[klodolph]

Teenage Engineering seems to run partly on hype and halo effect. It makes cool things you can’t afford, and you buy something cheaper. Selling a vinyl cutting machine keeps them in the news, which keeps them in your mind, and then you think about how you always wanted an OP-1 but oh maybe you could buy the EP-133 instead.

I’m sure there’s a price at which the vinyl cutter is profitable.

[darnfish]

It's also possible that TE are full of people who are passionate about design and sound and want to work on and release interesting products in that space. Not everything is a psyop

[klodolph]

That took my comment to a much darker place than I anticipated—I think basic marketing is ok, and even if you’re passionate about design, you still should be thinking about the business’s bottom line.

But, like, https://teenage.engineering/store/field-desk

Or maybe the TP-7 is a better example.

They are obviously following the playbook from brands like Supreme. At least in part.

[steve1977]

That's basically a bad Eiermann desk ripoff, but about twice as expensive as the original.

https://www.richard-lampert.de/en/furniture/eiermann-1/

[actionfromafar]

The Eiermann looks more sturdy at a glance too, since the legs aren't at the corners.

[kev009]

That is hilarious. Ikea with the Rexroth price tag.

[aaroninsf]

They're passionate about style and brand, not design and sound.

I say this as someone with expertise in a domain they nominally targetted.

Very "cool" looking kit, but: missing basic features, unremarkable in those provided; serious issues rendering it fundamentally inappropriate for its nominal application.

[dahauns]

...if only they were at least somewhat as passionate about QC.

It really pains me to be that cynical, because I do find their products incredibly fascinating and inventive. But for anything but their lowest-end toy products the design aspirations - and boutique price tag - clash hard with the reality of their quality track record.

[mieses]

They make cool stuff but it's performance art. They're not a serious product company.