Teenage Engineering Field Desk | Hacker News Reader

Teenage Engineering Field Desk

teenage.engineering

47 pointsnikhizzle53 comments

Teenage Engineering is fast becoming the official brand of vain idiots with too much money and too little common sense.

I mean $1600 USD for a few bits of aluminum and a piece of plywood?! This thing would be overpriced relative to manufacturing costs if it cost $160, yet Teenage Engineering have slapped an entire extra digit onto the end of the price.

TE literally made ONE good product over a decade ago (The original OP-1) and have just been milking every last ounce of goodwill from the market since then with their overpriced, overhyped toys and "Designs."

I'll also never forgive them for jacking up the price of the original OP-1 well into it's lifecycle (When by all rights manufacturing costs have gone down and it should be CHEAPER) just because the used market was hot. Just sleazy, greedy, pompous pricks.

Right up there with Buster and Punch. Have you ever wanted a $115 GFCI power outlet? Or $229 closet door handles (each, not the pair)? Or $400 door handles? Or $8,000 whisky cabinets?

I really like Justin Tse's YouTube videos, but when I watched him as a 20 year old buying an apartment and fitting it out with every single one of their accessories including the $14,000 whisky cabinet "even though I don't drink", it screamed "this is all sponsored", or "I have a trust fund".

Which isn't to sound (too) petty. But they were the same (B+P), made a couple of cool things, and then now are just milking the market for "how much you got?" home decorations (like $190 scented candles)...

Where is a better value? I’m not in the industry, but When I’ve looked, it seems like there’s an unserved gap between the really high end stuff and the Home Depot stuff

> TE literally made ONE good product over a decade ago

Sure, if you ignore the OP-Z, pocket operators, TX-6, OB-4, and probably some other stuff I am forgetting.

I like the idea of the Computer-1[1] too, even if it's kind of overpriced.

1: https://teenage.engineering/products/computer-1

https://play.date ?

Note that they co-made that. Afaik the idea is mostly from panic, though iirc teenage engineering thought up the crank.

No, OP was correct. Although the pocket operators are good at their price points.

OP-Z - a downgraded version of the OP-1 that assumed its price point

TX-6 - a $700 mixer that is too small for human fingers…

OB-4 - A $700 bluetooth speaker with a loop pedal in it for some reason

OP-Z and OP–1 are completely different use cases, in fact in many ways the OP-Z is more powerful that the OP-1. The video aspects of the OP-z coupled with the way it's put together from a mixing perspective make it perfect for live multimedia shows. The OP-1 is an amazing deck for making and producing full tracks. They're different tools.

Per the sibling comment, the OP-Z's sequencer workflow is nothing like the OP-1's tape. It's literally comparing a multitrack MIDI sequencer to a 4-track audio tape recorder.

Cool. Let me know when the undo feature lands, that'll be worth the $1300

What's next? Luxury handbags that cost more than my $1 canvas tote bag?

Too small.

I work on an extra long IKEA LINNMON 16353 in black-brown, which I believe now is the IKEA LAGKAPTEN 604.870.17 at 78 3/4x23 5/8 ".[1]

After over a decade, the cheap veneer is wearing down in inelegant, but a charming "used" fashion.

The funny thing is, if I wanted this desk, I could just go down to the Home Depot or better yet, a woodworker specialty store and bolt an aluminum framing system to plywood I can get cut at the IKEA LAGKAPTEN dimensions above, and have a superior product.[2]

Seriously, if you want this at nearly a 10th of the cost, just go to a local woodworker store, buy some RTD plywood, or the plywood of your choosing, and search for an aluminum framing system and buy that and bolt it to the thing.

That's seriously what they're selling you.

Actually, what they're really selling you is their aluminum framing system. That's what you're actually buying. The plywood is an afterthought.

[1]: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/lagkapten-tabletop-black-brown-...

[2]: https://www.homedepot.com/list/view/details/shared/31f43060-...

teenage engineering - field desk 3 Items Subtotal: $359.88

Genius

I've always thought it was weird that their store has more SKUs for merch than the actual things they make. 1600$ for a desk, that looks like this, really just confirms to me that they consider themselves an art house/brand first. Which is OK! Just not for me, or even nearly my budget.

