Teenage Engineering has made a name for itself with its instrument and musical toy creations. Many would have said that their next product would be a new speaker or a pocket operator. The fact is that their newest device is a record cutter and a portable one at that. This is a device that embraces analog audio wholeheartedly.
The analog audio was thought to have gone out of style and is enjoying an unexpected and surprising resurgence. Even audio cassettes are making a comeback and enjoying booming sales. This, even though many of us carry devices with us which offer access to millions of tunes. Is it because analog sounds are much better than digital? That is one question that may never find a good answer. It is true that records have a distinct sound that many like better than digitized music. Teenage Engineering wants to help people make music on their own and find out.
Vinyl record fans will find the PO-80 very familiar. A collaboration between Japanese company Gakken (educational toys) and Teenage Engineering has put out this new product. PO-80 looks very close to the EZ Record Maker except for its updated colors and new branding. The PO-80 has a tone arm that can play 5- or 7-inch records and it also has a cutting arm. The stylus on the cutting arm is replaceable and it can be used to engrave 3 minutes of sound at 45 rpm or audio of lower quality at 33 rpm. The unit costs $149 and works on USB power. IT also has a built-in speaker and comes with an extra stylus for cutting and blank vinyl records.
