Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II

FYI (although slightly OT): they announced a delay in forcing the filing of a 1099-K for all yearly sales over $600 for 2023. but they’re also going to phase it in for 2024 at a less-drastic threshold ($5k), and then 2025 will be the $600/any number of transactions threshold.

so… maybe no filing of tax docs for such re-sellers, for now.

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Obviously ; ) jk

What about, “the dog ate my fader out of spite”?

It’s like I was sent a completely different product than everyone else or I just have a higher standard for what solid build quality is; and what a great product is.

I’m convinced TE could sell a leather whoopie cushion for $300 and mfs will say it’s a great wind instrument :dash:.

It is definitely a fun little device but cmon man, tell the people the truth. This mf flimsier than a daddy long legs in a wind tunnel.lmao. I doubt this bih holds up falling onto carpet. Y’all a trip.

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I have zero hardware issues. I have a fader bug, and I’ve talked about things I like and don’t like on the device. What is this truth that is supposedly being suppressed?

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1-10. In your opinion, what is the likelyhood that KO2 would break if the chord got yanked and it fell off a counter onto the floor. Even carpet?

How long do you honestly think this fader and buttons will last with daily use normal for any sampler?

How confident are you traveling with this in a bag with other gear without a hard case?

Are drop tests an aspect of synth & samplers reviews now? My opinion is the likelihood is the same as any other device.

Dunno. The fader seems fine unless it breaks during the initial capping. I don’t suspect I will break it unless I am being violent with it and smashing it down. The buttons seem fine. My long term concern would be the pressure sensitive film under the keycaps (mentioned this in two previous posts).

Pretty confident. It’s lightweight.

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Fair. We all have opinions and mine isn’t worth more than any.

My opinion is that this is flimsy. I could be tripping or just have too high standards.

I have all the Roland AIRA devices and they’ve dropped, been stuffed in bags, etc and good as new. $200.

*(for the record I do like it)

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yeah i really dont wanna drop it lol, im thinking im gonna have the same procedure i had with my m8, lives in a hard case when not being used

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Well we’ve seen the PCB as well now in teardown videos and it’s one solid board with very little attached parts. It’s a thin profile but I am unable to make it bend with average force. The screen is not a traditional display, and I would actually guess that it will get longer shelf life than its counterparts because it is just illuminated underneath.

If dropped and it lands flat, I would say it should be perfectly fine.

Ditto. That’s all I’m saying. Not hating on it. Just in my view doesn’t seem very durable. That’s fine but I think folks should know what to expect is all.

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Fair. Haven’t seen any tear downs or the internals. Just going off how it feels. I’m a big guy with big hands and decades of pad banging experience. I know I’m gonna break this at some point unless I give extra care not too. Invest in additional hard case, be more mindful of fader, etc.

For the record, I’d pay OP1 money for this exact form factor in a more pro build with the obvious features folk have already covered ad nauseam above (resample, mfx, etc). Love its affordable to the masses tho :ok_hand:t4:

Here’s your drop test:

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I have no dog in this fight but the photo upthread of the SP404mk2 next to the EP-133 does the EP-133 no favours, for sure.

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this mans money is right where his mouth is

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Nice drop test!

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ah come on, one more drop woulda done it!
#fadergate

:rofl:
jk thank you for this

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That’s not a counter or even a desk but fair enough. It works seconds later. The speaker on one of mine went out after 2 days and I didn’t drop it at all.

Mine just arrived a couple hours ago. Took some time to let it warm up since it’s cold outside before opening the box. The fader doesn’t work - and no, I didn’t try to put the knob on it. It’s just busted, likely either a faulty part or damaged in shipping.

Bought from BH Photo. The shipping box was way too big and they used those crappy airbag things, so the KO’s box had plenty of room to Josh around. Will be contacting them to send it back. I’m undecided if I want to try to get a replacement or if I’m just going to wait for a hardware revision or something.

It feels ok otherwise. It’s not a premium product so I don’t expect premium build quality, but it feels a bit better than I expected.

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You have a point and the metal prongs under the fader are really flimsy / bend really easily. I think we can all agree that’s a pretty objective statement considering all the complaints

After opening it up to fix it tho, everything else seems pretty solid and there’s not a lot that can go wrong even if it’s plastic and it’s dropped. If it does, seems like most things are replaceable.

The durability of the overall Ko ii build reminds me of plastic cell phones back in the day. You could drop them so many times and worst case, the battery cover would come off and you get some scratches. Some would argue that phones now are more durable. They’re heavier, got metal and glass builds. But drop it once and it shatters. Not saying you can drop the KO but maybe that’s what some are referring to in terms of quality

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