessed, the Ambeo Mini's primary competition is the Sonos Beam. The second-generation version of which debuted in 2021, most notably delivering Dolby Atmos and a new cover. While the speaker sounds great and does an admirable job with Atmos, it doesn't have any upfiring drivers, so the effect of the immersive audio is limited. However, Sonos still achieves a level of immersiveness through some virtualization tricks with extra height and surround channels. Plus, it's $300 cheaper than the Mini, even after Sonos raised the price to $499. You'll probably want a sub for the Beam too, which is another $429 or $799 depending on which model you choose (there is a Beam and Sub Mini bundle that saves you $45).If you're sold on the Ambeo tech no matter the cost, the Plus and Max soundbars are worth a look. Sennheiser has dropped the prices since their debuts as the Plus is now $1,119.95 and the Max is $1,999.95. Like the Mini, neither of those come with an Ambeo Sub which is an additional $599.95 and the only one these soundbars are compatible with. There's no denying these Ambeo models can muster some amazing audio, but you'll pay a premium for the tech.Wrap-upWith its smallest soundbar yet, Sennheiser continues to show how good its 3D audio tech is. The Ambeo Soundbar Mini offers impressive sound in a small package, including great low-end thump without a dedicated wireless sub. It does an admirable job with Dolby Atmos content, though the Mini does its best work in smaller rooms. There's no denying this is a very good home entertainment speaker for the size, but the company makes you pay dearly for its fancy technology.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sennheiser-ambeo-soundbar-mini-review-excellent-and-expensive-183045244.html?src=rss

The first thing to know about the Steam Deck OLED is that it's not the Steam Deck 2. The Steam Deck OLED is a mid-cycle refresh from Valve, similar to the Switch OLED upgrade, but there's a lot more going on internally here. Its screen is better, its battery life is better, its thumbsticks are better, the haptics are better, and its chip and thermals are better. One thing that hasn't changed is its form factor - this is still one of the biggest babies on the handheld block.The new Steam Deck's main upgrade is its OLED screen, which replaces the original LCD and, crucially, has native support for HDR and faster frame rates. The OLED also has smaller bezels, making the display larger at 7.4 inches, compared with the original 7-inch screen.OLED screenThe HDR OLED display looks fantastic. It features a wider P3 color gamut, pure blacks and a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, compared with the original max of 400 nits. In action, this means the screen's bezels meld with the black of any game, creating a more polished frame for retro aspect ratios and providing room for higher-contrast colors. The screen on the new model doesn't support variable refresh rates (VRR), but it now tops out at 90Hz, while the original could only hit 60Hz. The updated display is smooth, crisp and bright, like a perfect lemon tart. (Even then, I do not recommend licking the screen.)Battery lifeOne of the downsides of the first Steam Deck was its short battery life, which maxed out at eight hours, and that was only under ideal conditions. Valve says the new Steam Deck battery will last 30 to 50 percent longer, depending on how you're playing, and it charges faster - the company claims it will go from 20 percent to 80 percent in 45 minutes.Custom AMD APUThe Steam Deck OLED has a die-shrunk version of the custom AMD APU found in the original Steam Deck - same CPU and GPU, just more efficient. This is the process Sony takes advantage of to build the PS4 Slim and PS5 Slim, but instead of collapsing the Steam Deck around smaller hardware, Valve chose to add a bigger battery and larger fan to its existing chassis. For developers, this means the device has the same performance targets as the original and there's no need to create games specifically for the new hardware. In the end, the device weighs about 30 grams less than the original model, or the equivalent of five quarters.EngadgetIn useWhich leads us to the bad news for my tiny hand gang. The Steam Deck OLED is the same monstrous size as the original: 11.7 inches long, 4.5 inches tall and nearly 2 inches thick. The thumbsticks on the new model are actually 1mm taller than the first version. This was one of my main complaints about the Steam Deck when I first reviewed it: I have smaller-than-average hands, and the Steam Deck looks and feels absolutely ridiculous when I'm holding it. It's just massive, no matter how long my manicure gets. However, the OLED model feels more balanced than the original. It's less