[ngoduc]

Because of the current industry chain limitations, the CP13 can't be compared to the 2 machines you mentioned yet

In fact those 2 old machines of yours are now very expensive and not easy to find more normal ones.

And the CP13 is a new machine that only sells for 100$.

We are doing CP13 now, material and supply is severely limited, can't compare to 20~30 years ago when there were tens of thousands of factories supporting to do supply

Because of the current industry chain limitations, the CP13 can't be compared to the 2 machines you mentioned yet

In fact those 2 old machines of yours are now very expensive and not easy to find more normal ones.

And the CP13 is a new machine that only sells for 100$.

We are doing CP13 now, material and supply is severely limited, can't compare to 20~30 years ago when there were tens of thousands of factories supporting to do supply

Just received yesterday's!

 

[ngoduc]

Mine!

 

[Jackalneck]

I find the idea of a cassette revival interesting. While I was growing up, the cassette "tape" was far and away the most common audio format. Every car had a cassette deck, everyone had a Walkman-esque portable cassette player, and a boombox or stereo system with that played tapes. We bought our music "albums" and singles on cassette tapes from the record store. We recorded music off the radio to blank tapes. We duplicated tapes using dual-decks, which were common on even cheap components. And for the most part, it sounded like a mess by today's standards, but it was analog and loud, and didn't skip or crackle like a used vinyl record, so no one ever thought cassettes sounded bad as a format back then, as long as the tape was in good condition and the player was working right.

However, I don't really think too much *actual* nostalgia really exists for typical cassette-quality audio (a tape from Sam Goody in a Walkman, for example), or at least not enough to make many people who experienced the glory of the cassette first hand want to actually return to it for more than few minutes. The fact is, digital music of at least CD-quality is objectively better than all but the most high-end cassette systems, playing back a very specific quality and type of recorded tape, which very few people actually experienced back then.

However, there is something akin to nostalgia that is driving interest in cassettes today - but I think it's more of a "retro" thing relating to physical formats in general, than a nostalgia thing - meaning most of the people with the interest aren't actually old enough to have experienced cassettes first hand, in the way some of us have. Case in point: My 18 year old son bought a cheap record player and some vinyl records recently. Then all of a sudden a cassette tape shows up with the packages one day. I was floored. He doesn't even have a tape player. Why? "It just looks cool." And as for why he started buying the vinyl and the turntable in the first place? "I wanted to see what it was like to listen to music like people did back in the day." So I get it - there needs to be modern, affordable cassette players available for people like this, so they can get a taste of what cassette sounds like and "feels like" to use. Why shouldn't FiiO step in and make one for these people?

Here's the problem. The only off-the-shelf cassette mechanism type available for OEMs is total garbage. It's significantly worse than the cheapest tape player I would have listened to music on in the 80s and early 90s. There simply has not been enough demand for decades to warrant anyone manufacturing anything better. So if any company wants to bring an affordable-enough device to market to fill this need, it's gonna have this garbage mech. There's no real way around it.

I hope the CP13 sells well and something happens so we can get to the point where there's enough demand for this format to give somone a reason to mass produce a better mech, but I just don't see it happening. So for my son, maybe I'll buy him a CP13 so he can play his cassette. Maybe I'll listen for a few minutes. Sadly, it will not really do the format any justice. I really miss the cassette tape, and at the same time I miss it not at all.

 

[Scubadevils]

Added the PortaPro to my collection, sounds excellent with CP13.

 

[cliffjnr]

Added the PortaPro to my collection, sounds excellent with CP13.

theyre great with your daps too and get better with age. shoulda got the classic blue ones tho for matching with the walkman

 

[Scubadevils]

theyre great with your daps too and get better with age. shoulda got the classic blue ones tho for matching with the walkman

Only the red available from my local Amazon… but I have the Yaxi on the way so the blue pads will match

 

[halcek]

... I have been wondering about when can the player be considered as fully off? There does not seem to be any way to actually explicitly turn it off, like one can turn off a digital player... I suppose the only "proper" way to consider the CP13 to be turned off is simply to not play any music on it, i.e. not have the play button pressed down?

 

[EdgeDC]

... I have been wondering about when can the player be considered as fully off? There does not seem to be any way to actually explicitly turn it off, like one can turn off a digital player... I suppose the only "proper" way to consider the CP13 to be turned off is simply to not play any music on it, i.e. not have the play button pressed down?

That’s typically how cassette players have worked historically. They are on while playing (or fast forwarding, rewinding, etc.), and when you hit stop, they are effectively off. Since they are simpler analog devices, that’s all they need.

 

[FiiO]

You could pre-order CP13 in our Aliexpress store again now:

Black and white: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006614960627.html
Sky blue: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006485723131.html

 

[Scubadevils]

You could pre-order CP13 in our Aliexpress store again now:

Black and white: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006614960627.html
Sky blue: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006485723131.html

I can’t seem to find either model when I search your AliExpress store, even having browsed all items. For some reason when clicking the URLs you’ve linked to, it just opens the AliExpress app on my phone but to the overall homepage, not the specific product.

 

[xthine]

I can’t seem to find either model when I search your AliExpress store, even having browsed all items. For some reason when clicking the URLs you’ve linked to, it just opens the AliExpress app on my phone but to the overall homepage, not the specific product.

Have you tried opening the link using your device’s browser? The first link worked for me, 150 pieces available, 99USD.

Ali Express

 

[AntonK]

Looks like some additional redirects happens.

 

[cliffjnr]

You could pre-order CP13 in our Aliexpress store again now:

Black and white: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006614960627.html
Sky blue: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006485723131.html

whens the transparent one coming?

 

[JamesFiiO]

whens the transparent one coming?

should be in MAY

 

[EdgeDC]

should be in MAY

Cool - that’s what I’m waiting on. I hated to miss the free case as part of the initial promo, but I didn’t want the baby blue color. The clear one will be the coolest, IMO.