Foto © FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. | FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player

FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player – New portable MC player

The Chinese company FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd., which specialises in personal audio devices and desktop audio systems, has now surprised us with a special announcement. The FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player is presented as a tribute to the Sony WALKMAN.

Michael Holzinger 22 February 2024Last Updated: 25 February 2024

0 4 minutes read

Now it is available, a portable cassette player from FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd, the FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player.

The Chinese company FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. has been a renowned specialist for personal audio devices for many years and is also increasingly active in the field of desktop audio systems. First and foremost, FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. specialises in headphones, D/A converters, Bluetooth receivers, headphone amplifiers and DAP systems. Now it has added another product that hardly anyone would have expected: a portable player for music cassettes, the FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player.

Initially, however, FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. did not provide any detailed information, but rather a few tidbits of information to clarify whether there really is a market for such a device.

Is the MC back?

One could argue whether it is true that the music cassette is becoming increasingly important again. Some people are of the opinion that this is the case, arguing first and foremost that vinyl records, long thought to be dead, have enjoyed a renaissance and are now once again a factor to be taken seriously in the consumer electronics sector. In the course of the analogue revival, there would now also be room for the music cassette; customers want to be able to hold something real in their hands again, especially in the age of streaming.

In fact, it can be said that the attention paid to the music cassette is definitely growing, which is reflected in the fact that many artists are once again offering their albums for sale on cassette, including artists who clearly serve the mainstream. And the figures for cassette decks in the second-hand HiFi sector also demonstrate the renewed interest in this format, but above all the renewed commitment of some companies that are launching new products on the market, including some manufacturers from whom this is probably not at all expected, such as FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd.

FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player – A tribute to the Sony WALKMAN

As already mentioned at the beginning, FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. is one of the leading manufacturers in the field of personal audio devices, and here again so-called DAPs play a major role, whereby this abbreviation stands for Digital Audio Player. The ancestor of these solutions is clearly the Sony WALKMAN, and the Chinese specialist now wants to pay tribute to it with the new FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player.

Robust, elegant device

It is striking that a simple but very elegant design and a solid aluminium housing have been chosen. This ensures that the FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player can be offered in a wide range of colours, with the product already available in white, mint and green, as well as black and other anodised variants. The front provides a view of the cassette inside.

At the top are the classic buttons for playback control, while the front features a rotary encoder for the volume, a 3,5 mm stereo mini-jack connection for headphones and a USB-C port.

The FiiO CP13 measures 120 x 88,3 x 31,8 mm and weighs around 310 g, as the data sheet reveals.

No Bluetooth, no recording

According to FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd, features such as Bluetooth have been deliberately omitted in favour of higher sound quality, as emphasised. This solution also does not offer a recording function as, according to the manufacturer, this is probably of little relevance in the mobile sector.

Much more important is the fact that the new FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player has a long playing time, with the integrated 1,800 mAh lithium-ion battery providing up to 13 hours of playback time, which can be charged via the aforementioned USB-C interface if required.

Prices and availability

The new FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player is now available, as announced by FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. The recommended retail price is € 129,-. It is interesting to note that initially only the colour variants sky blue in combination with silver and white in combination with black will be available in this country. The manufacturer itself, on the other hand, is playing with a wide variety of design variants, which will probably gradually find their way to Europe.

Getting to the point

The fact that some people are talking about the increasing importance of the music cassette can be proven by the fact that many artists are once again offering albums on music cassette, and also by the fact that companies such as FiiO Electronics Technology Co. Ltd. are coming up with corresponding solutions, such as the new FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player. Well, it will probably not be as important a renaissance as that of the vinyl record, but solutions such as the already available We are rewind Portable Cassette Player and the new FiiO CP13 Portable High Resolution Cassette Player clearly have a growing target group.