top-heavy, and it does technically weigh less. These small adjustments have made a noticeable difference during my playtime, and the device feels slightly more manageable as a handheld - or maybe I'm just too distracted by all of its bright, pretty colors to care about the cramping in my palms.The thumbsticks on the new handheld have an improved texture that shouldn't turn gray after a few months' use, and they feel perfectly serviceable so far. In my hands-on time so far, I've found that the OLED touchscreen responds immediately to input, and the haptic feedback on the built-in trackpads feels even more precise, populating in reactive pin-pricks under the textured plastic.I spent a few cozy nights on my couch swapping between the LCD and OLED Steam Decks, and honestly, after I'm done with this review, I'll probably retire my original model. The Steam Deck OLED is sharper and more responsive; indie games, AAA games and plain old Steam menus look so much better on the new hardware.EngadgetHades is my most-played game on the original Steam Deck, so I used that to test out Valve's battery life claims. Though it doesn't support HDR, a game like Hades pops on the OLED, and its animations look more fluid than on the LCD version. The OLED lasted four hours and 23 minutes before dying. With the same settings (800p with a 60 fps cap and similar brightness) the original model died after two hours and 42 minutes. That's a 62 percent improvement, surpassing Valve's own estimates, though batteries degrade and I've had my LCD Steam Deck since the device's launch in early 2022. In a stress test that involved playing Elden Ring with everything maxed out, the OLED battery lasted two hours and 20 minutes, about 40 percent longer than the original.Playing the Steam Decks back-to-back highlighted another significant quality-of-life improvement: heat management. My palms have gotten toasty playing the OLED model, but they haven't broken a sweat like they often do with the original. The new fan may be larger, but it's not any louder, and it clearly works a treat.The Steam Deck OLED has a new Wi-Fi 6E module and improved antennas that should enable faster downloads for anyone with a compatible router. I don't have a 6E router or multi-gigabit Wi-Fi, but with a regular Wi-Fi 6 router, the top download speed I saw on the new Steam Deck was 562mbps, which was about 10 percent faster than the old Steam Deck, and 10 percent slower than the speeds I get on my MacBook Pro. The device uses Bluetooth 5.3 and adds a dedicated antenna, which should improve functionality when using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the same time.EngadgetEven with improvements to the battery, thermals and weight distribution, the Steam Deck OLED is still more of a Wii U than a Vita. It's a beast of a handheld, and it makes the most sense as a portable console to use around the house, rather than a truly travel-ready device. The new model even comes with an extra-long, 2.5m charging cable, designed specifically with couch-based players in mind. I didn't test out the docking station with the new Steam Deck, but Valve recently released a SteamOS update that lets players take advantage of HDR and VRR on external displays, which only drives home the Wii U-ness of it all.As far as software, you know the drill by now. Valve has rolled out labels for Steam games signifying how well they'll work on the handheld, with four levels: unknown, unsupported, playable and verified. Playable games generally come with a small caveat, like having to deploy the on-screen keyboard, while verified games have been fully optimized for portable play. Currently, more than 10,000 titles on Steam fall under the playable or verified labels, with more added every day.When will the Steam Deck OLED be available?The Steam Deck OLED will go on sale on November 16th at 1pm ET, and Valve has units ready to ship that same day. The company has lowered the price of its LCD lineup and will sell through its backstock of 64GB and 512GB models until they're all gone. It'll continue selling the 256GB LCD model at a reduced price of $400, while the 512GB OLED model will cost $550 and the 1TB OLED model will cost $650. There's also a limited edition 1TB OLED version priced at $680 that comes with a special carrying case, a translucent gray body and orange accents.ValveWrap-upAccording to the developers I spoke with at Valve, this is the definitive version of the Steam Deck. The HDR OLED model is what they would have released the first time around, if the technology had existed before 2022. The handheld market has evolved quickly - in just over a year, the Steam Deck proved there's widespread demand for handheld PCs, and its success helped drive chip makers and display manufacturers