In 2022, Tony Hawk is a household name, skateboarding is an olympic sport and it’s possible to master digital laser flips in any number of video games on TV. It wasn’t always like this, though. Early skate screen media consisted mostly of skeptical documentaries or whimsical California dreaming-style chronicles. Things changed when, in 1983, Stacy Peralta – who managed the ragtag team of skaters that Tony Hawk was a member of – effectively invented the modern skate video. Thanks to its performative nature, skateboarding would soon form a symbiotic relationship with the technology that showcased it.

The VHS invasion

Peralta claims he hoped a few hundred copies of his first video might find their way into the new VHS players that were taking the US by storm. “From the get go, videos were more lucrative than they thought they were going to be: It's this sort of famous thing that Stacy [Peralta] says that the first Bones Brigade video, they thought they were just gonna write the costs off as a marketing cost, but actually they made a load of money on it.” Author, professor and skateboarder Iain Borden told Engadget. The success of The Bone Brigade Video Show, and the titles that followed, exposed skateboarding to many more new eyes along with an all new revenue stream for the struggling “sport”.

Al Seib via Getty Images

In the ‘80s Peralta and his Bones Brigade team dominated on-screen skateboarding, typically on vert ramps, including several moviecameos. But Peralta’s polished style and squeaky-clean team wasn’t for everyone. Right at the end of the ‘80s, H-Street – a more grassroots skateboarding outfit – released Shackle Me Not and Hokus Pokus with a focus on street skating. Not everyone had access to a ramp, but everyone lived on a street, meaning this new style was much more accessible with the videos almost serving as a how-to manual.

According to Borden, H-Street put cameras in skaters’ hands to film each other and the change of pace and dynamic in videos shifted away from Peralta’s more conventional approach. This new format – skaters shooting skaters – complete with slams, skits, music and pissed-off security guards would become the template for the next decade. Not least thanks to another new technology that was about to land.

The VX1000

In 1995, Sony released a camera that would define how the skate video looks (and sounds) right to this day. At around $3,000; the DCR-VX1000, was the first digital camcorder in Sony’s consumer lineup. The relatively affordable price, coupled with its small form-factor and new, digital tapes – MiniDV – made it the perfect camera for gonzo filmmakers seeking professional results. The fact that footage could be easily transferred to a PC with a nascent technology called i.Link (which you might know as “FireWire”) meant anyone with a computer could now make videos entirely at home.

The VX1000 only really solidified its legendary status among skaters once it was coupled with the Century Optics fish-eye lens. “The fisheye was amazing. The audio was incredible. The colors look great. It had a handle built into it so you can follow somebody while riding a skateboard,” videographer Chris Ray told Engadget. “There hasn't been another impactful camera in skateboarding like that. I don't think there ever will be.”

Sony

Ray says he still uses audio from the VX1000 on his modern productions. “I pull a library of VX audio and I add those to the snaps, the lands, the grinds, things like that into my skate films because nobody has made a camera that has audio that's even close to as good.” Ray clearly isn’t the only one to think so, as this $300 modern replica VX1000 mic just for skateboarding attests.

To complement the sound, the colors the VX1000 put out would also become something of a hallmark of a good skate video. The bright, punchy hues the camera produced were the perfect match for the blue Californian sky contrasted against the beige and asphalt found in strip mall parking lots and other urban, skate-friendly locations. Before long, footage shot with anything else felt passé. “People were still making skateboard videos on other cameras,” Ray said, “but this was, like, the one you were taking a lot more seriously.”

Ask any skater what the golden era of skate videos is and you’ll get a different answer, but objectively the year 2000 ushered in a period of where some of the most impactful, high budget skateboarding movies ever were made, and most of them were shot with the trusty VX1000.

Chris Ray

Menikmati, from shoe company éS and Modus Operandi by Transworld set the tone. Both came out in 2000 and heavily showcased the VX1000’s distinctive look and sound. Both are also very high profile releases in the skate scene, which only serves to fully solidify the camera’s status as the de facto tool of choice. Not to mention a badge of cool in its own right. “I mean, it's on skateboards. I've got skateboards on my wall with the camera on it. People make keychains, there's tattoos.” Ray said. “It's still iconic to this day.’

Redefining the standard

Of course, there’s a problem looming over the horizon. A 16:9, High-Definition problem to be precise.

For all the VX’s strengths, the whole TV industry was undergoing its biggest change in standards, perhaps ever. Widescreen TVs had been steadily replacing 4:3 CRTs and the new “HD” resolutions were making SD content look horribly outdated. Not everyone was a fan of the new aspect ratio, either. “I couldn't get myself to fully go HD because it was a lot harder. You're talking about a 16:9 image. You don't want to cut the wheels off and you don't want to cut their head off when you're filming skateboarding.” Ray said.

Worse, in 1999 Sony did release a follow-up to the much-loved camera, the VX2000, but it was a flop with skateboarders. Not only was the new aspect ratio harder to work with, the VX2000 had an inferior mic and, crucially, wasn’t compatible with the Century Optics fisheye (or specifically the “Mk1” of that lens that everyone wanted). Skateboard filmers needed to find a new sweetheart.

“It's funny because the Panasonic HVX200 came out. That was really hated by a lot of skateboarders. But now, today, the HVX200 is the preferred camera of HD by skateboarders.” Ray said. In fact, filmers weren’t pleased about having to give up their precious VX1000 at all. “I was working on a Transworld film, and we talked about how there's this transition between VX1000 and going HD. And skateboarding was not happy about it.” Ray added. (Years later a petition was also started to campaign for Century Optics to re-issue the Mk1 lens, which it ultimately did - albeit a limited run of 300).

Around the same time, a little gaming franchise known as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skateboarder was taking the gaming world by storm. The popularity of the PlayStation 2, and its ability to play DVDs, was the perfect way for a whole new generation to discover skateboarding. (Not to mention one of the goals was to “unlock” various bonus skate videos.)

Tony Hawk might have been luring in new blood, but in 2007, the hotly anticipated (in skate circles) film, Fully Flared, was about to signal another big change in skate video history. Renowned skate Director, Ty Evans, was still using the VX1000 but this would be its last outing in one of his productions, Ray said. Evans championed the VX from the start with Modus Operandi, but Fully Flared (which Ray also worked on) represented the passing of the camera baton. The send off was marked with explosions and effects never seen before in a skate movie.

For the ‘gram

There was another important event in 2007: The launch of the first ever iPhone. Within a few years, almost everyone had an HD camera in their pocket. Likewise, a whole other product category would come along to change how we record things – the action cam. Between the smartphone and the GoPro, suddenly everyone was a skate videographer. Or as we call them today, a “creator.”

Unlike many sports, professional skateboarding is mostly financed through individual sponsorship deals. Some skateboarders do compete for prize money, but brand deals are typically the primary source of income. This means that being on video is directly related to your standing among potential sponsors. Thanks to slow-mo on the iPhone and the popularity of GoPros, being in a skate video wasn’t reserved for the stars any longer, in fact, you’d have a hard time being noticed by sponsors at this point if you weren’t making yourself seen in videos.

The rise of the internet was transformative for most industries, but skateboarding is nothing if not adaptive. YouTube was first, but before long Instagram became the spiritual home for all things skate video. Now you can attract fans directly, see your stats in real time and record your best tricks without having to lug about a large camcorder or hit the editing suite. And thus, the 30+ minute skate video was swiftly usurped by short, often single-take clips or even individual tricks.

No longer did you have to wait months or even years between doses of on-screen skateboarding, now it was on demand, bite sized and in never-ending supply. But with this convenience and supply came a dramatic shift in focus.

The social media age hasn’t just changed how the media is made and consumed, it’s changing who gets to be seen and sponsored. “What I'm seeing now is kids are inspired by other kids, kids that are their age. I'm not seeing the like, 35 year old pros inspiring. The 15 year old kid, his favorite skater is this guy that's not even pro, that I've never heard of,” Ray said.

