This Mini Record Player Lets You Make Your Own Custom Lo-Fi Records
It seems that if you wait around long enough, everything eventually comes back in style. Apparently, such is the case with Lo-Fi being the new Hi-Fi. Audiophiles swear that the dulcet tones of analog fidelity produced from vinyl are far superior to the overly digitized, ultra-compressed technology used today, so this should be music to their ears.
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Teenage Engineering is the maker of high-fidelity consumer audio products with a very unique look and feel. In 2005, Jesper Kouthoofd, David Eriksson, Jens Rudberg, and David Möllerstedt got together and began making their first product, the OP-1 portable synthesizer. They have since gone on to make a plethora of other electronics, including speakers, stereo mixers, pocket operators, headphones, and even a computer. In 2021, Teenage Engineering became one of the founding partners of Nothing, a technology company launched by Carl Pei, who also co-created OnePlus.
And now it has the PO-80 Record Factory, which does precisely what the name says ... makes lo-fi records.
The PO-80 is a small, portable record cutter that lets anyone above the age of 12 (according to the product description) make their own 5-inch vinyl records and play them back in glorious, scratchy "lo-fi sound." It's meant to be paired with the company's Pocket Operator line of synthesizers but can be used with any audio source with a 3.5mm jack.
Turn your room into a record factory
All a wannabe record magnate needs to do is plug 'n record, and voilà ... you have your very own analog, monophonic vinyl record (complete with a sleeve). But keep it short. At 33RPM, you only have about four minutes of audio per side, while bumping it up to 45RPM shortens it to three minutes per side.
The Record Factory has a line-out jack so you can listen with headphones or an external speaker and another plug to power it from a USB source. The kit (the PO-80 does require some assembly) also includes a spare cutting needle, six black 5-inch blank records, a USB power cable, a 3.5 mm audio plug, an adaptor to play 7-inch records, and a copy of a Gakken magazine (via Teenage Engineering).
Why the magazine? Well, if this thing looks vaguely familiar, it's because this isn't its first go around. A few years back, Japanese designer Yuri Suzuki teamed up with Japanese magazine publisher Gakken to make "Toy Record Maker" — a near identical product that cost about $80. Suzuki is a friend of Teenage Engineering and wanted to develop a new version with TE's "Pocket Operator mentality" (via The Verge), which costs $149. The magazine is an homage.
Unfortunately, there's one small problem. According to the company's website, the Record Factory is sold out and "no longer available." So, if you're really jonesing for one, you'll have to go to the secondary market to get your groove on.