to build hardware specifically for high-fidelity mobile play. This is great news for Valve and the Steam Deck, and also the other handhelds coming out of companies like Ayaneo, ASUS, Ayn, Logitech, Retroid and Razer. Hell, maybe even Playdate will get an HDR OLED display one day. (Just kidding; Playdate is literally perfect).So, no, the HDR OLED refresh isn't the Steam Deck 2, but it is a welcome improvement on an already good device. The Steam Deck OLED is the facetuned, photoshopped, spit-shined version of Valve's handheld, and it features tangible, clever improvements. The updated display is the highlight of the device, while things like faster charging, improved antennas and smoother haptics are welcome bonuses. More importantly, this is Valve renewing its commitment to portable PC gaming, and that's a relief to see. The Steam Deck is the granddaddy of handheld PCs and Valve has the resources to continue innovating in this space. For now, the OLED model is a half-step toward the Steam Deck 2, which may be the final version of the device - unless Valve finally learns how to count to three.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-deck-oled-review-its-just-better-180038030.html?src=rss

Last spring, Teenage Engineering announced a curious, tiny mixer. At $1,200 the TX-6 appeared to pair a serious price tag with almost comically small controls. It divided music making forums with naysayers deeming it evidence that the company was squandering its reputation as a maker of spendy-but-delightful products. Importantly, the TX-6 was the first in a new line of Field" products. It was soon joined by the OP-1 Field synthesizer, but until recently that was it, and a mixer with a synth didn't feel like much of a system".With the arrival of the TP-7 recorder and the CM-15 microphone, the Field family is complete - although the company hasn't ruled out adding more products further down the line. And like some sort of heavily designed musical Infinity Stones, all four products feel far more exciting and powerful together than they do individually. Or, forced metaphors aside, it's easier to see where the company was going with all this now that the family is complete.That's if the $5,900 entry fee for the full set doesn't make you balk. But let's ignore the economics for now, as that's an accepted part of the Teenage Engineering experience at this point. What we have here is a compact, creativity-inducing system that's like no other and this off-beat, playful approach to product design is something I wish we saw more of (and ideally in a more accessible way).We've already covered the TX-6 mixer and the OP-1 Field synthesizer and how they interact with each other. But as the two new arrivals bring their own set of skills to the Field system, most of which is laid out below. I say most, as every time I tinker with them, it occurs to me to try something new. Similarly, revisiting the online guide seems to have an uncanny ability to throw up things you missed last time, further unlocking ideas or features.CM-15Teenage Engineering's first studio microphone is nothing if not beautiful. The Field aesthetic of small, rectangular CNC aluminum makes the most sense here out of all the products. The CM15 could really just be another fancy microphone. The CM15 is also the one where the price is most inconspicuous, given high-end microphones tend to start around the $1,200 that you'll need to spend to add this to your collection.The CM15 is a large diaphragm condenser microphone which is the type preferred in studios and tends to be a lot more sensitive than something like the podcaster's favorite Shure SM7b. This microphone doesn't have elaborate features like internal storage or any type of sound modification tools, but it's not without some interesting details. For one, the CM15 has three output options - mini XLR, USB and 3.5mm - which makes it compatible with a wide range of devices. Specifically, as the CM15 has its own battery, it plays nice with more USB devices than rival condensers that may require more juice than your phone can deliver.A switch around the back offers three levels of gain adjustment (neutral and +/- 18dB) which is handy given the variety of things you can plug this into. The gain is analog and in testing sounds pretty clean, with only a marginal effect on the noise floor. I found being able to quickly adjust the gain directly on the mic for different situations made this mic feel like a really good all-rounder, both at home or on the go.With regard to the Field range, and the intercompatibility thereof, there's less here than other devices in the family. When you plug the CM15 into the TP-7 recorder over USB it recognizes it as the CM15 and presents you a cute mini icon of it. When