Like with other industries that fell foul to the internet, the age of big budgets and splashy releases might be gone, but other opportunities have filled their place. Two of the most followed skaters on Instagram right now are Nyjah Huston and Leticia Bufoni. Both are accomplished, exciting skateboarders who have cultivated their own personal brand and style over recent years. Bufoni, in particular, has played a hugely important role in making skateboarding more accessible to young women.

“I think the rise of female skaters has absolutely been aided by the fact that people can access and see people like them skating,” Borden said. But with new technology comes new pressures, especially for creators. “They have to produce something every day, every week. And we you know, I mean, the pressure to do that must be extraordinary.” Borden added.

The shift to Instagram also echoes how vert skating in the late ‘80s lost favor to the new and exciting urban skating that emerged in the early ‘90s. Just how street took place in spots that were accessible to the viewer, Instagram places videos from your skater friends neatly in between clips (or “parts”) from the pros, blurring the lines between you and “them” even further.

For many years, what tricks were cool, who was cool at doing them and what that coolness looked like was heavily influenced by what was in the skate videos of the time. Today, that has reversed and now we get to see skaters from different backgrounds and influences taking their favored pastime to new places.

This movement from the media fringes to social media platforms could have killed the “classic” skate video off, and some might argue it mostly has. In reality, it’s given directors and videographers more license to address broader issues in skateboarding culture. Skategoat (2021) for example follows Venice-native Leandre Sanders through his teenage years where the only thing stopping him following his siblings into gang culture is skateboarding and his journey to turning pro nearly a decade later. There’s no VX1000 audio samples or crunchy color or fisheye shots, just a sincere look at someone’s life being saved by their passion for skateboarding. Likewise, Netflix’s Stay On Board, follows trans-man Leo Baker as he navigates developing a career skateboarding with his own very public journey of self-discovery.

Of course, the more traditional video does live on, it just no longer holds the monopoly on what skateboarding should look like. Love for the past obviously lives on, meaning you can, of course, find VX1000s modded to bring them up to modern standards but the industry has realized there’s more to be gained from current tech than that of the past.

More than almost any other marginal entertainment genre, the skate video has repeatedly proven it's happy to reinvent itself. “I think technology has been nothing but helpful. I think that we have to embrace it,” Ray said. “There's more people out there filming, there's more people out there being noticed. There's more people skateboarding and there's more people buying skateboards. I think it's a win for everybody.”

You might know Apogee for its pocketable headphone or guitar interfaces. Or maybe its microphones. But ask a bedroom producer and most will tell you they know the company for its audio interfaces and software tools. Today, the company unveils the Boom ($300), a new 24-bit/192kHz desktop audio interface with both studio and mobile creators in mind.

Like the popular Duet series, the Boom incorporates a dedicated hardware DSP so it can run Apogee's Symphony ECS channel strip plugin directly on the interface. This can help take a load off of your CPU and also help reduce latency. DSP-enabled interfaces aren’t uncommon, but the Boom is considerably cheaper than most entry-level offerings with similar onboard hardware. A copy of the ECS plugin comes bundled in with the Boom via the companion software. You'll also be able to pick up a "native" (separate/DAW-friendly) copy for half-off - $50 - when you register the device.

The Boom has a pretty standard 2-in/2-out configuration with one XLR-combi input and one 1/4-inch input for instruments. For outputs there’s a pair of 1/4-inch outputs and a headphone jack around the back. The rear placement of a headphone connection always seems a little unhelpful as you fumble trying to find the port, especially if you use your headphones for other things so end up doing this often. There is a gap at the base of the Boom you can feed the cable under which makes things a little neater, but a port on the front seems more practical.

James Trew / Engadget

Fortunately, the Boom is USB-powered so there’s no need for a separate power supply. There is iOS compatibility, too, but given the USB port does double-duty for data and power, this is limited to the iPad Pro as the iPhone won’t be able to drive it, even with a camera-connection kit. Of course, a full-size interface like this doesn’t make much sense for a phone anyway, but in case you were wondering, now you know.

While there's only one XLR input, the pre-amps are plenty loud enough and can drive hungry microphones like the SM7b easily. Using the Symphony plugin's EQ and compressor allows you to fine tune that sound (whatever the mic/instrument). There are a bunch of presets that should cover the most popular recording scenarios, but you can obviously EQ and compress things to your own personal preference, too.

For musicians, this can really help you perfect a mix without having to interfere with any plugins you might have running in your DAW. But for podcasters and streamers in particular it means you can control how your voice sounds without a DAW or other host application running at all — your mic simply presents the EQ'd signal as the standard output. For now it's only Apogee's ECS channel strip that will work with the Boom, though the company confirmed it's entirely possible for its other plugins to be brought over to the DSP side of things.

Apogee’s desktop products often feature a sleek design and the Boom is no different. The purple-colored steel casing gives it some reassuring heft while the single rotary dial is a neat solution to controlling multiple things (two channels of gain and two effects).

At $300, it’s a shade over some of the most popular interfaces like the Scarlett 2i2 and UA Volt - both of which come in under $200. However, with that DSP Apogee might be pitching this as a simpler alternative to the like of the Apollo Solo ($499) also from Universal Audio or the MOTU UltraLite-MK5 ($595).

These days, the idea of a camera just for “action” feels like a bit of an anachronism. In 2022 social media is king, and action is a just one subsection thereof. You only need to look at the last few GoPros, and the competition, to see that brands with skin in the game are all too aware of that. Enter the Hero 11 Black, where everything feels a bit grown up, in a skate-dad kinda way.

As for what’s new, if you had “physical design” on your bingo card, you’re out of luck. Substantial redesigns seem to come along every three or four years, but for now the Hero 11 looks exactly the same as the 10 just with a 1 replacing the 0 painted on the side.

As usual, though, there are some extra shooting modes. SuperView is now available right up to 5K60/4K120 (previously 4K/60 was the max). Similarly, still images receive a boost from 23-megapixels up to 27. There’s also 10-bit color across the board. The shrewd among you will have spotted that this means there is a new sensor and it’s core to some of the other new features below. Despite the move up from 1 /2.3 to 1 /1.9 those extra megapixels don’t seem to have really translated to improved low light performance (accordingly there’s no such claim). Instead you have more pixels to play with.

In fact, this new, taller sensor is what enables two of the main new features: First is 360-degree horizon lock in Linear mode (up to 5.3K/30). Horizon-leveling was already pretty good on the Hero 10, but now it’s absolute. If your activities involve a lot of tight corners or literal body spinning this can be used for creative effect. If, like me, you’re just prone to wonkily mounting your camera you can really just forget about all that now. Both DJI’s new Osmo Action 3 and the Insta360 offer similar horizon lock features, but GoPro’s is available in frame rates such as 4K/60 and 2.7K/120, whereas DJI’s, for example, tops out at 2.7K/60.

The second, and probably bigger advantage to the taller sensor is the ability to record in “Full Frame.” This isn’t a camera mode per se – although it can be used as such if you like 8:7, 5.3K video. It’s more of a tool for shooting absolutely everything and then “punching out” the aspect ratio you want (or more than one) after the fact. With Full Frame, you can shoot once and pull a 4K,16:9 video out for YouTube and then a 9:16 version for TikTok, for example. Both with completely different framing if you wish. Alternatively, you can kinda set and forget, and then just frame the shot after the fact.

James Trew / Engadget

This feature has a lot of potential, especially if you’re not really sure what shooting mode to go for. I tried it out by mounting the camera on my bike perpendicular to the frame (turning the bike into a dolly of sorts). I rode past some interesting scenery and then punched out a conventional 16:9 edit and a mobile-friendly 9:16 version. The landscape clip came out pretty good as I was able to cut out a lot of pavement and focus on the subject. The mobile version still turned out better than if I had to crop it out from a 16:9, and of course there was no loss of resolution, but this particular shot didn’t end up being suitable for portrait. Either way, the Full Frame feature improved both videos and the fact I could frame each of them differently definitely got me thinking about other cool things I could do with this.

