OP1 Field - Portable speaker with aux-in

OP-1 field
#1

Hi all!

I’m in the market for a portable speaker. One that I would use with my op1 Field.
It would need to have some aux-in connectivity option. And, more importantly, no latency through cables.

I just purchased a Marshall Middleton speaker. The sound is amazing. Got the woompf, got the air. Love the sound. But the price tag is heavy - just like the speaker in itself. And more importantly, there is an audible latency when connecting about anything through the aux in.
I compared it to my old trusty Marshall Stockwell (2016) and there’s one hell of a lag on the Middleton. Which just won’t cut it for the hefty price tag.
So. I’m sending it back (and on a personal note, 2023 is the year I sent back probably the most gear back ever).

I’m not sold on TE’s offering. The OB-4 is not quite totally the package I’m aiming for. Lots of options I don’t care for in this product (the radio, for one).

And I would love to keep this on a comprehensive price tag - think about 300€ tops.

If you guys have some all-time-faves, I’m all ears. You may have some feedback or some ideas I didn’t came across - wouldn’t be a first!

Thanks for your time.

2 Likes
#2

its an old one but my go to is bose soundlink mini the first gen
great sound, great size
i tried to quit it but
i keep coming back to it

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#3

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m gonna try and find the v1. At the moment, I can only seem to find the v2.

#4

I can also vouch for the Bose Soundlink Mini first gen, but my daily driver is the Minirig 3 which is £140.

Amazing piece of gear, great sound with a solid bass (it can also get VERY loud) & the battery life is unbelievable. It’s mono, which is a bit of shame, but you can extend it with more speakers down the line – it does make it less portable though.

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#5

Thanks for the suggestion!

I just bought a Marshall Killburn II. Bulky but portable, cool design but still sturdy with a great sound…….and no latency.

The Minirigs had my attention from the start. But the Mono design would have never cut it for me - I record with the pre-tape pan option a lot. And I sound design more than often. So having a somewhat stereo image is paramount. And even tho the Killburn II is mono, the integrated DSP is minimal enough so I don’t notice latency but efficient enough so I get a sense of specialization.

That being said, I’ll still monitor the OB-4 upgrades (if any) and the future Minirigs (the fact that their subs units are sold out kinda put me out too).

And again, any new suggestions is still welcomed!

#7

I’m love with this thing. The aesthetic, super portable, and surprisingly good sound https://www.divoom-gz.com/product/tivoo.html

#8

My wife almost bought one last month but was afraid they were a bit too gimmicky. If you have some kind of exhaustive review, I’m in!

#9

OB-4 is a very nice sounding speaker. It doesn’t get super boomy or crispy like the Bose SoundLink Mini. I check mixes on it, that’s mow much I like the sound of it. It’s great for portable jams with enough mid-range to hear what’s going on when feeding it unmastered audio, unlike the Bose.

Not as portable but definitely nice sounding and affordable, iLoud Micro.

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#10

The OB-4 has me curious. For sure.
But then again…looping functions and no audio out? I don’t get the logic behind this.

But they almost had my money.

#11

Well. Quick update.
And y’all are gonna laugh a fair bit.

The Killburn II is useless.
Turns out the Bluetooth functionality never turns off (there are no physical switches to select the aux in, there’s only a Bluetooth button) and once the sound stops coming from the aux in (any silence longer than 2 seconds chrono), the bluetooth takes back priority.

In my case, if I stop playing sounds on the op1 Field, a two second silence will turn back the bluetooth on. It then takes about the same amount of time to auto-disable the bluetooth function and make the sound come through again. So, basically, maybe the worst latency ever.

I’m officially done with Marshalls (although the Stockwell 1, with its physical input selector, is working fine). For that price point, it’s just not worth it.

So, back to square one.

Quite a bumpy ride.

#12

So.
Since the Marshall Kilburn II and the Middleton were useless, I’m back to scanning options.

