It’s no secret that we are head over heels in love with Teenage Engineering’s OP-Z – a tiny, yet powerful synthesiser.

You can read our full review here, but one element that is a little disappointing, is the fact that it can’t connect directly to bluetooth headphones.

The device has bluetooth built into it, but this is just used for controlling the accompanying iOS app. While this choice feels like something of a missed opportunity, it’s also understandable , as bluetooth audio isn’t generally the best, as it has a the slight lag that makes playing anything live nigh on impossible.

The OP-Z’s power is in its sequencer, however, and it can be happily programmed and played back using bluetooth headphones.

Fortunately, we’ve found a solution to this problem. And while it isn’t as elegant as having inbuilt audio bluetooth, it’s certainly very usable – and much more fun than dealing with tangled headphones when you just want a quick, wire-free, jam.

How to add bluetooth audio to your OP-Z

The answer is this small box from Amazon, made by a company called TaoTronics. The device transmits (and receives, if you want) bluetooth audio.

Simply plug it into the audio slot of your OP-Z, connect your favourite bluetooth headphones to the box, and away you go!

We’ve tested it with Apple AirPods, and Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones, and they’ve all worked perfectly. If you’re using AirPods, just remember to press the button on the back of the case, and leave the AirPods in their case while the LED is white and in pairing mode.

We’ve been testing this bluetooth solution for the last week, and it does the job perfectly. You can even switch to receive mode to wirelessly sample into your OP-1. Or use it for other things, such as listening to the TV over bluetooth.

As mentioned there will be a bit of latency, so don’t buy it expecting to be able to play in beats or melodies live. We strictly recommend this for programming the step sequencer and audio playback only.

In other OP-Z news, a new firmware update has just dropped, so head to the downloads section of their website to grab the latest.

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