FiiO’s CP13 portable cassette player is now available to buy, and it comes in a previously unannounced transparent finish. The player is also cheaper than we were told at launch, retailing for £99 / $129 (Australian pricing is TBC).
We first spied the CP13 at the start of the year, where our deputy editor promptly fell in love with it. Its boxy look is inspired by the 1979 Sony Walkman.
Unlike We Are Rewind’s cassette players, there’s no Bluetooth, though it does have a USB-C port to charge up the lithium-ion battery (which lasts 13 hours). Its audio circuit is all analogue, from the magnetic tape head to the signal amplification. This makes for a “classic, unmistakably analogue sound,” according to FiiO. We’ll let you decide whether that’s a good thing.
The motor is powered by a 4.2V power supply, which is more than the 1.8V or 3V typically found in portable cassette players. This works with a custom motor speed stabilisation circuit to increase the drag when necessary to maintain stable movement speeds, mitigating against unwanted pitch changes.
It also promises a more stable signal transmission, higher signal-to-noise ratio and lower distortion than a typical portable cassette player.
Because there’s no Bluetooth, you’ll need a pair of wired headphones in order to listen. The CP13 is on sale now from Advanced MP3 Players and Amazon.
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