the mic is detected you'll also have the option to add an additional 12dB of digital gain - something that's not an option when plugging in a phone, for example. The CM15 is also the only mic I tried that worked with the USB port of the TX-6 mixer. This allows you to add effects and, of course, mix it with other instruments, but also this frees up an analog input if needed (though the mic will share channel six with anything else on that input).Teenage Engineering states the CM15 can also be used as an audio interface, but when tested this didn't work for Windows, MacOS or iOS. Though it will work as a USB mic for all those operating systems.As for sound, the CM15 is a very close" sounding condenser microphone. By that, I mean it never seemed to pick up a lot of the room which can often be the case with condensers, especially those with larger diaphragms. This is due to the supercardioid polar pattern but the result is perfect for mobile applications where you may find yourself in different environments and the CM15 will deliver fairly consistent sound. For my voice, I might appreciate the option to bump the mid-high frequencies a touch, but for most everything else, including foley and instruments, the CM15 sounds bright and clear.TP-7I'll say it straight up front, the $1,499 TP-7 is my favorite of the four Field devices. The OP-1 Field is the flagship, but for pure portability to functionality balance, the TP-7 wins. Described as a Field recorder" the TP-7 takes the idea of a portable cassette recorder and brings it up to date for the 21st century. There's a built-in microphone, 128GB of storage and three stereo inputs (that can also be outputs). It can record multitrack podcasts, has tactile scrubbing controls and a thumb rocker and can even become a tiny turntable complete with scratching and physical pitch control.First and foremost though, the TP-7 is a capable recorder. Press and hold the side button, even when the device is off, and it'll spring to life and start recording via the internal mic. This feature is more about recording short notes and ideas which you can then have transcribed via a companion app. The app connects over Bluetooth or USB, works offline and will even identify different speakers. It's not as fully featured as a paid service like Trint or Otter but it's really cool extra functionality. I even tried loading an old interview I had on my PC onto the TP-7 and the app happily transcribed that, too. The only restriction seemingly being that you have a TP-7 (you can't load an audio up from your phone within the app, for example).Beyond memo recording is more general recording of the TP-7's various inputs. As with the TX-6 mixer, your main inputs are 3.5mm ports which isn't ideal but most things with a line signal can be wrangled into 3.5mm easily enough. You can also record audio into and out of your phone via USB-C (including the iPhone 15) or directly from the CM15 digitally and over 3.5mm analog at the same time, if you wanted.The three 3.5mm ports can be configured for line-level or headset/TRRS input or flipped into outputs. Line level will cover most instruments and active electronics with audio output, while headset mode is for anything with a lower output signal such as, well, headsets, but also some other unpowered microphones like lavaliers. I even had some success recording an SM7b via an XLR to TRRS adapter. You can add up to 45dB of gain to the 3.5mm inputs, and with about 35dB the output from Shure's gain-hungry mic was quiet, but clean and usable. Other XLR dynamic mics were much louder and usable.With three microphones connected this way, the TP-7 will spit out a multitrack WAV file with each one recorded on its own channel making this a capable podcast recording tool or mini studio recorder that you can mix properly after the fact.Connect a phone to the TP-7 over USB-C and you can record any sound directly, so you could grab the audio from a video and transcribe it with the app, or load up a beat and then sing or rhyme over it for an on the go demo whenever inspiration strikes. When playing back on the TP-7 the main front disk rotates and you can speed it up, slow it down or even do some rudimentary scratching. This could be used for effect when feeding the output into the TX-6 mixer for recording onto another device.Multitrack also works for playback. So if you have a WAV file that has drums, vocals, synth and bass as different tracks, you can play it on the TP-7 into the TX-6 over USB and you can mix and add effects to each part of the track separately. In this way, you can use the pair as an effective performance tool, creating an intro with just the beat, adding in the bassline and so on.Taking this concept even further, with two TP-7s and the