Please stop promoting TE.

What once was an interesting company making unique instruments has become an overpriced brand pushing useless and objectively bad “designer” products.

I went in expecting a $1,000 folding table and somehow got a $1,600 non-folding table. Teenage Engineering is always surpassing my loftiest expectations.

I love, love, love Teenage Engineering's design and they create really cool products, but this seems too crazy a price point even for them.

When they released the TX-6 mixer for $1199 I almost understood their reasoning, since pro audio equipment has always been overpriced, and they clearly put a lot of thought into it and it had a somewhat unique set of features, and most of all it was beautifully designed, but this... This is plywood on an aluminum frame. What's unique about this? Maybe I'm finally just too removed from the target market. Could somebody help me understand if there's something I'm missing?

Is the extrusion pattern and it's accessories new? seems like it's kind of a competitor to 8020 for small scale projects which while neat is an odd expansion choice for a premium audio manufacturer to go for. Though it's not completely out of left field since they have some things like the flat pack computer case and the little synth stations that are somewhat in this area already.

This is definitely way too expensive though for what you wind up getting.

If you think of them as more of a product/industrial design firm than an audio firm, it makes sense. All of their products have stood out design wise.

True that is kind of their core work now. It's hard to recalibrate from knowing them primarily for their various little synths and music things like the Pocket Operators. They moved into more of the design space after I learned of them so I still mostly think of them for their music stuff.

Is this what it finally takes for people to realize that the emperor was naked all along?

That desk is positively one of the ugliest things I've ever seen, make sure you use it in an office with a great deal of stress inducing cheap strobe fluorescent lighting, and place your cheese grater Mac Pro on it.

Spoiler: a formica-on-plywood desk, 1195 mm/47", 770 mm/30.5", 750 mm/30" with a max load of 75 kgs / 165 lbs is $1,599. And you have to assemble it yourself. And pay for shipping.

Ikea's KULLABERG Desk, pine, Width: 43 1/4" Depth: 27 1/2" Height: 29 1/2", is $199.00

This price point is crazy.

It would be worth a look at $399-599 but $1600 for one third of a sheet of birch plywood wrapped in Formica on top of an extruded aluminum frame with some machined connectors is, as you said, crazy.

Yet the Ikea one is ugly.

Am I to read that as you saying that the $1,599 desk is not ugly, and that you'd be willing to pay an extra $1,400 for not-ugly?

Yeah it looks amazing. I’m not buying it, just as I’m not buying many other beautiful luxury products. Not with my current budget at least.

Back when desks were sold out everywhere ("remote learning"), I built a small desk for a family member using piping and a workbench. Total cost was maybe $65 at Home Depot. I'm not very handy, but this was easy and satisfying to build. It's sturdy enough to stand on and looks great.

A photo of the end result: https://imgur.com/a/jKrBm2D

Plans I followed: https://www.housebyhoff.com/2015/04/diy-piping-table/#/

Reminiscent of the 606 shelving system Vitsoe produces. Given the section dedicated to the desk's "Field Rail," I assume TE is going to release a couple more projects using it as part of some modular system. A brand with similar cult status, Snow Peak, revealed their own modular office concept[0] around a year ago, so I'm guessing that Teenage Engineering is planning similar things.

[0] https://www.acquiremag.com/lifestyle/snow-peak-tuguca

Lundia shelving system was invented in Sweden in 1946 but is made in Finland and New Zealand at least. It is odd in that it's light, adaptable, modular, durable and timeless, all at the same time. (Usually durable things are heavy.) This is because it is actually designed with mechanics in mind and the materials are good: solid wood for the compression members, thin steel for tension members and solid wood shelves for the bending strength. The shelves are movable without tools.

Also if you're in Finland, there's a huge aftermarket so it's easy to buy and sell Lundia "ladders" and shelves etc whenever you're moving or refactoring your home. They last basically forever and you can mix and match old and new parts. And it's a mover's delight as everything disassembles into easy to carry parts.

It's a complete antithesis both to the old heavy furniture and the Ikea cardboard throwaway things. All the furniture chains are making bad adaptations of the idea. Ditch those, get the original.

Picture of a single standalone unit: https://www.finnishdesignshop.com/en-us/product/classic-open...

