Teenage Engineering M-1 On-Ear Headset for OP-Z Synthesizer and Daisy Chain Headphones

If you are considering these as a pair of daily-driver rough and tumble headphones, seriously look elsewhere. These are not a replacement for the Bose Quietcomforts and the Sony WX-whatever's of the world. IF however, you don't have $300-400 to spend on headphones, are sick of in-ear buds, and rue the day that aesthetic audio equipment went away due to airpods, these are for you.This headset is SMALL (mini soda for scale). Like unbelievably compact, to the point where I got it as part of a multi-piece order and straight up thought amazon forgot to ship the headphones in the box. These are a design piece, part of the experience is not about the sound quality with this set; it has a retro-modern aesthetic in line with other Teenage Engineering products, and if you are a fan of their designs like me (but can't quite afford an op-1 yet...) then these provide a taste of that experience for a much more manageable price.Let's talk sound. I'm no audiophile, but will be as poetic as I can be, keeping in mind that I listen to everything from EDM, to Classic Rock, Funk, Soul, Blues, Piano Ballads, Chiptune, etc.. As a few other reviewers have noted, these are very "warm". The lower tones are quite prevalent, and I understand for some people could be quite distracting. In my experience however, I should note that the rest of the soundstage is clear and crisp, it's simply that the bass is standing closer to you. After I went and enabled Dolby Atmos on my S21 ultra and customized the EQ a bit, I arrived at a soundstage that fit my music better.Comfort-wise, I could wear these for several hours without noticing as the pads are quite soft and plush. The aux cable is not that long, but long enough to get the job done if you are sitting at a notebook or using these with your phone. The headphone attachment wasn't the greatest when used with my phone, (although this could be due to the usb-c adapter I'm using). Vocals are a bit soft, but despite being close to my mouth the gain was never grating despite being maxed when I projected my voice. Also, there seems to be a natural "de-esser" (reduces the hiss on "S") due to the pop-filter foam.Other quirks: you really have to make sure the aux cable is fully inserted into the headphones - I've had an issue where the volume on the cup opposite to the cable is lower than the "active" side. This of course is a quirk of using cables again, so if you've been exclusively bluetooth buds for a while, just be aware. Also, if you have big fingers like me, these require a dainty touch; inserting the cable can be a trick, but I leave these at home and thus leave the cable inserted so problem averted.Con: the only con I would list is the fact that these seem to be made mostly of durable materials, but then they went and made the folding/latch part out of plastic... Why? I like these enough that I want to own them for a long time, and would assume that given Teenage Engineering's background these will be of more limited availability. Plastic being used in the most wear-and-tear area somewhat undermines my confidence of these lasting, although to be fair the mechanism seems pretty robust. Would love to see a v.2.0 of these with this latch addressed, and a *fractionally* larger scale (or relocated 3.5mm insert) to make inserting the cable less of a chore.All in all, if you are looking at these because you wanted to try something aesthetically minded and have a little money to spend, I would recommend them and love that they exist!

The device starts to heat up significantly within minutes of the initial call, which is quite disheartening. Perhaps it's not well-suited for calls, and its strengths lie elsewhere.

