Teenage Engineering Intros TP-7 Field Recorder

At Superbooth 2023, Teenage Engineering has introduced the TP–7 field recorder.

The TP–7 field recorder is a dedicated recording device, with a 7-hr rechargeable battery and 128 GB of internal storage. They say that it is “built to record sound, music, interviews and important ideas with zero friction in the highest possible quality.”

It’s designed for single-handed control. At the center of TP–7 is the motorized ‘tape reel’, used to navigate menus, scrub, pause, and provide visual feedback of playback. The rocker on the left side lets you scrub through your audio. The mode button is placed below, while the other side is home to the memo and navigation buttons.

You can record with the built-in microphone, or use any of the three stereo two-way jacks to connect external mics, headphones, studio monitors, or any other audio equipment. Connect via USB-C to use TP–7 as a multi-channel audio interface, midi controller, or for data transfer and charging. Wireless connectivity options include MFi and BLE. A 6.35 mm to 3.5 mm jack adapter is also included.

Also available upon release is the TP–7 transcription app for instant voice-to-text. Connect via BLE or USB, and import your audio for instant transcriptions. The software uses Whisper, an open source AI tool.

Features:

  • 3 TRRS stereo input/output mini jacks
  • 1 main/headphones output
  • 24-bit/96 kHz USB audio interface
  • Internal mic and speaker
  • 7-hr rechargeable battery
  • 128 GB of internal storage
  • TP–7 transcription app available for iOS
  • Dimensions: 96 mm x 68 mm x 16 mm
  • Weight: 170 g / 5.6 oz

Pricing and Availability:

The TP-7 is available for pre-order for $1,499 USD, with shipping expected this summer.

51 thoughts on “Teenage Engineering Intros TP-7 Field Recorder”

  4. It has solid specs, but you can match the features for less than half the price in many other places of quality. I don’t see the customer’s Get for the asking price. Does wearing a Teenage Engineering t-shirt win you added street cred? On what street?

    1. Ain’t no one rocking one of these on the streets.
      It’d get jacked quicker than something really quick to be jacked.
      This is just pure hipster posturing.
      Having said that, I’m sure it’s pretty awesome. It should be for the price, and undoubtably will be very high quality / fidelity.
      But……, yeah.

    2. I think if I was going out with a friend who was wearing a “Teenage Engineering” t-shirt, it’d be worth digging out my old “I’m With Stupid” shirt. Not because the products are necessarily bad, but because of the fawning over them.

    3. Well, someone have to take the “Gucci” position and Teenage Engineering does a fine job in that matter, you also often buy similar and much cheaper items in H&M.

    2. A serious question: I get that working in 32 bit float is useful in the box, where there’s a lot of gain-staging and potential clipping going on. But what purpose would it serve on a device like this, where the headroom is very much tied to the dynamic range of the mic?
      The mic is bound to be good for this price, but does its dynamic range exceed 144 dB? Or am I missing some other use there?

      1. Don’t you worry mate, seriously what’s the worst that can happen? Some inane remarks from juvenile punters who can’t be bothered? But indeed, probably not good to hope for a informative answer either, though I feel every once in a while one has to give humanity a chance.
        I was just curious about this need for word length in this specific use case, but nvm

            1. Right? It was a legitimate question that any engineer would have with an answer that I still think is more “cult of high fi” than anything else. I was a studio engineer for two years and a live sound engineer for 4, and I think most of my former mentors would have the same question.

    4. Btw I’m not asking for an explanation of the benefit of a larger word length – I work in DSP and all of that is crystal clear to me.
      I’m interested in what benefit it has in recorders like this one where the dnr and noise floor of the mic seem to be the bottleneck that (as far as I understand) limits the immediate usefulness of a larger word length. Anyone?

        1. This makes a lot of sense. In the end it will not prevent the mic from clipping (unless there’s some kind of smart attenuation) but at least it then doesn’t clip in the ADC as well. Thanks for clearing that up!

    2. Neither of them have adequate metering unfortunately. Zoom gear is the best value option, though it’s not as rugged as the Sound Devices. Used Fostex gear is also available stupid cheap and the company still supports most of it if you need something industrial-grade without being too bulky.

  12. Love all the comments above. Hilarious.
    Who buys this sh*t? Serious question.

    Anybody who needs 32 bit float (so that’s everybody!)
    would go Tascam or Zoom or if professional would stick with Nagra.

    So who the heck buys it?

    Got it! This toy is bought for 9th birthday of eldest son of Russian oligarch,
    by henchman hoping to curry favour.

    Total market of oligarchs with more money then sense? Maybe 50.

    1. You do realize that the USA is full of people “with more money than sense”, right? Like the ones who “donate” money to a self-proclaimed billionaire.

    1. I sat at the desk and a bench made from the same material recently

      I took the opportunity to have a really good fucking look at it

      I was very impressed

      While it “might” not be worth exactly $1600 – it is definitely sturdy as fuck and very well made

      Definitely worth far more than anything you can get at Ikea

  14. From the TE website: “You can even use TP–7 as turntables and TX–6 to mix.”

    If you see a DJ rocking this (micro) setup at a bar, careful not to spill your pint on it!

  15. As often with TE they only care about design and price tag. Gain buttons are the worst possible thing for a recorder with onboard mics, you get thumpy clicks each time you press one. Might be why no other company does that?!

      1. Only a few of them. The better ones (H4 and up) have dials which are decent. The H* series are great value and easy, the F series is a bit spendier but extremely well specced. i’ve used Zoom gear on film sets for years and never been disappointed, more than good enough for feature work. I’ve used everything from Fostex to Sound Devices to Nagra gear before I got into Zoom stuff; I also like that Zoom are good with software updates/bug fixes and quite responsive to customer feedback.

        2. My Zoom H4n Pro has no rotary knobs to change the recording volume, but pushbuttons. So do all models of the H4-family. And you can hear the thud of the buttons on your recording when using the built-in mics. Whether the buttons of the TP-7 field are also recorded by the internal microphone, I cannot judge because I have not used the device yet. Perhaps Zeta has some information we don’t have.

    1. It’s called Sweden. People there live well and enjoy their lives with a higher level of affluence than the average American, which probably explains the angry envious comments here.

  19. Fun fact: In 1924, the original Edison Dictaphone Model 7 wax cylinder dictating machine was $190. Adjusted for inflation, this equals $3,331.73 today.

    1. In 1924 what other options where there?
      Originality and cutting edge technology comes with at a premium.
      Today, in 2023, we have lots (perhaps too much) of options.
      Out of all the options available to me, regardless of cost, I would not choose this option.

  22. it will be interesting to see how this and the little mixer holds up over time

    its much more possible these devices could be legit “worth it”, given the highly variable nature of audiophile recording gear

    unlike the OP things

  24. I really like the design and attention to detail that went into this. Yeah it’s pricey, quality doesn’t come cheap. The world has enough bottom-feeding corner cutters already, I am glad that someone out there is pushing high-quality design-first products as an alternative.

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