[SiliconTi]

I find myself actually a bit excited by this tape player and am anxious to test one out.

Congrats to FiiO for giving it an honest try.

 

[FiiO Willson]

@FiiO Willson Thanks for sharing the specs.
Would be interested to see an output power specification into a standard 32ohm load (in mW) as the output voltage
can be misleading when you're not specifying into what load impedance that is measured.

Would also like to see a frequency response specification measured at -3dB points.

These are suggestions for the release and what I think would be useful to exist in the official specs.

Also have a question:
See the volume know has a marked OFF position. Does that switch completely disconnect the battery from the circuit so there's no parasitic drain ?
Given the battery is non-removable and device isn't easy to open, it would kind of make sense that at least the walkman is designed in a way so battery
lasts as long as it's possible, even when it sits in storage for long periods of time.

Thank you for your support!

Since the product is not finalized, there are some things that are not yet finalized, so it's not convenient to announce them either

We always think that Li-ion batteries are better, and this is also in line with the current technology. the standby time of the CP13 is 268 days.
You can use it without any worries.

 

[FiiO Willson]

I find myself actually a bit excited by this tape player and am anxious to test one out.

Congrats to FiiO for giving it an honest try.

Yes, this is our first attempt at a new product.
So we made this product based on our own understanding, which, of course, is not necessarily all right

For example, with replaceable batteries, there is definitely no problem technically, but at least the thickness is 1mm thicker, you guys don't know that we once put a lot of effort and money to reduce the thickness by 0.5mm.

I think if we can find a better movement, then we can consider replaceable batteries, but right now on the current CP13, not so much!

 

[dbsf]

I'm very sorry to disappoint you, CP13 is far from being a DDII

I think the main problems is

The main problem is, Sony is the designer, FIIO is an assembler (of the idea)... Just use CT Scanner (in hospital) as an example: EMI (the famous music company) invented the CT scanner (a,k,a Sony), and now bunches of technicians at hospital (FIIO etc) use the CT in 1001 ways...

What if I cannot buy a CT scanner (a.k.a FIIO cannot find DD chips)?

 

[Casco]

Daps have right-left balance adjustment, but I think CP13 does not have this feature.

Can it be used with a portable amplifier?

 

[electronicsdesign]

Since the product is not finalized, there are some things that are not yet finalized, so it's not convenient to announce them either

I'm not asking to share these specs now, rather it's a suggestion of which specs should be published when the product will be finalized and released.

We always think that Li-ion batteries are better, and this is also in line with the current technology. the standby time of the CP13 is 268 days.

There's no doubt Li-ion is the better one as far as chemistry goes. But, by far, its main downside is cells aren't truly standard.
While there are many standard cells (both round and flat), there are so many of them they're just nowhere near as universal as AAs or AAAs.

You might ask yourself "What's the point of a universal standard when Li-ion chemistry is so good ?" and that's a good question to ask.
There are a few practical reasons for universal cells:
- they are available to buy pretty much everywhere (and will continue to be in the future), including in supermarkets and gas stations;
- they are available in both recharghable and non-recharghable form, so even if you don't have a fully charged rechargable at a particular moment,
you can still use the device temporarily with non-rechargable cells;
- they are plug and play: this means one can have a second set (already charged) ready to use or use non-rechargable ones as a temporary solution;

I have a collection of walkmans and can say having to charge a device after battery is depleted would be a huge inconvenience.
Much prefer to simply swap the batteries for freshly charged ones (it takes 5 seconds) and continue using the device without carrying a power bank around.

So we made this product based on our own understanding, which, of course, is not necessarily all right

That's exactly why it's a good idea to ask for and take into account the community's input.

For example, with replaceable batteries, there is definitely no problem technically, but at least the thickness is 1mm thicker, you guys don't know that we once put a lot of effort and money to reduce the thickness by 0.5mm.

The efforts to reduce the thickness are much appreciated and I do realise there can be a lot of effort and money spent for gaining just 0.5mm.
However, in practice, the main limitation when it comes to thickness is the mechanism itself (there's only one type available), not so much the battery cells.
Besides that, on a device of the size of CP13 +/-1mm is not gonna make or break the product, far from it.

