Were you disappointed that Sony’s 40th Anniversary Walkman which was announced almost 5 years ago was not an actual cassette tape-playing Walkman? I know I was. And if you did too, we have good news. FiiO, a Chinese audiophile company, has revealed that it is developing a portable cassette player called FiiO CP13. It cannot bear the Walkman moniker for obvious reasons but yeah, “Walkman” is making a come back which makes me regret my decision to ditch all my cassette tape collection a few years ago.
Anyhoo, FiiO CP13 is expected to function like the good’ol portable cassette tape player like, you know, playing back cassette tapes, and having the iconic large control buttons (play, pause, fast-forward, and rewind) along with the obligatory 3.5 mm headphone jack. Aesthetically, it is a sleek, modern take on a classic design. Oh, wait. It has an auto-rewind function too, and it will be powered by a built-in lithium-ion battery good for up to 13 hours of music playback in between charges. Recharging is via, you guessed it, USB-C.
Not a lot is known about this little guy but then again, what else do you need to know other than it plays cassette tapes? That said, perhaps you may want to get ready a pencil in case the tape goes rogue. Another piece of important information is that in the event you don’t have tapes, FiiO will give away a copyrighted, original tape in countries where it permits to do so.
The FiiO CP13 Portable Cassette Tape Player is not a concept, btw. It is a real product your money can buy. FiiO said it is expected to go on sale in early March 2024 for around US$165. Last week, visitors who dropped by FiiO’s booth at CES 2024 had the opportunity to see this nostalgic tech in person.
Images: FiiO via Head-Fi and Liliputing.
via Liliputing.