I do have some questions about the OB-4. If you’d have some time to give some feedback, I’d appreciate it big time!

a- Is the unit sturdy and portable enough? I’m a mostly perplexed about the speakers not being protected. Same for the handle and the way TE displayed the handle as a weird stand (with the speakers facing the table underneath).

b- I read about the bluetooth being quite the hassle (connecting to everything randomly once it got connected once, etc). Is the Line-In a reliable option? Is the bluetooth always on?

c- Just to make sure : you can make loops but can’t export it directly? I was wondering if one could make some loops and then record them onto the op1 Field via FM. Is that possible?

d- and what about the other options? the mantras, the noise, the metronome…they all sound a bit too gimmicky. Are they of any real use?

e- one last question : someone mentioned the OB-4 was nowhere near as advertised battery-wise. Can you confirm?

Thanks for any answer.
Take care!

#13

I’ll just answer what I can speak for. I’ve only had my OB-4 for a few months now. I love it but based on your questions I’m not sure if it’s your best bet.

Is the unit sturdy and portable enough?

Portable, sort of. I love carrying it around my place but I’d need a protective case before I’d feel comfortable bringing it outside.

Sturdy, no. Gets smudged easily and I’m constantly worried about knocking it over. Which has happened a couple times.

Is the Line-In a reliable option?

Yes, and they improved the latency in a firmware upgrade. The only issue is there’s some sort of gate and it can cut off the first part of the sound it receives if it’s on standby or something.

you can make loops but can’t export it directly?

Correct, and honestly I’ve found the looping to be really challenging. It’s not terribly easy to adjust the start point, I don’t think you can adjust the end point. and the scrub wheel thingy moves fairly slowly.

I was wondering if one could make some loops and then record them onto the op1 Field via FM. Is that possible?

No, the OB-4 can’t transmit FM. I do often play into the OB-4 via an FM adapter (which I suppose the OP-1F already has) which is fun but very lofi.

and what about the other options? the mantras, the noise, the metronome…they all sound a bit too gimmicky. Are they of any real use?

The short answer is “not really” and the long answer will make me sound like a TE shill so brace yourself.

I think the design is very intentional: there’s no line out because they made a speaker and only want you to use it as a speaker. I understand the frustration but I think they were aiming for a specific “experience” and I’ve actually really enjoyed it.

If you’re looking for a speaker with a lot of qualities that extend what it can do you really ought to look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for a speaker that somehow can keep you curious about it for months, it’s a good choice. I was looking for the latter–something to pique my interest for a while–so I really dig it.

For example, most recently I’ve started using my OP-Z’s mic to record the OB-4’s output into the OP-1’s tape. Pointing the mic at different parts of the speaker yields different results which can then be layered. One day I’d like to use the mantra to modulate a synth on the OP-1. Plus now I listen to the radio way more which is great.

Of course, all of this can be done with another device but the OB-4’s limitations pushed me this specific way and it’s been a blast.

2 Likes
#14

I owe you a big thank you, right there.
The kind of feedback that’s invaluable for me right now.

And first, lemme tell you how I loved the candid yet informed answers.

I think you summed up the whole TE ecosystem with the « to make you curious » part.
At the end of the day, that’s TE for you. Making weird yet practical yet limited gear.

To be honest, the only real beef I’d have with the OB-4 based on your experience is the sound cut-off one. That’s the main reason why I’m returning the Kilburn II tomorrow. I’m gonna try and find more about this one. After all, such a gate feature is not exactly musician friendly. I need to find what’s that about.

Other than that, the build quality seems to be one of the weak points. It’s not so much « Field » as it is « Home portable », in the end. The design gave it away. But I’ve seen quite a few users using it outside. Another point I need to investigate and consider before eventually buying.

The loop, the mantra, the noise generator, etc are all gimmicky af but sure would keep anyone interested in.
But they do sound like useless gimmicks.
The fact that it misses the Field moniker is weird too, but it makes sense. After all, it is somewhat bulky and a not rugged at all.
So yeah. So much for that.