In fact even on a DAP, adding a leather case will add significantly more than 1mm to the total thickness.
Thickness matters on very slim devices like phones. On those yes 1mm less will matter but on other devices not so much.
Back in the day many slim walkmans had a radio version which was significantly thicker (like 2-3mm) than the non-radio version. Despite this, people bought them.

Regardless of all of these, the case should be put together with screws in order to be easy to open.

 

[Richsvt]

Has a price point been set yet?

 

[rkt31]

I remember having sony wm gx 688 Walkman of almost cassette case size having everything like dolby b ( both for recording and playback) full electronic soft touch cassette mechanism, digital tuner running on single 1.5v supplied chocolate type battery which fitted in the small space plus it had adaptor also for normal AA single battery. It came when MP3s started taking over so it could not become that much popular but it was a great piece of analog engineering by sony. So we can very well expect a very good sturdy design in a Walkman size player.

 

[123peter]

In the New Year, I wish for love in our hearts to be stronger than hatred, and for every note of music to be a manifestation of that desire – the desire for peace, understanding, and unity.

May the melody of our lives play notes of understanding and empathy, so that current conflicts give way to reconciliation, allowing those caught within them to return home and cherish the love of their families accompanied by the tranquil music.

At this moment when people worldwide are engaged in conflicts, I wish for politicians to tune into the harmony of music, reminding them that people desire love, peace, and the warmth of home, not wars and bloodshed.

I wish for all of us that the year 2024 brings not only the beauty of melodies but also a true chord of peace resonating in the hearts of every individual.
Happy New Year !.
Peter

 

[carlmart]

My only concern is the CP13 does not seem to have any type of Dolby noise reduction, B or C, which is a problem with my whole cassette collection. All of my tapes recorded in one or the other. Superior to Walkmans and still affordable was Mini-Disc, which had not the the problems that killed DAT with copyright limitations.

It's ironic that CD-Rs were the ones that killed LP and CD as top playing systems, bypassing piracy, and gone were all the electronic improvements that DAT could have brought to equipment development, killed due to stupidity. They didn't stop piracy (as they never will) and did harm development. In cassette times there were even some brands that released faster recording speed recorders, recording at 3 3/4 speed, that were comparable in noise and frequency response to open reel tape recorders.

 

[Casco]

It was said that the first batch would be released in mid-January. It is now said to be released in March.

 

[Kelder]

Regarding the non-replacable battery - IMHO it's a terrible idea, I want a walkman to be fully usable 10 years from now - not just for a few years, until the battery gets old. Also, this is going to be a legal problem soon, starting from 2027 it will be prohibited to sell this model in the European Union - see here.

Regarding Dolby - there exists a software implementation, the DDi codec, link. Maybe it would be feasible to license it and run on some kind of micro-controller? (BTW - I'm personally not interested in Dolby noise reduction, I just want to point the possibility).

 

[Whitigir]

As many of you know we are going to make cassette player, we are now trying our best to work out the production issues. We plan to release our CP13 before Feb, 2024. Considering that some people don't have tapes, we'll be giving away a copyrighted, original tape in countries that are allowed to give away tapes at sales events! Any idea about what you need for a cassette player, pls feel free to let us know. Let's revel in the timeless tunes, experience the soulful melodies.

Very nice/interested, hopefully it comes with line in for recording feature as well ? metal, high bias, and such typical as an options ? Diamond coated Head for reliability ? direct drives for mechanism to avoid belt replacements and so on ?

 

[cliffjnr]

man dolby noise reduction sucks. literally. it sucks the life out of the sounds of cassettes. i always have it turned off on my walkmans, hifi cassette separate.

ill take hiss and that hard pumping analogue sound any day over dolby nr

 

[cliffjnr]

Regarding the non-replacable battery - IMHO it's a terrible idea, I want a walkman to be fully usable 10 years from now - not just for a few years, until the battery gets old. Also, this is going to be a legal problem soon, starting from 2027 it will be prohibited to sell this model in the European Union - see here.

Regarding Dolby - there exists a software implementation, the DDi codec, link. Maybe it would be feasible to license it and run on some kind of micro-controller? (BTW - I'm personally not interested in Dolby noise reduction, I just want to point the possibility).

i agree that it should have replaceable batteries and we can put in our nice rechargeable eneloops anyway

however if it has a belt i would assume you'll be able to open it to replace the belt so most likely the internal battery as well?

BUT replaceable batteries all day imo