If there was a negative, you might find yourself having to think backwards. For example, I did a short intro to camera using the front screen to frame myself, but when I was choosing the aspect ratio I wanted to punch out later, I realized that I was filling the screen so had to settle for a weird crop. Something I would have avoided if I was recording in a fixed FOV like 16:9 from the start.

Keeping things frame-related, there is a new “digital lens” (which is GoPro’s marketing language for Field of View) called HyperView. Way back in 2013 the company introduced SuperView which shoehorned everything on the sensor into a 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s a bit intense, but does make first-person shots feel faster and more immersive. Well, HyperView is essentially that but for the new, taller sensor and it’s a bit bonkers.

James Trew / Engadget

You will absolutely not want to use this one for everything, but for certain shots it should be a go-to. I tried it while mounted on my handlebars and it was very noticeable how warped trees and buildings looked as I passed. Worse, those slightly weird angles made the video feel like I was watching a 90s first-person-shooter game.

That said, I did a second shot with the camera hanging low by my board as I skated around town and I can’t stop watching it. The proximity to the floor and the pace and intensity of objects as they passed by made it feel like I was in the cockpit of a tiny FPV drone. Even I felt like I needed to slow down after watching the video, despite knowing in reality I wasn’t going particularly fast.

Now, this might have been a great time to test another flagship feature – automatically generated highlight videos. GoPro has gradually been making it easier to turn the contents of your SD card into an interesting edit for a few years. Now, the company is taking things into its own (AI) hands and will rustle up an edit for you once you get back home and plug the camera in. You’ll need a GoPro subscription to take advantage of this feature, but given it’s effectively cheaper these days to buy the sub with the camera that shouldn’t keep too many people excluded.

Unfortunately, at time of writing this, the feature isn’t available to test.

Something that we can talk about are the new night lapse modes. There are three in total: Star Trails, Light Painting and Vehicle Lights. All three are pretty explanatory and they add some welcome additions to the standard time-lapse options, but I’m going to guess these aren’t really things most folk will be using regularly, though they can make for some good creative B-roll type shots or fun things to share when you’re in a location with low light pollution (or near a crazy motorway intersection at night we presume).

James Trew / Engadget

We've come this far without talking about how the videos and photos actually look. GoPro image quality has come a long way in recent years. Last year there was a noticeable improvement in sharpness. And while there’s no real change this time around, colors do seem to pop a little bit more, without the slightly over-saturated look of older cameras. That’s likely thanks to the new 10-bit color which will be appreciated by pro users having more data to crunch in post.

HyperSmooth, once again gets some love, with the software-stabilization now in its fifth iteration. Honestly, at this point the stabilization is so good that it’s hard to tell how it’s improved. Mentally I’ve written off any GoPro before the Hero 7 as I just can’t go back to pre-stabilization days. Just know that videos look as smooth and steady as you likely ever need.

Perhaps you haven’t used a GoPro before, or since the dark days when there was only a small monochrome display on the front. In which case, using a modern model can be a bit overwhelming as there are a lot of features and shortcuts crammed into the rear display. To help with that, GoPro introduced “Easy” mode which uses a single preset for each of the three main shooting modes (Time Lapse, Video, Photo).

Easy mode doesn’t make it instantly clear what FOV or framerate you’re shooting in, but it’s 5.3K/30 at 16:9 according to a test video and the small text in the “speed” shortcut menu that I’ll get to in a minute. Time Lapse defaults to Time Warp (stabilized videos made from still images), which is probably the most useful of the lot, so that makes sense. Photos default to SuperPhoto which is GoPro’s own “automatic” mode so that also makes sense.

James Trew / Engadget

Despite the lack of menu options, you’ll still find shortcuts to change the “speed” (slow motion) and the amount of Horizon Lock (or not) to use. Likewise, in photo mode you can still change the FOV if you wish and add a self-timer. I’m never going to complain about having a more accessible option for those that don’t want to be bombarded with choice, but regular users probably want to stick to Pro mode.

Whichever option you choose, it’s no good if the battery doesn’t give you time to enjoy it. That cheesy transition is me introducing the regular battery-life section. Last year the company introduced a new extreme weather “Enduro” battery as an additional accessory. Now, that battery is the standard cell for the camera.

Despite the name, the claims are ambiguous, stating a battery life improvement of up to 40 percent. That seems to be specifically tied to the performance under more intense temperatures. The most “extreme” weather I was able to test in was regular 94-degree summer heat. I had a few outings where the camera was on constantly and recording with GPS activated, save a few occasions when I was changing settings and so on. This includes plenty of connecting to the camera with my phone and pulling media wirelessly. On average, the GoPro lasted for about an hour and a half which isn’t quite as long as I’d hoped, but it is a 20 percent increase over last year’s camera in similar testing (minus GPS).

This, of course, is constant use with all the wireless/GPS on. If you’re turning the camera on and off throughout the day, not shooting in maximum resolution and not using the app heavily like I was, you can reasonably expect something decently north of that. Either way, given the new battery comes as standard there’s at least a small saving here over having to buy it as an accessory.

James Trew / Engadget

Which naturally brings us onto the overall value proposition. The good news is, the Hero 11 Black costs the same as last year’s flagship: $399.98 with a subscription or $500 without. There’s literally no reason to buy it without the subscription though as far as I can tell. However, even at the lower price, the Hero 11 Black is more expensive than the Osmo Action 3 ($329) and the Insta360 RS 4K bundle ($300).

One hundred dollars (or two, potentially) is a pretty wide spread for competing products. GoPro has the richest ecosystem of the three cameras mentioned above, but the rivals broadly sidestep this with compatible mounts. When it comes down to features, there’s a lot of overlap, but I have found GoPro’s are the better balance of practical-yet-creative. But as noted above with things like Horizon Lock, the specifics can vary from brand to brand.

What’s less in doubt is the dilemma if you were thinking of upgrading. If you’re coming from the Hero 10, there’s maybe not enough of a step forward to make it worthwhile just yet. If you’re coming from an older model, like the Hero 8 and before, the decision is much easier.

As much as this feels like an iterative update in many ways, we’ve had two years of fairly strong revisions with the Hero 9 and Hero 10. In tandem, the competition from DJI and Insta360 has really started to put some serious pressure on GoPro. The result is that it is possibly the best time in history to be buying what was formerly known as the action camera.

GoPro’s latest Hero Black update is live on the GoPro website and the usual Hero Black is joined by a new Mini model. As expected, there’s the Hero 11 Black but along with it comes the Hero 11 Black Mini. No prizes for guessing that the Mini is a smaller version of the flagship, but how the company has implemented it is a little more interesting than perhaps the “Session” cameras of old (its spiritual predecessor).

First, let’s look at what’s new in the Hero 11 Black. Design-wise there’s no changes at all bar the different number on the side, it even uses the same colors as the 10. Inside there’s only one hardware change, and that’s a new taller sensor. The Hero 11 Black also now comes bundled with the Enduro battery as standard which was previously sold as an accessory.

Intriguingly, the flagship feature GoPro is promoting seems to be the new automatic highlight videos. The idea is, once you get back from your adventure and plug your camera in, it’ll auto upload your new footage and create a spiffy video for you automatically. It’s intriguing because this isn’t a Hero 11 feature at all, it’s something available to owners of any camera back to the Hero 5 as long as you have a GoPro subscription.

There are, of course, some hardware-specific updates that make use of that taller sensor. Not least is the jump from 23 to 27-megapixel photos and the introduction of 10-bit color. There’s also a “Full Frame” shooting mode that captures everything on the 8:7 sensor in 5.3K. The idea here being you can punch out different videos at different aspect ratios – in full resolution – after the fact.

GoPro

The second benefit of the new sensor is the addition of 360-degree horizon lock right up to 5.3K/30. This is either a practical tool to avoid lop-sided video or can be used for creative effect if your activity involves any kind of spinning – you can keep the subject level and just spin the sky, for example.