Eventually, I think everything tends to go towards a pair of Minirigs 3.
Their support answered my questions with a copy/paste excerpt from their online FAQ.
I’m a bit concerned about the Bluetooth (troubleshooting today’s Bluetooth issues made me lose my mind for a second there) and the lack of physical switch to override completely the bluetooth.

Anyways.

Thanks for the amazingly fast and really great answers. That’s the kind of infos you would want to ALWAYS know!

1 Like
#15

What I suggest, is your local second hand shops, pawn shops etc, and look at old dirt cheap iPod docks. Even Apple’s original iPod Hi-Fi. Plenty of things cheap that have a 30pin dock connector and no Bluetooth, useless for most people, but do have amazing sound, and do have line input. I have a compact Logitech one that is great with my OP-1 Field and it was $7 AU from a shop inc PSU. I put a new battery in though. Some are rechargeable, some mains only, some battery operated. Apple, Bose, Logitech, Sony, pretty much any brand. OP shops / charity / thrift shops often have them too. You can get some great sounding bargains that way, some of these things when new cost $300-$400.

1 Like
#16

Thanks for the outside-of-the-box thinking. Love this.

Unfortunately, I live in a somewhat isolated place. And the two thrift shops around here are not so much audio-oriented.

Since I’ve got the op1 Field, I’ve been using a Marshall Stockwell 1. But it sustained so many falls and shocks that it now vibrates too much for any kind of use (the front plastic plate is not really broken but vibrates the heck out, the speaker in itself resonates, the tweeter is probably a bit damaged too).
So I’ve been trying to find options from around these years.
But it’s not that simple.
IK Multimedia’s iLoud was a really great unit, but it’s now discontinued and Reverb’s options are sketchy and not that cheap.
Old Marshalls (like the Kilburn 1) are not cheap either, hard to find, and/or discontinued for good. Their « Home » speaker (which means « always plugged ») would have been cool. But not portable at all - and with the use of guitars into the op1 Field, ground loops are just a no-go.

I’m still gonna try and scan Reverb, Audiofanzine, Gear Space and the likes. As well as the music shop I have next to my house.

And in last resort, I’ll probably first try a Minirig setup. Or an OB-4.

Again, thanks for the suggestion.
It baffles me that, in 2023, with portless iPad and a portable Logic version + tons of portable gears aimed at musicians, there’s no market for us. Baffling to say the least.

1 Like
#17

The little Logitech one I like (with a good internal battery, 10 hour run time) is this one, there is a black and a white one. If you can find it cheap enough on eBay it could be worth grabbing.
I’ve managed to find two of them haha

:thinking: I might do a little video about them, it’s a handy product for small music gear.

1 Like
#18

Thanks for the share!

I’ll definitely check it out. Maybe on eBay or, who knows, even Reverb.

I’m still not sold on the OB-4 or the Minirigs. I’m just still getting my head around the fact that there’s a blind spot in the portable speakers market rn.

Anyhoo. Thanks for the suggestion. That’s the kind of things that makes my day brighter - knowing I’m not the only one and that solutions can be found easily!

Cheers, mate!

1 Like
#19

Did a quick little jam with it and the PO-20 which fits nicely in the dock area haha.

3 Likes
#20

This video is just the perfect definition of neo-retro. Period.

The thing sounds capable af! You didn’t lie.
And it sounds the business too.

I was looking for some units last nite. Didn’t find my gem, but there are still viable options out there, waiting to rock any setup.

Thanks, @darwiniandude . As always, your answers pack a well scented retro vibe with just the hint of futuristic punch.

Oh. And don’t get me started on the fact that the tune you just shared should have a GameBoy cartridge made just for it. And a short game to go with.

#21

So. My wife just ordered the OB-4. Plain and simple.
She just liked the Magic features enough to order one out. And stating that if liked it, she will keep it and order a second one for creative purposes only.
And before anyone goes there, nope, we are not what qualifies as healthy rich. But she’s just a curious creative person who got annoyed that I couldn’t find the right speaker, I guess - and got tired of benchmarking videos too.

I’ll keep you guys updated.
Cause I’m definitely eyeballing these iPod docks too.

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