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FiiO CP13 cassette deck is a love letter to the Sony Walkman
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As the tech world continues to careen into an artificially intelligent future, there’s a growing reverence for the formats of the past.
Cassette tapes have been on the fringes for a while, but those buying up old releases or special editions from artists have mainly been listening via old Walkman players or tape decks.
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AtCES 2024, few had a newsworthy new cassette player on their bingo card. Alas, here we are writing about the FiiO CP13 deck that bears a strong similarity to the 45-year-oldWalkmanof yore. The company doesn’t shy away from the similarities. Indeed, it’s meant to commemorate the release of the first ever Walkman, and features a similar opening so you can see the tape reels a-reeling.
The biggest and most welcome improvement on the Walkman is the presence of a USB-C port for charging the device and a battery will last for up to 15-hours. We certainly welcome not having to replace those AA batteries.
Thankfully, the modernisation doesn’t eschew the 3.5mm headphone jack for playback. The company has stayed true to the original ethos, so there’s no Bluetooth for connecting yourAirPodseither. The buttons are large (Play, FF RW, Stop), as is the volume knob, but it doesn’t appear as if the Walkman’s auto reverse feature is present.
If you’re not familiar with FiiO, the company generally focuses on high-end audio experiences such as headphones, speakers and DACs for improved mobile audio. This release climbs back into the womb somewhat, but you won’t find us complaining.
It’s going on sale in the UK in March and it’ll cost £129. So, if you fancy hunting out your cassette collection from the 1980s, now’s as good a time as any to get up in to the attic.
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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