The maximum resolution stays at 5K/60 or 4K120, but along with Full Frame, you now have “HyperView” which is the whole sensor view squeezed into a 16:9 format. It’s basically the existing SuperView, just with even more pixels. It’s great for first person view shots as it really dials up the sense of action.

Night owls will find some new tools in the Time Lapse section: Vehicle Lights, Star Trails and Light Paint. The names match popular effects we’ve all seen before and now you can do them right from your GoPro straight from a preset.

As for HyperSmooth, the company’s software stabilization, that’s now in its fifth incarnation and comes with Auto Boost for those extra heavy moments. One other new menu option is the ability to switch between Pro and Easy mode. “Pro” is the current standard menu system while Easy strips out everything but the best click-and-go settings for most situations.

Perhaps the most interesting news for hardware fans is that new Mini model. It’s the exact same camera guts, just without either of the video displays. Instead there’s a limited LCD for seeing what settings are active and two buttons. The party-piece here is that the Mini has two sets of built-in mounting fingers, making it a little more versatile than its bigger sibling. The Mini is also powered by a non-removable Enduro battery.

GoPro is sticking with its funky pricing scheme which means you actually pay less if you choose to include a subscription. The Hero 11 Black keeps the $399/$500 (without a sub) price of the camera it replaces while the Mini comes in at $300/$400. The flagship goes on sale today, while the Mini will ship starting October 25.

Ten years ago, Teenage Engineering made a splash with the quirky, “boutique” OP-1 synthesizer. The b-word gets quotes because the OP-1 would go on to be a huge hit, enjoying a 10 year run and several re-stocks along the way. The success of the OP-1 and the equally unique products that followed saw big brands lining up to collaborate in the hope that some of that design magic might do wonders for their own products. Today, Teenage Engineering’s unique style can be found in everything from adorable gaming consoles to living rooms and pant pockets across the globe.

Back here in 2022, the company recently unveiled the sequel to the synth that started it all - and it’s called the OP-1 Field ($1,999). The new “Field” line also includes the TX-6 mixer ($1,199) and it looks like the company is repositioning itself with a new design aesthetic and… price range. Teenage Engineering has always charged a premium for its genre-bending, playful design but given that the original OP-1 cost around $800 at launch and that the OP-1 Field is largely based on it, it’s understandable that some loyal fans are feeling a little… priced out this time around.

Perhaps the bigger question is, will the new Field series offer enough magical music dust and Nordic design delight, to not only justify the expense, but to also keep Teenage Engineering’s unique approach to making music relevant to new and existing artists alike?

@Random Mcranderson (YouTube) - I think what TE missed is the overall negative effect on their reputation this has had.

Introducing the TX-6 and OP-1 Field

Before we can try and understand “Field” and what it means for the company, we should probably get a feel for the latest two products that are dividing fans in comments sections and on forums. We’ll start with the TX-6 as that’s an entirely new product for Teenage Engineering.

In the most simple terms, the TX-6 is a tiny battery-powered mixer and audio interface. Despite its diminutive size it has six stereo inputs, a built-in synth, eight effects, “DJ mode”, an instrument tuner and wireless/Bluetooth MIDI control. For something as portable as a deck of cards, that’s quite impressive. The TX-6 could be your main desktop audio interface by day and the beating heart of your hyper-portable (or not) multi-synth studio by night.

James Trew / Engadget

Unsurprisingly it’s particularly well suited for connecting and mixing smaller studio gear. Not only Teenage Engineering’s own products, but Korg’s Volca range or Roland’s many compact synths and drum machines are also a good fit. Ultimately, anything you can wrangle into a 3.5mm line-level output is fair game here. Anything with either an XLR connection or that requires phantom power is going to be a challenge of course. For outputs there are: main, aux and "cue” (for DJ mode).

@Pretty.mess (Gear Space) If I had enough money to buy one of these, I would probably buy something else. But I do love TE and the built in sequencer and synth looks interesting.

As is often the case with Teenage Engineering products, there are some features that one might not normally expect. On the TX-6 that would be the synth engine that includes drums sounds. Without a MIDI controller you can’t play it chromatically, but it’s unusual to see creative tools like this in most mixers and provides a way to poke out ideas right on the device. The inclusion of Bluetooth MIDI really feels in keeping with the portable form factor and a recent firmware update allowed for recording the mixer’s output directly to USB drives, which means you can lay down tracks without even needing a phone to record into. One might argue some internal storage could have been included for the price, but we presume the density of the hardware doesn’t allow for it (we hope).

The OP-1 Field, on the other hand, is very clearly a successor to the decade-old OP-1. The launch was sold as the new synth being “100 times” better with a list of 100 new features or improvements. In practical terms, the main upgrades seem to be much improved on-board storage, new “tape” modes (more on this later), full stereo signal chain, a new synth engine, a new reverb effect, an improved display, longer battery life and 32-bit float recording.

@Tarekith (OP-Forums) not everything needs to be aimed at the lower end of the market. This is a massive update for an already very capable instrument.

With the Field, the OP-1 has been refreshed to bring it up to date after a decade of user feedback. And this includes squashing some long-held limitations of the original. Most notably, the ability to work on multiple projects on the device without the hassle of backing them up to a PC. Yep, the original OP-1 only had the ability to record one song (or more accurately, one "tape") at a time. Another big one, particularly for the synth and drum engines, is the introduction of stereo.

To show this off, there’s a new synth engine called “Dimension.” It joins the other 10 that were on the original (which already covered most bases). Dimension is a subtractive/analog-style synth with a variable waveform (it gradually changes from various pulse styles through sawtooth and then noise).It also has a chorus feature for a fuller stereo sound. It does a pretty good job of replicating more analog style sounds as well as lush pads and even some horns and wind instruments.

With so many different synth engines you’re not short of choice, but the OP-1 is sometimes considered as having quite a colder, digital sound. This is true to a degree, but – as with most things on this synth – there are creative ways to get around that if you know where to look.

James Trew / Engadget

Instead of there being an internal sequencer, Teenage Engineering decided to imitate recording to tape on the OP-1, with just four tracks, including a physical time limitation of six minutes for each track. The analogy is taken seriously with no “undo” or “copy/paste” instead you “lift” tape and you can drop it back elsewhere. There are modern concessions so that it’s not just about making life needlessly hard – instead it's a very different way of making music that urges you to build songs in a way that most software’s infinite options and endless tracks ironically doesn’t.

But it’s precisely this unusual approach, anachronisms like “tape” and imitating physical limitations in a digital environment that arguably makes Teenage Engineering products stand out. Most electronic music production these days likely happens in software on laptops. As computers became powerful enough to mimic outboard gear, often the only hardware you might see producers using was a MIDI controller for playing software instruments with. In the last decade, at least, there’s been a steady re-emergence of hardware at the center of the workflow. But most don’t employ such a restrictive workflow as the OP-1.

@ellisedwardsx (Reddit) Love it. Everything cool about Op-1 to me but minus the things I didn’t like. I love the new additions.

“It favors those that have playing skills” YouTuber and OP-1 expert Cuckoo told Engadget referring to the OP-1’s live tape recording approach. “Like if you want to be incredibly immediate, and you appreciate that, then it's for you,” he added.

Cuckoo, like many fans of Teenage Engineering, sees the lack of things like a MIDI sequencer or the ability to add and remove effects at any stage in the creation process as a good thing. A typical DAW lets you move single notes around or change almost anything at any time which “feels” more useful (and it’s how most modern production tools work). The OP-1, for example, is just a lot more committal. Once that idea is recorded to tape, you’re limited in what can be done with it. But for some, that’s what makes it so exciting. Everything you do nudges you forward in the song-making process or, at the very least, avoids you jamming away several hours as you trawl through VST presets as often happens in something like Ableton Live.

“Teenage Engineering, they're very good at minimizing your options, and in a good way. Like on a computer, everything is possible. But because everything is possible, it's not like one optimized workflow. You need to find that workflow for yourself. And most people probably don't create like, a tight workflow.” Cuckoo said.

