Teenage Engineering TX-5chat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Commenters overwhelmingly call the price, often cited around $1200-1500, excessive for what the device offers, with many saying half the cost would be fair. Several compare it unfavorably to cheaper alternatives with similar or better functionality.

@pixelbound8819

I’ve had the TX-6 but I returned it. Just couldn’t justify the price. Granted, it’s one of the best pieces of hardware I’ve used. Everything about it screams excellence in product design. But I just can’t shake the feeling that TE at one point decided it was gonna make product for rich people only and fuck it. Which is ok, fashion companies do it all the time. But it’s still shitty.launch

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March 6, 2023

@CookieCurls

Unfortunately the price for high quality design and materials is not linear. I agree that it’s definitely something that if you need it for a very specific use case, it’s incredible.\n I think it gets so much hate because secretly we all want one 😂launch

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July 24, 2022

@shogunai

Even if I overlook the laughable pricetag, I just dont get it. Like, I cannot think of one possible use case where this product, in this form factor, is actually useful. Even if it is for their own current and forthcoming products.\n\nWhy the hell did they make it so small? It's like a complete misunderstanding of literally everything that makes a live oriented mixer cool. The only things I want to be thinking about on a desk if I'm doing Dub/Live Electronic are the Faders, the EQ pots & the Sends. \"It's a proper performace mixer\". LOL, no it really really isn't.\n\nThey could have made it as wide as the OP, twice the depth, and included hands on control for everything I just mentioned. And then the price MIGHT have been acceptable. But at over £1k with the connectivity and UX it provides, it is simply a stupid bit of kit imho.launch

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July 12, 2022

@I.M.Guitar-Nerd

I'm sorry.\nNo.\n\nHow much does that thing weigh? I'm just wondering how it stacks up next to an ounce of gold.\n\nTE needs to revisit its pricing structure.launch

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July 12, 2022

The most common complaint is that knobs and faders are packed so closely together that adjusting one accidentally bumps neighboring controls, especially for larger fingers. Many suggest the unit should be twice its current size to remain usable for live tweaking.

@phylum_sinter

I really wish you didn't feature this overpriced, impossibly idiotic designed piece of gear. Noticed you never demo'd getting all the jacks working... there's a meme for this, and it isn't pretty.\n\nStandard shielded cables can't even fit in the back of this thing if you want to utilize all of the i/o. The scale so miniscule, seemingly perfect for kids hands and nobody else. Even the demo guy seemed careful not to freestyle anything but the sliders and easily accessible buttons that aren't a cm away from each other. Why would they do this? It's cramped like even a tiny bit more surface area would've broken the concept.\n\nJust a clownshow piece of kit all around. The worst thing i've seen from a company that used to be known for pretty forward thinking gear.. Sophomore slump I hope, but if this is the way the company is going philosophically (that form factor and compact-ness matter more than usability), no amount of positive features will save them.launch

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July 13, 2022

@shogunai

Even if I overlook the laughable pricetag, I just dont get it. Like, I cannot think of one possible use case where this product, in this form factor, is actually useful. Even if it is for their own current and forthcoming products.\n\nWhy the hell did they make it so small? It's like a complete misunderstanding of literally everything that makes a live oriented mixer cool. The only things I want to be thinking about on a desk if I'm doing Dub/Live Electronic are the Faders, the EQ pots & the Sends. \"It's a proper performace mixer\". LOL, no it really really isn't.\n\nThey could have made it as wide as the OP, twice the depth, and included hands on control for everything I just mentioned. And then the price MIGHT have been acceptable. But at over £1k with the connectivity and UX it provides, it is simply a stupid bit of kit imho.launch

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July 12, 2022

@XiXora

There is a perception of smaller = cheaper. I can see why people would freak out at the price. Maybe, if this was made with the bendy OP-Z plastic, it'd be half the price. Who knows.\nThis does look possibly too small to be a delight to use.launch