Ho preso queste cuffie principalmente per giocare con chat vocale. Non ho optato per le classiche cuffie da gaming semplicemente per una ragione estetica: non so perché ma quelle da gaming sono un tipo di cuffie dall’apparenza (spesso) molto cheap e con un design che cerca di essere inutilmente aggressivo, cosa che non apprezzo. Tornando a queste Teenage Engineering M-1 ci tengo fin da subito a confermare che funziona tutto perfettamente su Windows e su Mac, sia input che output. La scatola contiene le cuffie, un cavo audio e il microfono esterno: lo chiamo “esterno” perché in realtà le cuffie sono già dotate di un microfono integrato nel padiglione sinistro, ma per una maggiore qualità si consiglia di collegare quello esterno. Iniziando dal microfono, come detto quello integrato non è il massimo ma funziona, mentre quello esterno oltre ad essere di ottima qualità, può essere staccato ed attaccato al bisogno e può inoltre essere connesso sia nel padiglione destro che sinistro. Le cuffie poi sono dotate di un tastino giallo che prevede le funzioni di tasto play/pausa, rispondi/chiudi chiamata oppure attiva/disattiva microfono, e funzionano tutti con una pressione singola, mentre premendolo due o tre volte rispettivamente si andrà alla canzone successiva o precedente. Piccola chicca finale che ho scoperto solo dopo l’acquisto, è che queste cuffie possono essere collegate in daisy-chain ad altre M-1 in modo da poter ascoltare la stessa canzone con un altra persona che possiede le stesse cuffie, abbastanza inutile però l’idea è carina. In conclusione, sono cuffie che vanno bene più o meno per gli utilizzi più disparati, anche se hanno comunque alcuni difetti: stringono un po troppo le orecchie dopo sessioni di 2-3 ore, i padiglioni sono un po troppo piccoli, cosa che le rende ulteriormente scomode, ed infine scaldano anche un po’.Prezzo altino ma è il marchio Teenage engineering.

Fantastic headphones, really comfortable and great sound.

Tried so many different headsets while working from home - wired and wireless, over-ear and in-ear, consumer-grade and professional-grade, casual and audiophile, etc... Without spending a lot of money on interface modules, there were not many choices for headsets. I've been looking at M-1 for more than a year because I don't know whether I need a sound-mixing style headset. Then, I found a used one (almost new condition) at reduced price. So I snatched this for a trial.Comfortness: I was hesitant on "on-ear" style headset because it might cause fatigue or discomfort after long uses (4-5 conference calls a day, 30- 60 mins duration). Previously I used Sennheiser and Jabra headsets (callcenter style) and in-ear style headset (Razer ifrit) - I switched back and forth so that I didn't end up with ear infection... after long hours of usage with M-1, it does give you some discomfort, and little sweats as well. However, it was actually quite comfortable to wear for an hour-long call (not so bad at all). This might be varied among people since we have different sizes of head. It does have enough compression feeling so that earpieces are securely placed, but not have too much force to squeeze your ears/head (I wear a 7 1/4 football helmet with a beanie). I need to extend the earpieces all the way to the end and it will fit me (again, this would be up to your head size/shape). Overall, it was okay for me (lucky!!).Sound: audio quality would be the most positive aspect of M-1 - rich, not too much bass, somewhat neutral, almost no enhancement. Well, this is what I really like since I am not a musician. I wanted to hear others' voice clear without any enhancement via whatever smart people invented over years. Just plain and simple. Mic quality is decent, not perfect, but good enough for crisp conversations (no distortion, echo, static noise, none). I think it is an uni-directional mic since it would not pick up surrounding sounds too much. Boom mic is long enough to locate the mic at the optimal location (for me, it would be just below the lower lip so that it would not pick up "p" too much, and I can sip my coffee easily). I use this for all communications (computer, tablet, phone) and sound quality is great in both inputs and outputs. There is some sound bleeding, but acceptable (not so much as open-back headphones). Its sound feels like weaker Grado SR80e (just my personal opinion).Build Quality: metal frame with cushioned earpieces. It feels like 80s' Walkman headset with fancy form earpads. For carrying purpose, earpieces can be folded inward.Not So Good: wire is little short. I am using usb audio enhancer (from Razer ifrit since it has a mute button) and its would be okay. If you connect this directly to your laptop or computer, you might have only one sitting position, unable to stand and move. Another thing I need to address is limited function of its universal button. It seems working on phone/tablet (pause/play/next/previous), but didn't work on computer. Not a deal breaker.Overall, this is a reasonably-priced tiny workhorse headset with rich sound and good mic - not only for great conference calls, but for music lovers while working. This would be for music creators, but also for people who work from home and love music!!! Enjoy!!!