While this alternative way of working does have its fans, it can almost feel like learning a new language if you’re used to a more conventional DAW+MIDI situation. This will likely mean, at the beginning at least, you’ll almost certainly spend as much time googling for answers as you do actually creating. Before long though, you’ll start noticing the exciting things you can do that your faithful old DAW may never have put in your mind (even if it’s something it can do).

James Trew / Engadget

Take the built-in FM radio on the OP-1, for example, as Cuckoo illustrates. “Sometimes I've been performing with an OP-1, and been sampling from the FM radio, chopping up a [drum] kit, making a song, making an improvisation in like, maybe seven minutes or so?” Making a song based on sampling the radio in under 10 minutes is not something most gear inspires you to do.

Most don’t have an FM radio to be fair.

You can also use that radio in other, weird creative ways. You could use it to modulate an LFO, for example (so the song on the radio is controlling a filter or other parameter). Or you can create synth sounds using a random FM sample looped and twisted in creative ways. You can also broadcast over FM (albeit incredibly short distances), which works perfectly with Teenage Engineering’s OB-4 speaker, which also has an FM receiver.

@finc (Reddit) But what is a tiny low powered FM transmitter for?

This is really where Teenage Engineering excels: adding playful touches that open creative opportunities you might not find elsewhere. Along with the FM radio, the OP-1 Field has a gyroscope that can also be used as a modulator, which makes it exciting for live performances.

And while MIDI Bluetooth LE is becoming more common, it makes so much sense in the portable form-factor of both the TX-6 and the OP-1 Field. Using the TX-6 wirelessly with the OP-1 Field was easy to setup and felt very natural. In fact they both play nice with iOS natively too, so if you have a suite of mobile apps you enjoy using already, you can carve out quite a capable mobile studio with a good mix of hardware and software alike.

Using the OP-1 Field together with the TX-6 does feel decadent. The 3.5mm inputs on the mixer naturally makes you think twice about what you might plug into it. I could plug a full-size synth into it, or maybe something like the MPC Live II, but this would also be a bit bizarre. A relatively comprehensive mixer it might be, but its size begs you to, well, take it outside we suppose?

“I think ‘Field’ leads my mind to think about field recordings and to be out in the field, work outside of the office… music that is portable. And I think it's very obvious especially if you look at the TX-6 mixer [...] this thing is so incredibly well designed. And it's hard to convince people that get angry when they see the price tag that how incredibly well engineered it is.” Cuckoo said.

@Brokener Than (YouTube) The personal aspect of buying the OP-1 and what you get out of it is really the only justification you need to overpay for an instrument.

But if portability is the key behind the “Field” moniker, Teenage Engineering has to convince people to part with thousands of dollars when there are apps and even mixers that can combine to do something similar for a fraction of the price.

“A lot of people say, well, ‘you can do all of this with Ableton Live and a computer that costs half the price!’ But it's not the point. It's, I think, if the result is all that counts, the end product you can do a lot of stuff with an iPad, and some apps are free even. The result is not everything, it’s also mastering a device. Like, playing this live is a joy.” Cuckoo said.

James Trew / Engadget

Take a look around on YouTube at who is actually using the OP-1 or the TX-6. If you look (and listen) long enough you’ll maybe start to see that there has maybe long been a corner of the music making world that doesn’t feel at home with the pads of an MPC, or the endless expandability of Ableton Live. A group that doesn’t want to get pulled into the world of modular synthesis or circuit bending. People that have a fondness for alternative methods but with an appreciation for well-designed hardware. As long as they have the means.

It’s hard not to get sucked into the OP-1 Field. I personally struggled with the workflow initially, but I find it curious. Something tells me that if I stick with it and break my old MIDI/DAW habits, great rewards await. The TX-6 mixer on the other hand is a harder sell while still somehow incredibly appealing. Especially if you are already flush with portable gear, it makes a lot more sense. Perhaps the important question is: What is next in the Field series. An OP-Z Field? Some high-end Pocket Operators? Something completely different? Whatever it is, it could be the company’s most crucial device yet, or what ultimately alienates the company’s loyal fan base.

It’s been a longer wait than we’d hoped, but the first major software update for the Analogue Pocket is finally here. It’s still a beta version so not everything is fully fleshed out, but you’ll at least be able to get a taste of the company’s vision for its fledgling OS. The beta does include a taste of the “reference” Library, much-improved game saves and, most excitingly, a glimpse at how third-party developers can use the Pocket to emulate consoles beyond the ones it already does.

Analogue OS 1.1

“Memories,” as Analogue calls save-states, still aren’t complete, but you can at least save a respectable 128 different game states which is a vast improvement on the minimal offering at launch (one slot for just one game total). You can create saves for any game, be that physical cartridge, or any “.pocket” GB Studio files you have (like Deadeus). The method for making a save is the same as before (Up+Analogue button) and you can recall a list of saves during play with Down+Analogue button. If you prefer to start from the last save point immediately, you can activate that in options also (rather than choosing from a list).

What you can’t do is keep updating the last save as you go along (think “save slots” in most emulators). Every new save will be a separate file and you’ll manage them individually. They show up in a long list which details the platform for the game you were playing (Game Boy, Game Gear etc.) the game’s title and date/time of the save.

Right now you can pull up Memories from the main menu (before loading a game), but choosing a save that corresponds to the cartridge in the slot doesn’t take you directly there (it’s grayed out), you have to load the game first. Analogue says that saves/Memories will soon have a screenshot attached and will be sortable in a variety of ways to make the experience much smoother in the full release this September.

James Trew / Engadget

What wasn’t in the OS at launch at all was the “Library” feature. All we knew was that it had the lofty goal of being a complete reference of all gaming history. From within that you’d see artwork for titles along with what company made the game, for what platform, what year and even what region or version you had inserted in the cartridge slot. In today’s beta, the Library is more of a splash screen before the game loads. Analogue says you’ll even be able to add your own image to a game in the Library, but again, expect that in the final release.

All the cartridges I tested had the correct details with a screenshot, but the information is limited (no mention of what year or version of the game I have etc.). Of course we’re excited to see how this scales up once it’s fully integrated, but for now it’s a pleasant stop along the way to playing a game. It’s worth noting that, as is, it only applies to cartridges and not titles launched from the GB Studio section (such as the aforementioned Deadeus which is a full game that Analogue made available for the Pocket at launch).

On a more practical note, Analogue has added support for more third-party controllers for when playing through the TV via the dock. To be fair, even though the officially supported list at launch was short (three 8Bitdo models plus the PS4 and Switch controllers), many more did still work. As of this release the number of 8Bitdo controllers supported jumps to 15 and PS5 owners can now use their DualSense, too, if they wish.

OpenFPGA

One of the more interesting features of the Pocket at launch was the presence of a spare FPGA chip. Analogue’s hardware doesn’t use software emulation, instead it uses a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to emulate consoles at the hardware level with cores — instructions for the FPGA that configure it to mimic a specific system. Analogue pledged that others would be able to develop cores for the Pocket, and today we see the first example of that.

James Trew / Engadget

A core for the PDP-1 has been created for the Pocket allowing you to play one of the very first videogames — Spacewar! — from 1962. As you can imagine, the game is very simple and doesn’t really tax the Pocket, but it’s a fitting first example for a console that wants to celebrate the history of gaming. And this should really just be the start of something more exciting as other developers – which can be anyone – get onboard.

What’s more of a surprise is that the entirety of the Pocket’s hardware appears to be open to developers. Initially, it was thought that the Pocket’s main FPGA would be kept for Analogue and the less powerful second FPGA was there to be tinkered with. But the company's founder, Christopher Taber, confirmed to Engadget that "developers will be capable of implementing totally decentralized cores as far as they can push Pocket's hardware ... roughly up to the 32-bit generation.”

Best of all, we might not even have to wait very long to see what comes along. “Many third-party developers have had their hands on openFPGA for some time now and you can expect a plethora of new amazing things being publicly released by them shortly on/after July 29th”, Taber told Engadget, before concluding: “We are not f***ing around with this.”

