The revival of the cassette seems to be becoming more and more of a reality. And with the FiiO CP13, we have a new player with it.
As in the beginning of the vinyl revival, we also see the use of cassette hesitantly but surely increasing in interest. So much so that even FiiO apparently sees a future in it, as evidenced by the FiiO CP13 portable cassette player. In other words, a new Walkman is born. It is a pretty ‘bare bones’ device with no unnecessary fuss on board. Just like the old days. But with a USB-C rechargeable battery (good for 15 hours of playing time when fully charged). Furthermore, you will only find a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a volume control. So no Bluetooth, as with this one launched earlier by another manufacturer.
For whom?
The variant in silver-blue finish makes the FiiO CP13 look very much like the original Sony Walkman of yesteryear. Therefore, it seems to be exactly the target group that manufacturers of this type of device have in mind: people with a hankering for the past. These may be die-hard fans who are stuck in the seventies and eighties when it comes to their hi-fi needs. But certainly also younger hipsters who would like to experience how it all sounded in the past.
Just like back then
Between you and me: it’s still a cassette player. And cassettes have some unsympathetic tendencies like noise, whine, tape salad generation and more. Dolby noise cancellation is absent on the CP13, so it really becomes “hardcore” tape listening. The unit is also obviously usable for digitizing old and, for you, valuable recordings from the past via a sound card, for example.
The FiiO CP13 cannot yet be found on the manufacturer’s website at the time of writing, but it can already be found on their Facebook page (see screenshot at the top). The price of the newcomer is £129, with a choice of white, black or the “Walkman” blue.