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May 21, 2022

@Grummycanader

If it was $350 or less, I’d buy immediately.\nIf it was under $600 I’d compare it to other larger options in the price range. If they gave me one to make a YouTube video with I’d be happy to do so. I’m sure there are people with more disposable $ than me that will appreciate it. Very compact and elegant. But at that price the compromise of usability to compactness is a bit high. At this size it’s only marginally more hands on than a touch screen. Too tight to reliably tweak any two knobs at the same time (if you happen to need to tweak two right next to each other). It defeats the point of a hardware mixer in that scenario. I’d want to be able to grab control and play them when needed. At that price I’d want to know I could grab and tweak at least any two at any given time.launch

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May 21, 2022

Early buyers were frustrated that the device shipped without internal recording capability, forcing use of an external DAW or device. This was seen as a major oversight given the device's otherwise studio-quality hardware.

@sodiumlights

a fantastic, beautifully crafted device. But do you know what is equally remarkable? An 8-track Digital recorder, twin mics, built in effects, aluminium body, and more...that can also fit inside a shirt pocket..that was released nearly ten years ago and cost just £160. If it had a TE logo on it folk would be over it like a rash, instant buy etc But it doesn't so they don't. The wee BOSS BR-80 is a brilliant companion. Practical, great sounding, portable, and above all USEABLE without the aid of tweezers.launch

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July 21, 2022

@yellowcrescent

I would love to see a teardown of this thing to see how they have cramped everything inside. I think if it had built-in recording capabilities with an SD card, the price would be easier to justify, especially if it could write 12 track WAV/FLAC recordings. It seems like they chose good hardware for a full-digital mixer (all of the ADCs and DACs are 32-bit and at least 192kHz+ -- although not sure how they have them configured. possibly running internally at 32-bit/48kHz, which may by why that's the only sample rate they support over USB audio). No hardware MIDI input does suck, though. Seems clear it was intended for use with an iPhone (an iPad would dwarf it) -- do people actually make music on iPhones.. intentionally? lollaunch

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May 21, 2022

@nicholas_99993

can you imagine how they made the decision to not include an on-board recorder, but give you completely useless synth engines instead? (and you can’t change my mind about that one)\nI think it’s a weird product. Not in a good way.launch

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May 20, 2022

@ChristopherOrth

This sets a clear roadmap for other hardware developers. Drop the gimicky shit, add onboard recording to wav files, and drop the price by half or more, and you have a market changing money printer.launch

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May 20, 2022

Several commenters feel the built-in synth engines and sequencer are half-baked, tedious, and largely unnecessary on what should be a mixer, adding cost without real value. Some argue these features should have been scrapped in favor of core mixer functionality.

@nicholas_99993

can you imagine how they made the decision to not include an on-board recorder, but give you completely useless synth engines instead? (and you can’t change my mind about that one)\nI think it’s a weird product. Not in a good way.launch

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May 20, 2022

@ChristopherOrth

This sets a clear roadmap for other hardware developers. Drop the gimicky shit, add onboard recording to wav files, and drop the price by half or more, and you have a market changing money printer.launch

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May 20, 2022

@djcrouton2680

I find this to be a really odd device. It has a lot of features that seem sort of half baked or just too tedious for me to actually want to use. Outside of the mixer itself and some built in effects, the rest comes across as extra stuff that makes it more expensive and doesn’t really need to be there. \n\nA small portable mixer has a market and I guess you could tandem it with a phone or iPad to record remotely if you wanted but if you want to make it this portable, not being able to record directly onto it necessitates another piece of equipment to be used so you sort of lose the benefit of it being so tiny compared with a slightly larger mixer that can record to a SD card. \n\nI would have rather seen this a bit closer to the size of a Volca to space things out a bit, not have cable size be an issue, provide room for a few more buttons so not everything is a menu dive, and have space for a SD card to record direct. And scrap the drum and synth features, since they seem not super functional, tedious, and not really necessary on a mixer anyway. This device seems like on of those things that sounds like a good idea in concept but that I’d never actually use in practice. Or that a company makes to show that they can do it without really thinking if they should.launch