In 1982, when the BBC’s prime-time technology show – Tomorrow’s World – did a segment on a new musical format called the “Compact Disc” the presenter skeptically asked "Whether there's a market for this, remains to be seen". We all know what happened next, but even in the early ‘80s the benefits of CDs should have been clear: high quality, non-degrading sound in a compact format. Oh, and you could even skip, shuffle and repeat tracks, which, in a pre-digital world, truly felt like the future

The Compact Disc turns 40 this year, and there are already signals the format is primed for a mini revival. For the first time in 17 years, CD sales actually went up - and by almost 50 percent, according to the RIAA’s sales database.

It’s still a long way from the format’s peak. In 2021, 46.6 million CDs were shipped in the US – compared to nearly a billion back in 2000. For context, that 46.6 million barely accounts for four percent of last year’s total music revenue. Vinyl albums, by contrast, sold fewer overall units (39.7M) but are more of a money spinner for artists (seven percent of total revenues).

Some reports claim that the uptick in CD sales is mostly due to mega-artists like Adele and BTS releasing new albums (the former’s 30 accounted for two percent of total CD sales alone). But there are other potential – and more practical – contributing factors, too, including the pandemic.

“CD sales are growing again now that retail stores are reopening and artists are back on tour. And while CDs haven’t yet seen the same type of revival as vinyl, the CD format remains a steady revenue stream for independent artists.” Rob Bach, COO of CD Baby told Engadget. They should know, as one of their services is the production and distribution of CDs for indie bands.

Kevin Breuner, SVP of Artist Engagement and Education for the company, thinks there’s an increasing appetite for CDs as memorabilia, rather than just as a way of playing music. “Part of it is that streaming hasn’t replaced anything at the merch table … the appeal of a physical item like a CD is that it’s a piece of memorabilia in a live setting, something you can have signed by artists. Similarly, for artists, there’s nothing that can replace when a fan goes back to the merch table to buy a CD or a t-shirt; it’s always been that way.”

There’s also the fact that what once seemed restrictive to younger listeners – having to own a song if you wanted to hear it – now presents a different way of enjoying music. A good album isn’t merely a collection of songs, but a structured experience to be enjoyed from start to finish. You can, of course, do this with streaming, but a CD requires getting up to change, Spotify is usually just a click away.

CDs launched in Japan in October 1982. The format and hardware to play it on didn’t land in the US and Europe until the following year. Adoption was relatively swift and just two years later the first million-selling CD album - Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits – would cement the shiny disc's popularity. By the early ‘90s, assisted by increasingly smaller, affordable and even portable players, the CD was the de facto way to listen to music. And for good reason.

In this new digital world, the CD format was consistent in a way that analog never could be. What became known as the “Red Book” standard – two-channel 16-bit PCM at 44.1kHz – would be the prevailing specification from there on out. When someone used to say “it’s CD quality” one might assume that’s what they were referring to.

This standard is considered the minimum requirement to be called “lossless” by today's streaming services. Of course, how or what you record at 16-bit/44.1 is really what matters, but that’s a whole other story.

Jamal Saidi / reuters

More important than any of this, for the labels and artists at least, is that the arrival of the CD meant they could re-sell us our entire music collection in the new wonder format. The ‘90s were a good time to be in the music industry, at least until Sean and Shawn came along.

There were other benefits to this new digital medium, too. And not just the aforementioned ability to skip/program/shuffle tracks. With CDs, you could hide bonus tracks in new ways that would otherwise be visible on a vinyl record or instantly found by anyone that left a cassette tape running.

Even more exciting? Once PCs started being a more common feature in homes, artists and labels realized you could bundle in entirely different bonus media like videos and karaoke versions – as found on some versions of Americana by The Offspring, for example.

Before we show you some ways you can enjoy/rediscover the joys of compact discs, bear in mind the experience was far from flawless.

Despite being more durable than vinyl, it definitely is possible to scratch a CD. When a record has a scratch, it’s almost charming. With CDs, it’s more like walking slowly through hell as they dig up the streets. If your disc was damaged, it also might work in some players yet, frustratingly, not in others. Many an hour has been wasted cleaning and reseating a CD in the hope it would take.

Of course, many CD players took only one disc, so you’d frequently be swapping them out. If you knew someone who had every CD in the right jewel case, that was often a tell that this person doesn’t listen to their music enthusiastically or often enough (It’s possible they were just slightly organized, but where’s the fun in that). This “which disc is in which case” problem became even worse when someone decided CD singles – one song you wanted and some less good songs on one disc – were a good idea.

Not to mention the fragility of the cases they came in. Jewel case hinges would crack just by looking at them, while center hubs (the part that held the disc in place) would crumble no matter how well you handled things. Most often while moving house or the aforementioned enthusiastic listening with friends.

Unlike other formats, the CD is unique in that it played a part in its own demise. With the advent of CD burners, you could easily copy your friends’ album collection, print out album artwork and even print circular stickers with the CD art on them, too. This was how music was stolen for the short period when CD burners and blank discs were affordable and online piracy hadn’t taken hold. The CD was then effectively relegated to the role of external storage medium before quietly regressing into obscurity. Until now, of course.

With those small challenges in mind, if you’re ready and willing to give the humble Compact Disc another, uhm, spin, here are some recommendations, new and old, cheap and not-so, to dive into the world of the CD.

Where to find CDs

Maybe you already have a collection, if so, you’re good to go. But if you’re new around here, you’re going to want to grab a few albums to get you started. For current, mainstream music you’ll be able to find a selection at Target and Walmart. Jeff Bezos will of course also happily sell you a CD. Tower Records also recently returned as an online-only store which also has a good selection of CDs. For more of an indie-artist focus, there’s of course Bandcamp – or the good old-fashioned merch stall at a gig.

You can, of course, also navigate the secondhand market either locally (thrift stores, local record shops) or online at places like Discogs, eBay or even apps like Letgo.

What you may already own

Aaron Souppouris / Engadget

Maybe, you have a CD player unironically in your front room right now. We admire the dedication. Or perhaps you have an old one in storage somewhere? But if you’re young enough to have gone straight to streaming, it’s worth asking family and friends in case they have one gathering dust somewhere.

That said, you might even own a CD player without even knowing it. If you have an Xbox with a disc drive, congratulations, you’re already in the club. PlayStation fans, however, need either a PS1 (original), a PS2 or a PS3, as after that Sony decided the functionality for audio discs was no longer needed.

Cheap and easy

There was a brief period where the only CD player in the house might well have been in your PC. Primarily used for installing software or the drivers for a peripheral (yeah, we know, bad times) the CD-ROM drive was also good for playing music too.

Most PC cases these days aren’t really made with a CD-R drive in mind, and the last Mac to include a CD drive was the 2012 MacBook Pro. That model was discontinued in 2016, the same year Apple nixed the iPhone’s headphone jack - a rough year for many music listeners.

No worries, there’s a sort of dongle for that. You can pick up a USB CD-Drive for a little over the price of one album, such as this one for a reasonable $22. You’ll also get DVD and CD burning functionality thrown in, which surely will also be due their own revivals before long.

A new take on a classic

James Trew / Engadget

For many, the advent of the portable CD player was a long time coming. But the format wasn’t entirely suited to being in motion. Not initially at least, with even the slightest of movements causing a disc to skip. Over time this was resolved as players were able to buffer more music to ride out those bumps.

NINM Labs’ “Long Time No See” portable CD player (approx $117) blends the best of the past with modern conveniences like Bluetooth and USB power. The transparent design gives off early-aughts Game Boy vibes, while a clever speaker “lid” accessory means you’re never without a way to listen to those discs. That said, there’s of course the aforementioned Bluetooth for connecting to speakers and headphones and even a good old fashioned headphone port.

What’s more, you can run the player directly from USB power or AA batteries. You can even charge said batteries while it’s connected over USB. And the whole thing is magnetic, too, so you can get creative with where you place it.

