FIIO first cassette player CP13 is officially released!

[ExTubeGamer]

It would be fun if it has a recording function. Simply recording random sounds on tapes for fun.

 

[Chuck Dee]

Direct drive mechanism, bring back Sony's DD range.

Some may say that it's never been away.

 

[Chuck Dee]

I'd have to agree. These are super cool but also for WHO? I mean Peach's down in NOLA has a bunch of tapes/CD's (predominately vinyl) and I would imagine there ARE other places with hoards of old casettes but even my father who worked in the music industry doing radio promotions for 2 decades got rid of his storage unit filled with tapes and promotional CD's. For those who do have a box or 2 of squirrelled away tapes awesome... for everyone else

...and for those who have bought one of the many recent releases on cassette

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

here is my cassette setup.

Like the cassette deck. My first cassette deck was a barebones Technics (RS 630 U I think) from the late 1970's. It was basic but sounded decent and was pretty reliable.

 

[Vruksha]

This medium is what I grew up on so it never went away. Tapes are still a big part of my life and it sure brings joy to know some audio brands still have certain interest in the analog side of life. It’s is not to be compared or put in with todays digital formats but the joy in opening a cassette tape cover, looking through the art and lyrics, sliding it into the tray and pressing play is something that only a tapehead will understand.

I hope Fiio won’t take the cheaper route and provide us with low quality tape mechanisms that’s going around now. The old Nak, Sankyo mechanisms still run like a charm if properly taken care of. It’s like they build those bulletproof to survive the digital era (pun intended) I do enjoy both analog and digital but forever analog will be the first choice.

 

[123peter]

I recommend watching this film, it is a tribute to the inventor of the compact cassette, Lou Ottens from Philips in the Netherlands.
Cassette A Documentary Mixtape
Part 1 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8hqyl3
Part 2 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8hr0iy

This seemingly innocent invention had a huge impact on the current popularity of music and musicians.
Music bands and singers previously had great problems getting into music publishing houses and recording studios as beginners (where expensive studio reel-to-reel tape recorders still reigned supreme).
The cassette was cheap, small and did not require a lot of equipment to create promotional tapes.
The compact cassette popularized music around the world.
Music could be simple recorded via microphone, played and cand listen comfortably while moving at the same time! (how do we know it now)
It was after the invention of the radio (and the first broadcast in 1914),
the vinyl record (1930) and reel-to-reel tape (1932), the CC cassette (1962 Philips) ,Sony Walkman (1979),CD (1983)- another milestone. It's only - or as long as 60 years??!!

I recommend the film (maybe in your country you will find a better version of the film), it is a very interesting document and it may help you understand or refresh the topic.
Even though I was joking a bit in this thread - sorry
Realy The CC cassette tape is a part of my life!
I cannot disown him, forget him and I do not regret those years of listening and experiencing amazing, moving moments, discovering new artists and bands, some came and went and left no other records than the cassette.
Maybe the quality of CC cassettes seems worse compared to currently available forms of media, but such is the progress of technology, and what will it be like and is the next milestone possible at all?

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

This medium is what I grew up on so it never went away. Tapes are still a big part of my life and it sure brings joy to know some audio brands still have certain interest in the analog side of life. It’s is not to be compared or put in with todays digital formats but the joy in opening a cassette tape cover, looking through the art and lyrics, sliding it into the tray and pressing play is something that only a tapehead will understand.

I hope Fiio won’t take the cheaper route and provide us with low quality tape mechanisms that’s going around now. The old Nak, Sankyo mechanisms still run like a charm if properly taken care of. It’s like they build those bulletproof to survive the digital era (pun intended) I do enjoy both analog and digital but forever analog will be the first choice.

The good old days of making cassette tapes for your car audio system. For XMAS 1978 I got a Pioneer Super Tuner from my folks.

It was the first generation Super Tuner and as I recall sounded darn good for the day. I also received a pair of Bojan speakers with separate woofers and tweeters that you could space away from eachother. That was a really nice car system for the time even if it was only two channels.

 

[Sven2015]

@FiiO
Please develop an analogue tape deck.

 

[OhmsClaw]

...and for those who have bought one of the many recent releases on cassette

which labels are still releasing? Or what vendor? That's interesting

 

[Vruksha]

which labels are still releasing? Or what vendor? That's interesting

A lot of metal bands are still releasing their albums on tapes infact many extreme metal bands never stopped, they have been consistently putting out tapes from the late 80’s. The genre specifically developed from underground tape trading in the late 80’s early 90’s.

 

[Vruksha]

@FiiO
Please develop an analogue tape deck.

I doubt the quality compared to the peak days of tape decks but yes please made a proper tape deck. I hope bigger manufacturers will get back to the tape scene and like records, tapes are having a moment now, it is the new cool thing from what I see. Teac,Tascam, Marantz still make standalone tape decks but the quality is nothing like the 70-80’s.

 

[Mython]

Yes, many of mine are ripped but some good ones aren't but I don't feel like going through the boxes and boxes of CDs.

Always good to keep 'indestructible' hard copies that are the closest thing to 'owning' your music, rather than just (relatively) vulnerable rips. I've had more than one HDD instantaneously corrupt on me, and microSD cards can lose sectors, over time.

I'm similar to you in that I have most of my CDs ripped, but keep the CDs in storage, rather than selling them for peanuts.

 

[zephyrstar]

I'm ready!

If you were there like I was when the Walkman first came out, you know

 

[123peter]

I'm ready!

If you were there like I was when the Walkman first came out, you know

I know/remember why You ready
For a music lover using CC tape, apart from a pencil, an adhesive tape or a tiny piece of paper was also useful - you know what it's for?
If not, read link below
CC Tape ABC
https://tabsout.com/?p=3588

 

[kevinkar]

I still have a Sony WM-16 which is near mint and still works great (belt changes and cleaning) and my main deck is a Sony TC-K890ES

What I want to see:

1. Direct drive so we never have to change a belt
2. A user-adjustable speed control because I've never had a cassette deck or Walkman that did not deviate from a proper speed during its life so the ability to adjust for this on the fly is a good thing to have
3. Auto-reverse. Even though it's a bit more work and cost mechanically, you really don't want to have to flip a tape over since they run so short and include a reverse button so you can change direction if/when you want to
4. I do not like the photo of the Fiio prototype with a large exposed volume knob which can be accidentally moved. I prefer either an embedded wheel that pokes out a little from the side or is a flat wheel that is protected by the case so it does not accidentally blow out your ears while moving it in your pocket
5. Bluetooth using an appropriate codec for tape so it does not have to be HD quality since tapes are not. Unless you include the ability to play metal tapes which can be quite good and CD quality on a high quality tape deck like my Sony TC-K890ES, there's no need to go super high codec-wise.
6. Include a 3.5mm jack for wired earbuds since some of us still use wired
7. If not auto-sensing of tape type, a button to select it (most of my tapes are Cr02 or Metal)
8. If a rechargeable battery is in the player, it better be removable/replaceable because it is not consumer friendly to make a great device that dies when the battery no longer charges and I can't fix it and have to buy a new device.
9. Make it small like a Sony WM-10
10. Include an AC power input so we can run it while we charge it (I'm suspecting USB-C and a standard charger would work well here)