kid-friendly & portable turntable ‘PO-80’ is a DIY, lo-fi music maker

Say hello to portable turntable ‘PO-80’

Teenage Engineering is back at making portable consumer electronics again with its recent portable, compact, and kid-friendly PO-80 turntable, a DIY record factory to produce lo-fi music. The Swedish brand collaborated with designer and sound artist Yuri Suzuki, who also created a similar product named ‘EZ record maker’ and educational toymaker company Gakken for the portable turntable PO-80, resulting in a toy-looking device that jams with the users’ lo-fi dreams.

Under adult supervision, even kids can create their own records using the portable turntable. Aesthetic vibes are in through the lo-fi sounds PO-80 produces, and more than that, users can cut and playback their own records as long as they plug in any audio divide to the 3.5mm audio input jack of the portable turntable. 

simple to assemble – just follow the instructions

The orange and white color combination of the portable turntable by Teenage Engineering and Yuri Suzuki adds to its playful and kid-friendly look. The Swedish brand assures its users that the P0-80 comes with a simple-assembly system and instructions, a plug-and-play setting of some sort.

It includes the basics users need to create their own records such as a cutting arm with a stylus that engraves sound onto the five-inch vinyl discs, a tonearm for playback, and paper sleeves and center label stickers shaped like flowers. A carry bag is also available along with a record pack comprising ten discs if the included six five-inch discs are not enough as well as a cutter head.

Time to record, but how?

To use the PO-80, users must connect their audio source to the line input, adjust the needle pressure of the turntable, and slide the cutting arm to the end. After they place a clean record on the turntable, they switch to recording mode, turn it on, and adjust the volume with the volume dial.

They play the audio source at maximum volume and adjust the volume on PO-80 as needed, push the cutting arm slightly forward to connect it with the pulley gear, carefully lower the cutter head, and set the cutting needle to the record only to raise it when the recording is finished.

Teenage engineering can help master the tracks

Teenage Engineering recommends users use an equalizer when recording to achieve a quality result. They also suggest recording music to a computer and using a low-cut EQ to achieve the best quality recordings. ‘To further improve your recordings you can try to adjust the needle weight. Experiment to find the optimal setting for your unit,’ the company writes.

It is also advisable to adjust the input volume to steady the needle for recording since heavy vibration of the needle can cause skipping. To help the users, they can upload their music to the company’s mastering machine system on their site to master their tracks.

Yuri Suzuki’s record maker reinvented

Teenage Engineering met Yuri Suzuki ten years ago while he was freelancing at its studio in Stockholm. From the get-go, the duo has eyed making playful music gadgets, shoving away the heavyset and bulky music equipment productions use these days to include those who are either starting out or just want to dabble into music in their spare time.

After Suzuki created his EZ record maker, Teenage Engineering was inspired by the ease the portable turntable offers to its users and tapped Suzuki to reframe its version with a pocket-operator mentality and an updated design. Now, music enthusiasts can acquire portable turntable PO-80 and shelve it in their homes when done, to use again when needed in the future.

project info:

name: PO-80

designer: Yuri Suzuki

companies: Teenage Engineering, Gakken