Of the vintage physical media formats making a comeback, CDs and vinyl records are the most popular, and for good reason. Vinyl is enticing and collectible, with limited-edition variants and colored discs, and there’s something incredibly satisfying about creating sound by running a needle through a groove. On the flip side, CDs are a higher-quality format with practical advantages, including their smaller size.
But what if there was a format that combined the analog nature of vinyl with the portability of CDs? Cassette tapes fit the bill, and while they’re absolutely nothing new, they came with major barriers to entry for decades. Now, audio brands are making premium new cassette players again, and I used one for over a year.
What to look for in a cassette player
Vintage players and new options offer unique benefits
Cassettes are a tricky format for beginners, mainly because the best cassette players haven’t been in mass production for decades. The best vintage tape players from brands like Sony or Technics will still beat the most premium options available now. That’s because custom cassette tape mechanisms are effectively extinct, with companies shuttering production lines and their manufacturing processes remaining a secret as proprietary information. In essence, the tape mechanism that made the Sony Walkman possible does not exist anymore.
The production lines that remain for cassette mechanisms tend to be cheap, low-quality, and basic. As such, the new cassette players you’ll find at places like Amazon or at Urban Outfitters are actually using worse hardware than players from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. So, if you want to get back into the world of cassettes, you’ll either need to find an old cassette player from a past era or buy one from the few companies advancing modern cassette mechanisms, namely Fiio or We Are Rewind.
The problem with going the vintage route is that cassette players require routine maintenance, and there’s a considerable learning curve. To refurbish a Sony Walkman for modern use might require cleaning the tape path, magnetic tape head, playback control buttons, and ports. Any old cassette player probably needs a belt replacement, too. While these are not the most difficult repairs and maintenance to perform, they represent a barrier to entry for newcomers — billions of people were born after the tape player was replaced by CDs, the MP3 player, and music streaming.
People with cassette player know-how or enough money to pay an expert to refurbish an older model might prefer the vintage route, but these drawbacks made a new player the right choice for me. I wanted a player that was relatively portable, had a rechargeable battery that could charge over USB-C, and included a 3.5mm jack. Most importantly, a great-sounding player with minimal tape hiss was an essential. I consider wireless streaming from physical media players to be a gimmick so that Bluetooth support wouldn’t move the needle.
Why I chose the Fiio CP13
Premium, reliable, and relatively compact
If you’re looking for a modern cassette player, chances are you’re choosing between the Fiio CP13 and the We Are Rewind cassette player. Both are metal with advanced tape mechanisms that try to match the quality of cassette players made during the format’s peak. While neither quite meets that high mark, both the Fiio and We Are Rewind cassette players sound way better than any other new option on the market today.
These two players are surprisingly similar, delivering a premium metal chassis, a rechargeable battery with a USB-C port for charging, and physical buttons for playback control. We Are Rewind’s cassette player is larger than the Fiio CP13. The extra space gave the brand room to add an audio input jack, recording support, and Bluetooth 5.1 connection. While all of those features are great, they aren’t necessities for me, and I went with the Fiio CP13 to save roughly $80 and own a more compact player.
One year later, the Fiio CP13 is holding up great, surviving drops and scuffs with only cosmetic signs of wear. Although there’s a bit of tape hiss when the audio isn’t playing, this is virtually unnoticeable when listening to music. The system is fully analog, using a stellar JRC5532 operational amplifier. This player offers high volume out of the 3.5mm jack, even with headphones that typically work better with an amp — such as the Sennheiser HD600 headphones.
In other words, the Fiio CP13 is a truly portable solution that only requires a tape and a wired set of headphones for playback. With a battery lasting up to 13 hours on a single charge, I use it across multiple listening sessions at a time before needing a recharge.
Cassettes might be better than records and CDs
They’re more affordable and easier to store
I store over 500 vinyl records, about a hundred or so CDs, and a growing cassette tape collection. Every physical media collector has a different goal, but mine is preservation and on-demand access to my favorite music. As such, the physical format used to store my media collection is less important than other factors, like cost and portability.
Cassette tapes are cheaper, smaller, and lighter than vinyl records (and CDs with standard jewel cases). Moving my entire record collection across the country taught me that the value of a lightweight and compact physical media format can’t be overstated. Plus, a new and reliable cassette player with a standard 3.5mm jack is a better analog option for beginners than a record player, which requires a set of powered speakers at a minimum to get started.
Since cassette players like the CP13 aren’t too much larger than a smartphone, it’s easier to take them on walks, trips, or basically anywhere. Meanwhile, even the smallest battery-powered record players and CD players are significantly larger than a portable tape player. Due to the small size and affordability of modern cassette players and cassette tapes, the format continues to grow on me, and you should give it a try if you love analog sound but find vinyl too pricey or cumbersome.
- Type
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Cassette player
- Color
-
Sky Blue, Red, Transparent, Black
- Amplifier
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JRC5532
- Connectivity
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USB-C, 3.5mm
Fiio’s portable cassette player includes a 1,800mAh rechargeable battery, a USB-C port for charging, and a 3.5mm jack for audio output. It sports a metal build, a knob for volume adjustments, and four tactile buttons for playback control. It’s a premium option with a durable build and stylish design.