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May 20, 2022

@hvhvgitaar

An excellent review, as always. You identify the pros and cons very well. The lack of any possibility to save the state is a bizarre omission .\nThe synth and sequencer are useless features in my view. Not sure what they were thinking…\nThis looks like an interesting design exercise and would be good fun for a trade fair to show off what the company’s engineers can achieve, but it doesn’t have what it takes to be a marketable product.\nI expect it to be dropped pretty soon. Not many people will be buying it until the price drops below 500…\nAt least we got an entertaining review out of it, so we’re grateful 😉.launch

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May 20, 2022

Reviewers point out odd choices like a power switch that sticks out preventing flush stacking with other devices, ports spaced too close for standard cables, and a bug where knob values jump unexpectedly. These are seen as surprising oversights from a design-focused company.

@phylum_sinter

I really wish you didn't feature this overpriced, impossibly idiotic designed piece of gear. Noticed you never demo'd getting all the jacks working... there's a meme for this, and it isn't pretty.\n\nStandard shielded cables can't even fit in the back of this thing if you want to utilize all of the i/o. The scale so miniscule, seemingly perfect for kids hands and nobody else. Even the demo guy seemed careful not to freestyle anything but the sliders and easily accessible buttons that aren't a cm away from each other. Why would they do this? It's cramped like even a tiny bit more surface area would've broken the concept.\n\nJust a clownshow piece of kit all around. The worst thing i've seen from a company that used to be known for pretty forward thinking gear.. Sophomore slump I hope, but if this is the way the company is going philosophically (that form factor and compact-ness matter more than usability), no amount of positive features will save them.launch

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July 13, 2022

@dirtyduchamp

How is it possible for a \"design company\" to make so many poor design choices?launch

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May 21, 2022

@bartektrame8801

The knob-position-value oversight mentioned around 13:00 is hilarious. How did this not come up when testing? It's almost like they assume no one who buys this will be serious about using it... Can't fault them for that at leastlaunch

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May 20, 2022

@emilyschmanks

what's weird to me is the choice to make the on/off switch stick out of the side of the device. if you're using it next to other devices, it won't line up properly. weird design choice if you're so set on making everything as compact as possiblelaunch

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May 20, 2022

Commenters note the lack of any way to save device state as a bizarre omission, and the absence of hardware MIDI input is also flagged as a limitation for users wanting to drive a DAW's transport controls.

@Xenious

I think this thing has a pretty cool design. If I wanted to be unrealistic then motorized faders would have made it perfect (ha!). My only complaints were that it didn't have a high Z input, I couldn't get transport controls to drive my DAW (not sure if it is possible) and that the FX (send) can't be combined (i.e. reverb and delay together). I'm excited about future updates that might add new features.launch

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May 23, 2022

@yellowcrescent

I would love to see a teardown of this thing to see how they have cramped everything inside. I think if it had built-in recording capabilities with an SD card, the price would be easier to justify, especially if it could write 12 track WAV/FLAC recordings. It seems like they chose good hardware for a full-digital mixer (all of the ADCs and DACs are 32-bit and at least 192kHz+ -- although not sure how they have them configured. possibly running internally at 32-bit/48kHz, which may by why that's the only sample rate they support over USB audio). No hardware MIDI input does suck, though. Seems clear it was intended for use with an iPhone (an iPad would dwarf it) -- do people actually make music on iPhones.. intentionally? lollaunch

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May 21, 2022

@hvhvgitaar

An excellent review, as always. You identify the pros and cons very well. The lack of any possibility to save the state is a bizarre omission .\nThe synth and sequencer are useless features in my view. Not sure what they were thinking…\nThis looks like an interesting design exercise and would be good fun for a trade fair to show off what the company’s engineers can achieve, but it doesn’t have what it takes to be a marketable product.\nI expect it to be dropped pretty soon. Not many people will be buying it until the price drops below 500…\nAt least we got an entertaining review out of it, so we’re grateful 😉.launch

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May 20, 2022