Taking things to a (much) higher level

James Trew / Engadget

For the most authentic experience, it has to be HiFi separates. In the ‘90s a good HiFi was the quickest way to let someone know you were serious about music. No MegaBASS or often even an EQ for these dedicated listeners, just pure unadulterated sound. They may also be seen with magic pebbles or some CDs in the freezer.

Cambridge Audio has been around long enough to know what makes a great CD player. Its CXC “player” comes right in at $700. The CXC doesn’t even convert the CD to audio, it passes the digital signal directly to… something else, as long as it has either S/PDIF coaxial or TOSLINK in puts. You may as well complete the look with Cambridge Audio’s CXA61 amplifier ($1,100) with a DAC. It’s the perfect companion for the CXC both in terms of looks and connectivity. Of course, spending $1,800 on fancy HiFi gear doesn’t always mean you’re set. You still need some speakers, so you might as well toss in the SX60 bookshelf set for the fully-loaded CD setup.

Since its debut in 2016, Nura has built its whole brand around optimizing audio for your hearing. But that only helps so much, obviously you want the music source to be as high a quality as possible, too. Today, the company is announcing the NuraTrue Pro, a wireless TWS set that supports AptX Lossless – the highest quality Bluetooth codec to date.

AptX Lossless is new enough that barely anything supports it right now. But given it’s part of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform, it won’t be long before most Android flagships adopt it. Apple users, on the other hand, might be waiting forever, given that there’s no support for any form of AptX or any other higher resolution audio over Bluetooth beyond the company’s implementation of AAC.

Nonetheless, the NuraTrue Pro is currently in a fairly exclusive club with support for the new codec, which is capable of 16-bit/44.1Khz “CD quality” audio. Something the company hopes, in combination with its proprietary “customized” audio, will make these TWS a reference point for audio quality. This means it also supports all the other flavors of AptX (HD, Adaptive and so on), plus, of course, Apple-friendly codecs too.

James Trew / Engadget

Beyond the higher-fidelity support, there are, of course, some other new features to separate these from the original NuraTrue that the company announced last summer. For starters, there’s support for spatial audio powered by Dirac, improved ANC, an upcoming “ProEQ” tool for fine-tuning audio and a claimed extra two hours of battery life – now eight hours on a single charge, up from the original’s six. The case still offers another 24 hours of charging before you’ll need to reach for that USB-C cable.

Most importantly, the Pro model has a slightly modified design with a new smooth metallic material around the edge and for the logo – just so people don’t mistakenly think you’re still on last year’s model.

Most everything else matches what we’d expect from a Nura headphone. That’s to say, the automatic hearing test for personalized audio is here. Performing this with the app takes about a minute and only needs to be done once. You can even export that profile to other devices if you need it, and it’s stored locally on the headphones so the benefit carries with you over to, say, your desktop PC.

The same goes for “immersion mode.” In the NuraPhone over-ears this was a tactile “bass” feature through haptics, but in all the other models it’s more of a bass-boost mode. It works just fine, but can be a little overbearing at higher volumes (especially for music that’s bass-heavy in the first place). On the pre-release model Nura sent for testing, immersion mode feels a little too aggressive or needs some fine-tuning as almost anything above zero seems to distort.

That’s about the only audio gripe, though. Comparing these side by side with the original NuraTrue, the difference on a standard YouTube Music stream isn’t stark, but if you add in spatial mode you can definitely feel a little more “air” in the mix, as if the sound stage is a little wider, and at no expense of volume as can sometimes be the case.

James Trew / Engadget

Sadly, my iPhone can’t serve up anything in delicious AptX Lossless, but the three-year-old OnePlus 7 Pro I have lying around can manage the next one down (AptX Adaptive). I must say I am generally impressed with the performance of the NuraTrue Pro. I was worried that the combination of spatial and personalization on top of new codec support might risk highlighting unwanted frequencies, especially when adding EQ on top.

Instead, it seems to come together well, producing a sturdy, spacious but not overly “modified” sound. I mean, it is modified, that’s sorta Nura’s whole vibe, but it doesn’t sound so, and that’s the important thing.

If you’re wondering why customized headphones would need an additional “ProEQ” feature, that’s largely down to giving users the choice. Theoretically, Nura’s hearing test should provide all the EQ you need, but of course, maybe you just prefer things a little more pronounced in the mid-range, the tool will be there for those that want it.

All in all, the NuraTrue Pro should be a welcome addition to an already well-rounded line-up from Nura. Despite the company’s established product releases, the NuraTrue Pro will be launching on Kickstarter for delivery later this year. While that might be a sticking point for some, it does mean that you can bag a set for a super early bird price of $199. Regular retail price will be some way north of that at $329 (£299/359€).

When Rode unveiled the original Rodecaster Pro it was something unusual: a capable mixing desk with a singular focus on podcasting. It made it easy to record multiple guests in person or over the internet/phone, while adding background music and audio enhancements in real time or with minimal processing in post. A mini radio station in a box if you will.

Today, Rode is announcing its successor, the Rodecaster Pro II, and the messaging this time is that it’s for all creators, be that podcasting, streaming or music production. The new hardware looks familiar, but brings with it several changes that should improve your audio wherever and whatever you publish.

The most obvious difference you’ll see here is the smaller footprint. The Rodecaster Pro II loses two physical fader strips in favor of occupying less desk space. You still have as many channels available, but some are assigned to virtual controls and it feels like the right move to save desk space.

Other external hardware tweaks include an all new contextual rotary control and the move to combo ports around the back rather than just straight XLR connections like the original. This opens the Rodecaster Pro II to things like guitars and synthesizers without occupying other inputs or needing adapters.

James Trew / Engadget

Whatever you plug into the new Rodecaster it should sound better as it comes equipped with new preamps that can drive even the most hungry of microphones (looking at you SM7B). Rode claims the new preamps are so powerful and quiet that using an in-line signal booster like a FetHed or Cloudlifter would technically be detrimental, not beneficial, to your audio quality. This remains to be tested, of course, but it’s good news either way if you have a microphone that needs a lot of gain.

On the listening side of things, Bluetooth on the Rodecaster Pro II supports audio out as well as in, which means you can get funky and monitor your show wirelessly on speakers or headphones. Rode also claims if you record call-in guests over Bluetooth there should be improved sound quality also (at least between the phone and the mixer – obviously not the cellular network).

Semi relatedly, there’s no longer a 3.5mm headphone jack on the front edge. On the original, the show’s host/producer could connect their headphones either around the back (with the other headphone jacks) or via the dedicated jack on the front, if that was more convenient. Alas that option has now gone and headphone 1 is only accessible via the 1/4 inch ports on the rear. A mild pain if you have a shorter/non-coiled cable.

On a more practical front, the new hardware has WiFi built-in and ethernet connectivity which allows for easy updating (without having to leave your computer on). You can also connect it to two PCs at the same time, or even your phone which makes it perfect for podcasters on the go or game streamers who have a separate gaming rig. You’ll also be able to record directly to SSDs as well as memory cards. And with that dual-PC connectivity your options for routing where your audio goes are myriad.

James Trew / Engadget

Perhaps the secret sauce here is how customizable the workflow is. This starts with simple things like the eight pads on the Rodecaster Pro II can trigger audio or send MIDI as before but also be assigned to “mixer actions” like a fade out or be used to switch cameras in your stream. You can also reassign mixer channels however you like, including mapping two inputs to one fader and saving them as profiles if you don’t like how things are out of the box.

There are also a number of new audio effects including stereo panning, echo and reverb. But perhaps the most unexpected addition here are some funny voice effects. This might make podcasters recoil, but Voicemod has proven popular… so somebody somewhere is all about the squeaky voices.

Overall, there’s quite a lot new here. The new audio internals and connectivity should make this a more viable option for all types of creators, and the ways to connect, configure and process the audio will likely make this much more flexible. Details important to streamers such as OBS control, dual PC connectivity and the ability to sync/delay audio to match video suggest it’s a genuine attempt at being more capable rather than just a few buzzy marketing terms.