I was thinking Vitsoe as well, but without the deep thought. I have a single set of Vitsoe shelves that are excellent and have made it through two countries and counting. I liked - but returned - the TE OP-1, it was a luxury toy and the whole company seems to pander to the likes of Wallpaper*

Looking at HomeDepot to see how much it would cost to build something similar myself, it would be about $250 for the material (at MSRP prices), so probably about $100 at wholesale prices.

You would have to cut the aluminum and the plywood to size, but otherwise the labor is the same.

Which makes it just like Blue Apron and all those other meal delivery companies: you're paying through the nose to avoid the easiest part of the project, gathering the supplies.

Has anyone built a desk with modular rails like this (perhaps out of 8020)? I won't be buying this, but I like that idea specifically. I have a bunch of stuff attached to my desk through various clamps/screws/3M stuff, and the modular rail idea seems like it could really clean things up.

They do exist but they are marketed as workbenches rather than desks. Also, one of TE's few forays where going for an incumbent manufacturer won't save you any money. That stuff is priced for commercial buyers.

Me before looking at the price: "That's a $2k table if I ever saw one."

It belongs in the background of a scene from Succession.

I just don't understand what kind of company Teenage Engineering is.

I learned about them from music YouTube channels but they also make desks apparently?

Looks like proprietary extrusion similar to 80/20 t-slot extrusion in function. You can get it in generics now (amazon / ali express) or from the likes of McMaster.

Going with McMaster prices for quad slot and by the inch puts the frame with hardware at around $500 by my estimate.

Probably another $100 for the top if your having to get material and do the laminate yourself.

hate, hate Teenage Engineering but I love this approach to humiliating your customers who deserve it if they bought the OP-1

The OP-1 is a pretty solid product, it's just insanely overpriced.

Is TE affiliated with Juicero by any chance?

Given current lack of availability and astronomically high price of Baltic/Finnish birch (or any euro ply, apple ply equivalent)… the $1.6k price is almost expected. But still. Sheesh.

That's been the most direct result of the Ukraine conflict for me, lack of russian birch in the market. My lumberyard is still selling it, but at $150 for a sheet of 18mm 5x5. Are the impacts on apple ply because they use european wood as well?

Sigh, at this point, I think if I saw BB/BB 5x5 for $150, I’d buy what I had room to store. ApplePly and non-sanctioned EuroPly are basically all bought out, so it’s pretty difficult to get as a retail consumer. If you do find it, it’s reminiscent of buying a bottle of Yamazaki 12 on the secondary market (should be $60-80, but gonna cost you $200-350).

I, gasp, just trimmed a window with OSB instead of BB ply (it’s a deep window reveal shelf thing, 8-9” deep). It came out nice after much sanding, much poly, and a satin spray finish. Probably cost me more than a nice sheet of A1 maple when factoring in time sanding prepping lol.

>Sigh, at this point, I think if I saw BB/BB 5x5 for $150, I’d buy what I had room to store.

So you don't think it's ever coming back? Dunn lumber in Seattle, FYI.

Sorry, I don’t check comments all that often. I’ve heard it’ll take a decade for supply and prices to recover. who knows. But I’ve started to just shift to alternate materials for next few years—mostly punted or veneered MDF. Fwiw I’m only a hobbyist doing mostly personal projects, so take my views with a grain of salt.

It's wild, it's basically an Ikea desk but for $1600. I guess IKEA doesn't have the cool machined rails and stuff, but not clear what they're going to do with that.

I saw an LED display at IKEA the other day, branded "teenage engineering." It was obnoxious, only displayed 5 preprogrammed patterns without any apparent means to configure it.

This reminds me of something Jean Girard from Talladega nights would use to draw out some master plan.

“Foolish American, you couldn’t understand the genius of overpriced Nordic engineering!”

If I were to walk into someone's home or office and see this desk I would immediately make some very unflattering assumptions about that person.

Teenage Engineering has officially jumped the shark.

This is the definition of bad design. It's overcomplicated, not simple, it's overengineered, not elegant, it's worse than a regular desk, and it's made of materials that will simply not last at a price point where you could buy a real nice piece.

Nice. Designers understand structures.

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