OP-XY multitrack USB audio – could TE add 8 separate track outputs by firmware?
The purpose of this post is simple: I hope Teenage Engineering sees it. Like many OP-XY users, I would love a future firmware update allowing us to record the 8 instrument tracks separately over USB into a DAW, instead of only getting the stereo mix. I’ve seen discussions saying this may be impossible because the OP-XY doesn’t have enough processing power. So I decided to investigate what we can actually determine.
What I tested: I own both an OP-XY and a TX-6, so I connected them to the same Mac and examined the technical information each device sends to the computer when it connects via USB. This information basically tells the computer: “I am an audio device, I have this many audio channels, I use this audio format, and this is how I send and receive the data.” The OP-XY currently presents itself as a 2-input/2-output USB audio device at 32-bit/44.1kHz, while the TX-6 can be switched between 2×2 and 12×12.
The interesting part is what happened when I compared the TX-6 in both modes. I first examined it in 2×2 mode, then switched the exact same TX-6 to 12×12 and examined it again. The basic USB communication structure remained essentially the same. TE doesn’t need twelve separate USB “connections” inside the cable to carry twelve audio channels. Instead, the same USB audio stream can carry multiple channels together, a bit like a highway where you can increase the number of lanes and the amount of traffic being transported. In 2×2 mode the TX-6 tells the computer to expect 2 audio channels; in 12×12 mode it tells it to expect 12 and reserves more space for the audio data. The physical hardware obviously hasn’t changed.
This is particularly interesting because TX-6 12-in/12-out was itself added by TE through firmware (1.2.10). The hardware already existed; its USB capabilities were expanded later through software.
There is another, perhaps even more relevant precedent: OP-1 field gained multichannel USB audio through firmware in 2025. TE made it possible to send its four tape tracks separately over USB, plus the stereo mix. So TE has already implemented the basic concept we’re asking for on another standalone Field instrument.
What about USB bandwidth? 8 stereo OP-XY tracks would mean 16 channels. At the OP-XY’s current 32-bit/44.1kHz format, that represents only about 2.82 MB/s (22.6 Mbps) of raw audio. The OP-XY uses a USB connection capable of much more than this, and our examination of the way it currently transfers audio suggests that carrying 16 audio channels is technically within the capabilities of this type of USB connection. So USB bandwidth itself does not appear to be the limitation.
But what about CPU/DSP power? This is where the sceptics have a legitimate point. The TX-6 is mainly a mixer/interface, while the OP-XY is simultaneously running synths, samplers, effects, sequencing, UI, etc. So the TX-6 does not prove that the OP-XY has enough spare processing power.
However, sending 8 tracks over USB is not the same as generating 8 additional tracks. The OP-XY already has to calculate the audio of those 8 tracks independently before combining them into the stereo master. In theory, TE could take those already existing individual audio signals before they are mixed together and also send them to the computer as 8 separate stereo tracks. This would still require some additional processing, memory management and USB handling, but it would not mean calculating all the synths and effects a second time.
The OP-XY also has a substantial processing architecture: 2 Blackfin processing cores, 2 DDR memories, a triple-core DSP coprocessor and 2 controller MCUs. That doesn’t prove there is enough processing headroom, but it also means we cannot simply assume that “16 USB channels are too much for the OP-XY.”
And this is the important unknown: we cannot determine how much processing power remains available when an OP-XY project is pushed to its limits, or exactly how TE manages the individual audio tracks internally before they reach the final stereo mix. Only TE really knows this. So we cannot honestly say “the OP-XY definitely can do it”, but there is also currently no evidence allowing us to say “the OP-XY isn’t powerful enough.”
What we can reasonably conclude is: the USB connection itself appears capable of carrying the required amount of audio; the current stereo USB implementation does not prove that the hardware is limited to stereo; the TX-6 shows that TE can significantly expand USB audio capabilities through firmware; and the OP-1 field shows that TE can add individual track outputs over USB to an existing standalone instrument. The remaining unknown is whether the OP-XY has enough spare processing resources to do it reliably while running a demanding project.
So, Teenage Engineering, if you read this: please consider multitrack USB audio for the OP-XY. Even a 16-channel/24-bit “multitrack mode” would be incredibly useful. Being able to create a complete track on the OP-XY, connect one USB cable and record all 8 tracks separately into Ableton, Logic or another DAW would make a huge difference to the workflow. And if there is a genuine hardware limitation preventing it, it would be great to hear that from TE too.
For other OP-XY users: what do you think? If you have experience with embedded audio, USB or DSP and see something we’ve missed, please add to the discussion. The goal isn’t to claim we’ve proven it can be done — it’s to establish what appears technically possible, identify what we still don’t know, and hopefully show TE that there is real interest in this feature.