TX-6 mixer you effectively have a pair of tiny turntables, with actual turning platters, that can be pitched up or down in real time into the mixer. It's a classic analog DJ setup but the size of a paperback. I tried it, and mixing this way is really hard as using the jog wheel to alter pitch is a bit heavy handed. You can adjust the pitch more gently by holding the side button and then using the jog wheel, but if, like me, you haven't mixed this way in 20 years, it takes a little getting used to. It's also a little OTT to be fair.What's much more reasonable, is using the TP-7 as a general audio player. You can load files onto it, and then play them back either on the internal speaker or (preferably) via headphones. You can use the side rocker or the main wheel to control the playback, too. Currently you can only play .wav and .flac file extensions, which is fine, but the lack of mp3 feels like an obvious omission (Teenage Engineering confirmed support is incoming).The flexibility of the TP-7 doesn't stop out in the field. Connect it to your PC and it'll become an audio interface, too. Or at least, that's the idea. Right now on Windows I only had it working briefly and not in full. On macOS it was marginally better, but not usable. Bear in mind the TX-6 also offers this functionality, and after months that still doesn't work with Windows at all and is still not flawless on macOS. It's a shame, as at this price point you'd hope it works at launch and across both systems.There's really a lot more you can do with the TP-7, especially in combination with the TX-6. There's Bluetooth MIDI functionality, for one. The two really make a great team, but the above cover much of the main functionality. Everything else starts to get a little bit niche. Fun, but niche. I'm also certain that functionality will continue to grow as Teenage Engineering is generally pretty good about adding features, often based on user feedback.Putting it all togetherAfter spending days plugging different things into the TP-7 and the TX-6 and trying out various scenarios and ideas, it sometimes felt like that was often half the fun. Wondering what will happen if you do X and connect to Y. Like musical lego. Much of this will be true for many combinations of audio gear, but the Field line does lend itself particularly well to this playful experimentation.That said, there are some bugs that you might not expect at this price point. The most obvious one I encountered was the audio interface functionality. At launch I would expect Windows and macOS support and for both to be fairly seamless. Other curiosities were less important but still confusing. Sometimes the CM15 wouldn't be recognized over USB until a restart, or simply using the analog/3.5mm output would sporadically give crunchy audio when recording into one thing, but clear audio on the TP-7. This could well be down to cables, adapters and so on, but when the same scenario works just fine on a product a third of the price it's harder to justify.Take the Tula mic, for example. It's actually a device that's already quite popular with Teenage Engineering fans. It has a more classic design, but offers similar functionality to both the TP-7 and the CM15 combined. The mic on it maybe isn't as good as Teenage Engineering's, and the recorder functionality doesn't have the fancy rocker and jog wheel controls, but it's a good mic and a good recorder all in one and it only costs $259 - less than a tenth of the TP-7 and CM15 together.But as I said up top, this is less about the price. Teenage Engineering fans are aware of the expense that comes with the products. Many consider it worth it just for that extra dash of playfulness that you don't find elsewhere. (Other fans are, to be clear, still not really okay with the pricing.) That's perhaps a conundrum that good old market forces can decide. If, after all these years, the company is still chugging along, it suggests there are plenty of people that consider it a premium worth paying.What is less contested is that Teenage Engineering does something unique enough to earn it enough fans for there to even be an argument. Or an article like this one. The Field system, in my opinion, exemplifies what the company does best. Interesting tools that have a practical core and a less practical fun side. Individually all four field items will solve a basic problem, like most products do. Together they become a little bit more than the sum of their parts. If you believe creativity lives in that space between functionality and possibility then the Field range creates enough room here for the right kind of creator that the priceThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teenage-engineering-tp7-cm15-field-series-review-170052292.html?src=rss