the first loop mode mentioned is on the ep133, the second loop thing he mentioned is not. but i cant totally tell the difference between the second loop thing he mentioned and the sample playback modes on the ep133
just looked in the manual and yeah i dont get what the purpose is. you can set mute states or something for the built in loops? but the loops can only start on the first step of a pattern? i dunno, i feel like im missing something
No. When you load a sample with that loop mode set into the KO2, it shows an error message saying “Unknown Play mode.”
From the video, the new loop mode seems to repeat a 2-bar loop within a 1-bar sequence, similar to the One-Shot Playback mode on the SP-404MK2.
Perhaps they wanted to implement something like an audio clip in Ableton.
Hey captain8,
Excellent question.
I assumed the same as you at first.
I soon discovered that:
Why?
⸻
Before the OB-4 3/25/22 OS Update:
OB-4 users observed discernible, distracting, &, for my intended purposes,
Deal-breaking, wired line-in latency issues.
As demonstrated in this 8/26/21 YouTube clip:
However, fast forward to 3/25/22:
New OB-4 Update? (op.forums.com)
After the above OS update,
I saw a significant amount of OB-4 users on multiple forums,
Reporting that the wired line-in latency was no longer an issue.
Upon reading the reports, I obtained an OB-4 in April 2022,
& confirmed that the OB-4’s previously reported wired line-in latency,
Is now a nonissue, as I am very sensitive to timing delays related to latency.
Going Back to the “Why?”:
Even when using a wired 3.5mm input,
Most portable Bluetooth speakers aren’t designed like studio monitors.
As most portable Bluetooth speakers route audio through:
Internal DSP (Digital Signal Processing) Stages,
Before the audio comes out of the speakers.
These Stages Often Include:
| DSP Stage | Purpose | Adds Latency? |
|---|---|---|
| A/D Conversion | Converts analog jack input to digital | Yes |
| EQ / Loudness Profiles | Signature sound tuning | Yes |
| Dynamic Compression | Prevents distortion at high volumes | Yes |
| Stereo Widening Effects | Enhances consumer sound | Yes |
| Room Correction / Spatial Modes | Some higher-end models | Yes |
| Crossovers for Multi-Driver Speakers | Splits frequencies between woofer / tweeter | Yes |
⸻
Typical Line-In Latency Ranges (Wired Aux):
| Category of Speaker | Typical Wired Latency | Suitable for Live Instruments? |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap Mini Bluetooth Speakers | 50–150 ms | No |
| Mid-Range BT Speakers (JBL, Sony, Bose) | 30–90 ms | No |
| Smart Speakers (Sonos, HomePod) | 80–200 ms | No |
| High-End Audiophile Bluetooth Speakers | 20–60 ms | No |
| Teenage Engineering OB-4 (Post-Update) | ~5 ms | Excellent |
⸻
Bluetooth vs. Wired Aux Latency:
Bluetooth Latency:
Even with aptX Low Latency, a user rarely sees below 40 ms latency.
Without special codecs, common latency is 120–300 ms,
Which is far too delayed for instruments or DJ work.
Wired Aux Latency:
Should be nearly instant in theory,
But due to DSP, most consumer speakers still add delay.
This is why musicians & DJs,
Don’t use consumer Bluetooth speakers for real-time performance.
Rather,
They use studio monitors, PA speakers, or dedicated low-latency designed devices.
⸻
After the March 2022 Firmware Update,
The OB-4’s updated ~5 ms Aux/line-in latency is now comparable to:
This makes the OB-4 of the very few (or only?),
Bluetooth-capable portable speaker(s) suitable for:
If you plug a synth, sampler, guitar, or DJ controller,
Into a typical Bluetooth speaker with a 3.5mm cable,
You will almost always hear a small but noticeable delay,
Annoying enough to make timing feel “off”.
The OB-4 is now exceptional,
Because it behaves more like a Portable Studio Monitor,
As opposed to a Consumer Bluetooth Speaker.
Complaining about bad demos and not even fretting about which Synthtuber will get cancelled first for doing a horribly racist Jamaican accent?
on the riddim are the supertones multisamples or built in synthesis?
as in if we clear the internal memory are these wiped too, or remain alongside a new user sample set? or user can change supertones with their own multisamples?
Looks very cool - nice case and the inclusion of the microphone is pretty badass. Probably doesn’t fit my niche but tempting none the less. Tried to convince myself that I could make some dope dub techno with it but probably the wrong tool for the job…
Guess can load it with any samples (even from the original and Medievel)?
It’s a cool idea, but I wish they would get on and make a big version of the Tonic.
Microtonic in a decent sized bit of hardware would be a total gamechanger.
Yep, and the full 128mb memory is accessible!
The TingFX microphone seem really cool but I wish they had fixed that awful pop everytime you engage it.
It was just as bad in the Andertons video, unfortunately.
Confused… anyone know why the OP-Z, OP-1, and OP-XY are allowed their own threads, but the EP-40 and siblings are not?
Do we know if the EP-40 has the same send fx comp + master comp?
At 5.54, he says that the ep133 will be getting the super tone engines via software update. Anyone heard this elsewhere? That and loop support would be very welcome.
Yeah it’s a little odd, you’d think a dedicated thread would be better in the long term.
yeah i dunno what kinda cough the mods are snoking, both the EP-133 and the Medieval have their own threads
I might buy one to take it apart and see 
.
I’ve asked, the issue is that the news phase of a release is reliably insufferably toxic in nature and thankless to administer … so that toxicity is lumped into a single mutable topic and actual users with actual hands on questions are invited to start user topics, but i may be misquoting … all i know is that the community were the ones who pointed this ‘understanding’ out and another admin sorted that out earlier; i followed suit
when it’s being pitched as news it’s to be within this topic and when it’s for the users (and sans toxicity) it’d be in a user topic
I don’t care, so long as it isn’t attracting flags and/or ‘conspiracy’ abuse; TE news ranks up there with religion and politics as a thankless sideshow of moderating on an Elektron focused forum because it attracts all the wrong sort of interest, invariably from folk with no intention to buy it … thus the toxicity
I’ve no intention to buy any of it, but i don’t feel the compulsion to write about it, for some others it’s bait for some kind of lols, i dunno …
… so when established community members were flagging new topics as ripe to merge, i asked where and why and this ‘understanding’ came out in the wash … i have TE topics muted so that’s why it was unclear to me at that stage
Frankly, and ironically, it’s more of a burden this way, but there simply can’t be a breeding ground for all the TE toxicity on multiple news topics, because invariably actual users will come along and ask to have the topic cleaned up from all the added noise … you can’t win, there’s been four attempts thus far, but none as yet from a user with questions rather than just an opinion to offload, which is fine here … i’ve no horse in this race, except a deep desire to not see flags emerge from infighting predicated on there being only lovers/haters when it comes to TE; nothing is black/white like this, but some enjoy the dopamine from edging it this way
I’m already out, so I think my perspective is covered … a user should start a users’ topic with a declared focus on keeping it about usage and pointing to here for the rest ?! The ‘Why’ probably relates to the peculiarities of TE’s product portfolio … it has evidently flushed out all the opinionated
I’m not looking to answer opinions on this, just elucidating the facts ftr
i dont understand how this is different than the paradigm presented for every other piece of gear released by any other company
TE EP-series Users thread sounds about right then? i think it would be overkill to have a thread for each one as they’ll all be the same after the fw udpate, just different sample sets?
think they are relasing a specific EP mixer soon too. so it can all lump in
off topic and ragebait opinions will get flagged so not sure it alleviates moderation…