Whatever your use case, the Rodecaster Pro II is available for pre-order starting today for $699. Rode expects to start shipping "early to mid-June."

There are many, many ways to play retro games today. Plenty of those options are handhelds. But you might be surprised at how many of these devices feel jury rigged, cheap or often both. Worse, there’s a mishmash of open-source emulators running on a variety of operating systems to deal with, and all of the hardware is different — in short, emulation is a bit of a wild west sometimes.

What’s more, even the better handhelds usually only emulate up to around the PS1/N64 era. If you’re a fan of the GameCube or PS2 libraries, for example, the venn diagram of handhelds powerful enough that are well made and reasonably priced is effectively three separate circles. Maybe not for much longer thanks to the Odin by Ayn.

Yep, I hadn’t heard of ‘em either, but in the retro gaming scene that’s not uncommon. The Odin was launched on Indiegogo and instantly drew a lot of attention. The premise is simple, to bring the aforementioned venn diagram together and make a more cohesive retro (and even modern game) handheld.

The Odin gets off to a good start by effectively mimicking the Switch Lite form factor. Though the Odin’s screen is a shade larger (5.9 inches compared to Nintendo’s 5.5) and, at FHD, higher resolution. Anecdotally, most people who’ve held both find the Odin more comfortable and even prefer the latter’s analog sticks and D-pad which is not bad for a company new to the space.

James Trew / Engadget

I’m personally a fan of how all the controls are laid out. The analogue sticks are far enough away to not interfere with the buttons/D-pad but close enough to allow for quick, comfortable switching between them. I also like that the sticks are a little shallower than on other controllers which means you don’t need to push as far to get the movement you need.

There are three different models of Odin available: Pro, Base and Lite. The Pro is the one we have been using and is, as the name suggests, the higher specification version. We’re not talking bleeding edge internals here, but with a Snapdragon 845 and an Adreno 635 doing the processing and graphics we’re looking at something similar to a high-end smartphone from a couple of years ago. Bear in mind that the Switch using an older chipset: It’s, as the saying goes, what you do with it that counts, right?

The differences between each model include battery size, SoC, storage, RAM and, of course, price. Here’s a cheat sheet for those interested:

It’s worth noting that if you’re only worried about the storage, all Odin’s come with a microSD card slot so you can expand the available memory that way if you prefer. As for battery capacity, the 6,000 mAh model I tested was good for around six hours of play on systems like the PS2/GameCube and, given everyone seems to test this game, about half that time with something like Genshin Impact.

This puts the Odin in an interesting spot. You can certainly pick up a very good retro handheld/emulator for around $100, but likely it won’t be able to play nearly as many games from as many platforms. Alternatively, you could spend over $1,000 on something like the Aya Neo which likely trounces the Odin but then is also four times the cost. Then there’s the Steam Deck which is a whole other beast, but a viable alternative if you want to play non-retro games also. It’s also a shade pricier than the Odin, starting at $400, but obviously not a direct competitor. All to say, the handheld market is kind of all over the place.

The Odin runs on Android. If that induces an internal groan, we get it. Android and gaming have a complicated history. But arguably Android makes the most sense for a device like the Odin. Not least because the hardware is comparable to that in a high end phone, but Android is also well catered for in the retro world, with most of the emulators having mature ports. Oh, and Android does have good games of its own, so you can play those natively too.

As much as the Odin is aiming to feel like a complete console rather than a single-board PC in a box running apps, there’s a bit of a problem. It’s almost impossible to do it any other way without going full remake a-la Analogue. That said, setting up the Odin was about as painless as this process gets. Pick the emulators you want, install them, load up on games and you’re more or less good to go. Often the physical controls are either already mapped or just take a minute to do so.

James Trew / Engadget

Ayn did give the Odin its own launcher which sorta-kinda makes it feel more “consoley” and less like an Android tablet, but honestly the version it ships with is clean enough that you can just stick with that. Thankfully there’s almost no extra app cruft on the Odin out of the box and, despite being Android 10, there’s support for Project Treble which should help keep it feeling current for longer.

If your interest is mostly around the NES/SNES or Sega equivalents, you can simply install RetroArch and kick back. There’s nothing unusual here for those most favored or classical consoles so I’ll focus on the more advanced systems.

For many it’s the promise of portable PlayStation 2 and GameCube emulation that will be a lure here. The PS2 is notoriously tricky thanks to the console’s custom processor. But the emulation community is industrious if nothing else and there are some pretty good options now. I tested out some of my favorites from my physical collection, but obviously had to start with Rez, just to see how it looked on that display.

Sure enough, it looked pretty fab. My left thumb is way less nimble than it was 20 years ago but the Odin barely flinched at serving up the game. I may have heard a few minor, almost imperceptible glitches in the audio, but they were infrequent and possibly something that could be remedied in the emulator settings rather than the hardware.

This experience was pretty much the same with any other title I tried. I spent time taking Raiden out for a crawl in the rain in Metal Gear Solid 2. While over in GTA: San Andreas, CJ’s hopes of going straight were just as futile (complete with slightly wonky physics) as I remembered. Final Fantasy XII’s dramatic opening sequence ran as smooth as it ever did and Reks’ brave naivety was almost glitchless bar some light cracking on audio here and there.

James Trew / Engadget

With the GameCube you might reasonably expect a little more success given that historically it’s been easier to emulate. That does broadly seem to pan out. It might take a little fiddling around to get things optimized, but F-Zero GX can run at full speed and there are only a few games that are more performance hungry than that. You can also get some good results for Wii emulation here too but that will depend on a title’s use of Wiimotes among other things.

Of course, everything at this level is still some sort of crapshoot. Who knows how the game was programmed or how it used the hardware it was built for. There are already several videos on YouTube that dutifully go through a bunch of titles for all the systems to show how they run. There’s also a thriving subreddit that has spreadsheets dedicated to listing which games are (or aren’t) compatible and how well they perform on the Odin.

There are two areas where you don’t need to worry about compatibility: Android gaming and streaming services like Stadia and Game Pass. There’s not a lot to say here really other than the Odin was born to do it, so long as your internet can keep up. (WiFi performance is comparable to my phone, for what it’s worth.)

Some brave folks out there have even tried running 3DS and even Switch games all with varying degrees of success. Ultimately what you’re buying with the Odin is a bespoke gaming handheld that merely has the capability to run these apps, there’s no real promise of performance (or really control thereof). 

James Trew / Engadget

But it does seem to have been particularly well designed. The active cooling seems to be a bit of a secret sauce, making sure you not only get the most out of the processor but for extended periods without any fear of damage. Some might wonder, why not simply get an old handset with similar specification and slap it in something like Razer’s Kishi. You definitely could do that, but the Odin’s cooling isn’t the only perk, its screen is bigger and 16:9 rather than superwide like a phone. Plus… it’s about not feeling like you have a phone in a clamp, that’s kinda the point.

It’s not a headline feature, but Ayn did see fit to offer two ways of playing the Odin on a TV/display. There’s a micro HDMI port on the top which is probably the simplest way to get your game on a bigger screen. I will say though that I didn’t have a great time with it as neither of my TVs have a great gaming mode, so latency was an issue. There is also DisplayPort connectivity via the USB-C connection.

If you really want to consolize the Odin, you can do so via a $50 “Super Dock” accessory. With this, you can slide the Odin into the mount much like a Switch and pick up where you left off on the bigger screen. Along with USB, there are also dedicated ports for both GameCube and N64 controllers should you have any of those lying around. It also adds in the option for ethernet and USB-C/SATA for things like SSDs (more modern games take up a lot more space after all).

Of course, given it’s running Android, you can do anything with the Odin that you can do with a phone or tablet. That means video streaming or music listening and even productivity. Though, logic might suggest that running things in the background or, heaven forbid, allowing notifications is only going to do bad things to your gaming experience. But you could.