FiiOCP13 Cassette Player (Transparent)

As anybody in the cassette circle knows, all modern players are kinda junk. They use a "Tanashin mechanism"; a sort of "catch-all" phrase for shoddy Chinese knockoffs of a Japanese budget design meant for car stereos that ceased production around 2009. Every modern cassette player uses this Chinese clone mechanism, because sadly it's the only mechanism still being produced. It's known for poor tape feeding, insanely high wow/flutter (basically the tape playing at incorrect speeds or the sound "warbling"), and other issues.So how did FiiO achieve something so much better?The CP-13 has shockingly good playback quality for a new player. You can plainly see from the motor position and a few other signifiers (like button placement) it's a Tanashin mechanism. But, whatever improvements they've made have paid off, since of any modern cassette player I've used, this by far has the lowest wow/flutter I've heard, thankfully reaching the realm of "you can't notice it with your ears, only if you pull out some equipment to measure it will it show up." Can't say the same about some cheapo no-name players you'll find on this same website...As for sound quality, well, don't expect anything too insane and you'll be happy. It lacks Dolby NR, as Dolby has stopped licensing out that technology for cassette years ago. But still, with a good-condition tape I haven't noticed any serious hissing or crackling issues. Whatever amp they've put in here lets it get reasonably loud, good enough to drive some speakers probably. On my Koss Porta Pro's, around 20% on the dial is reasonably loud, anything beyond that is painfully loud, haha. The build quality is immaculate too; all-metal build, though I got the model with the transparent door, so that bit is plastic. (But, a very sturdy feeling plastic, not some cheap junk.) Buttons ka-chunk nicely just like you remember, the door opens and it loads tapes easily, everything just works, and works well. (I will say I wish it had auto-stop on FFW/RW, but can't complain too much.)Size-wise, yeah, there's been much smaller vintage players, but I wouldn't say this is obnoxiously large. There's certainly bigger ones out there. I will say this though; FiiO, where's the freakin' belt clip!? They even sell a separate case for it... which also doesn't have a belt clip! The heck?!Finally, for value, I'd say easily this is the only modern cassette player worth spending your money on. Yeah, vintage may be better, but some of us don't want 40+ year old electronics that could fail at any second, and want something that's guaranteed to work out of the box for some time.

Finally, they got rid of the motor noise in the modern tape mechanism!Tapes aren't amazingly clear to begin with but that's part of the allure, an audio "aesthetic" if you will. They also don't sound bad either, and this cassette player has FINALLY addressed the one major problem holding these new ones back.It now sounds as good as my old walkmans used to. Now of course there's going to be hiss, no dolby, maybe some wow and flutter. It doesn't sound broken or bad in any way, just very "tapey" which is the reason you come back to these in this day and age.People are expecting the level of quality of a top-of-the-line 90's deck in a $100 portable device created with what's basically a dead technology in a dead market. That's not realistic in the slightest! Such a device wouldn't be anywhere near $100 even in those days.Furthermore, anyone looking to cassettes for hifi quality or portability (for say, jogging) is being a little silly in my honest opinion. In 2024 you have extremely cheap options for much higher fidelity than a cassette based device can ever give you.Plus, you're not seriously considering going on a jog with a semi-fragile device that can literally only hold one album at a time, right? If not, then you don't need to worry that it doesn't have an anti-rollback mechanism. It sounds just fine when laying right-side up. Also, fast forward and rewind have always had to be stopped manually. It might be new if you've never had one but that's normal, you just gotta pay attention to it. The lithium battery + type C makes it SUPER convenient to use.However, if you need a really good digital audio player go for the Surfans F-28. I can recommend that little dude. Expensive but quality.Back to business. If you're still hooked on cassettes in 2024 it's because you're a nerd, you gawk at those Bandcamp cassette releases and you like the warm fuzzy vibe of old technology but aren't dedicated enough to really get into 90's hifi and "proper" cassette machines. If you're one of the old tape heads, that's a no go. But if you're just like me, and want a cassette experience that's not total crap and like cheap cassettes for what they are, and aren't asking them to be hifi, then this device is for us.Don't let the negative reviews scare you away!But wait, how does it compare to the We Are Rewind cassette player (which I also have)?Aside from some missing functionality (Stereo recording, Bluetooth) the Fiio wins. As much as I like that device, it still has the horrendous motor noise during playback due to lack of proper electrical interference shielding (?). The recording would be good for a lofi musician or good enough for us average joes, and the Bluetooth of the We Are Rewind is awesome but not really needed.It's also about $70 more expensive, and it's poorly laid out. None of the buttons are oriented correctly for you to see what you're doing from a casual glance. I don't regret buying it but if you're on the fence get the FIIO. It's just so much better audio wise because that motor isn't screeching in all the quiet parts.One thing both players don't do great is the lack of rubber stops to keep the aluminum from getting scratched up. I added some generic sticky ones from this site all over the We Are Rewind so it can set on a desk. I might not for the FIIO because design wise it is so much prettier. Plus these guys need a case, preferably with an arm sling like they used to come with.Other than that, that's my clunky review.Full 5 stars and I hope we continue to iterate on these cassette players and give them back the popularity they deserve, even if it's an evolution of what they are now rather than what they once were. As for me this is a modest dream come true.It isn't my first FIIO product either, check out more of their stuff.Not paid to say any of this. I just buy a lot of their stuff.

Good battery life. Flawless operation. Very quiet motor. Absolutely no output noise. Elegant design. Precisely mfg'd. Feels solid.Would have paid more to get more features.No eject button. Thumbnail activated!Has auto shut-off during play-back, but not rewind or ff. Only output is mini audio.BT would be nice to have - don't let this get in the way of a good time - get an adapter.

This cassette player is a superb machine. The unit is solid and sturdy, no evidence of flimsy parts or material. Even the packaging and owners manual are of superior quality. It's function is simple: it playes cassette tapes and does it extremely well. There is nothing about this unit that will distract from playing tapes. The operating buttons are clearly marked and have a solid feel to them. The speed is smooth and consistent with no audible wow and flutter. The volume control is smooth and steady and easy to use with precision. I made a copy of a pristine mix that I made over 45 years ago using this machine for playback and connecting my recording deck to the headphone jack. Unorthodox yes, but the copy is so identical to the original that I couldn't tell the difference listining, I had to look at the tape. There was no audible hum from the player's amplifier. This is a quality hi fi machine. I was ready to buy a cassette deck costing many hundreds of dollars but decided to try this. I'm glad I did and should have done so much sooner. Kudos to the people at FIIO who brought this to market. Oh, and it's not plastic, it's metal! It has the look and feel of a machine that will last along time. I hope that is true for I plan to use it for a long time. If you're serious about your cassette tapes take the plunge and buy this machine.