TL;DR: Teenage Engineering's first amp. 35 W, battery powered, and every input plays at once: guitar, phantom-powered mic, line, Bluetooth and USB. Eight guitar FX, eight mic FX, a USB audio interface and Auracast stereo pairing. €399 at Soundium.
Introduction
Teenage Engineering has spent years building small instruments that need something to play through. The EP-35 K.O. AMP is their answer: a grey box with a handle, a 4" woofer, a 1" tweeter and a battery, designed so that a whole group can plug in and play without anyone touching a menu.
The idea is simple. There's no input selector. Guitar, XLR mic, 3.5 mm line, Bluetooth and USB audio are summed into one mix the moment you connect them. Gain for each lives behind the rear grille, so the top panel only has what you reach for mid-song: volume, two FX dials and two amount dials.
Key Features & Benefits
- Six inputs, zero switching. A guitarist, a singer and a friend with a phone can all play at the same time. That's the whole point of the box.
- FX you pick by style. Guitar gets clean, twang, blues, OD, indie, env (an auto-wah), AG and bass. The mic gets clean, radio, pop, rock, bass synth, robo choir, frog and megaphone. One amount dial each, no parameter diving.
- Proper mic input. XLR with up to 54 dB of gain and switchable 48 V phantom power, so a condenser mic works, not just a dynamic.
- 12 hours on battery. A 20.1 Wh lithium-ion pack, about 2 hours to charge over USB-C PD (45 W charger recommended).
- USB audio interface. Plug into a laptop or phone and the EP-35 becomes a sound card, with separate channels for the stereo mix, guitar, mic and line-in.
- Stereo by tilting. Pair two units over Auracast (Bluetooth LE Audio) and tilt each one left or right at power-on to set its channel.
- Made to leave the house. Splash-proof body, a storage compartment with a camp light that fades on when you open the hatch, and an EP-plug port that plays MP3, WAV or AIFF straight from a thumb drive.
Real-World Reactions
"If you have them paired in stereo, tilting a unit to the left or right sets it to the appropriate stereo channel, which is pretty neat."
Terrence O'Brien, The Verge
"The campsite will never be quiet again."
The Verge also points out the trade-off: you can't dial in a delay time. You choose a preset and set how much of it you want. For a jam amp that's a feature, for tone tweakers it's a limit.
Gallery
Who It's For
Get it if you jam with other people, play outside, own an EP-133 K.O. II or EP-1320 and want a speaker that matches, or want one box that's an amp, a Bluetooth speaker and an audio interface.
Look elsewhere if you need a stage PA (35 W is for rooms, gardens and campsites), or if you want deep amp modelling and editable effects. A dedicated guitar modelling amp will go further there.
Quick Specs
- Output: 35 W, 4" woofer + 1" tweeter, 94 dB max SPL at 1 m
- Frequency response: 50 Hz – 20 kHz (-6 dB)
- Inputs: XLR mic with 48 V phantom, 6.35 mm guitar (hi input mode), 3.5 mm stereo line, Bluetooth, USB audio
- Output: 3.5 mm stereo line / headphones
- FX: 8 guitar + 8 mic presets
- Bluetooth: 5.3, LE Audio, Auracast
- Battery: 20.1 Wh, up to 12 h, about 2 h charging
- USB: USB-C audio interface, USB-C EP-plug host, USB-C charge port (up to 45 W PD)
Pros & Cons
Pros: everyone plays at once, phantom-powered mic input, 12-hour battery, doubles as a USB interface and Bluetooth speaker, wireless stereo with a second unit.
Cons: preset FX with a single control, 35 W isn't PA territory, splash-proof rather than waterproof.
Where to Buy
- €399 at Soundium, shipping across the EU.
- Pre-order now: the EARLY5 code takes 5% off.
- TE's accessories (K.O. pedal, Amptenna FM radio, Handy Mic, dock kit, bags) are on our radar, ask us if you want one with your amp.
Pre-order EP-35 K.O. AMP · €399
Final Thoughts
The EP-35 isn't trying to be the best guitar amp or the loudest speaker. It's trying to get four people making noise together in under a minute, wherever they happen to be. Judging by the spec sheet, it should do exactly that. We'll update this post once one has been through our hands.
Still Unsure?
Not sure if the EP-35 fits your setup, or which EP device to pair it with? Talk to the Soundium team, we'll help you pick.
Soundium