CP13 Cassette Player (Transparent)

The quality and durability is top notch! back in the day we didn’t really concern ourselves with how clear or muffled a tape sounded. just as long as it wasn’t playing the cassettes too fast or too slow. we just popped them in and started listening to the music we loved and songs we identified and would sing to! But in todays world we are wanting to go back in time and enjoy the primitive technology but with mp3 or streaming quality. the facts are is that cassettes aren’t going to sound that good back then and now. it will solely depend are you equipment for that! but this cassette player is by far the king of new age cassette playing! it’s either this one or the WE ARE REWIND cassette player. But remember less is more! this one is only a basic mechanism with an on board chip that has a high quality preamp for volume. WE ARE REWIND HAS THAT TOO BUT WITH OTHER FEATURES THAT CAN INTERFERE WITH PLAYBACK DUE TO ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION. Like Bluetooth and a mic in port. Those features need power constantly fed to them to be operational so you may hear a hum or a buzz while listening to cassette’s while the FiiO cp13 has non of that so there won’t be any electrical interference! The build is great! With an all metal body that feels very sleek and sturdy and gives it a good weight! And it has a built in 18650 cell battery so no need to go out and buy expensive cells any longer. I’m a repair guy on cassette players as well and I think I can disassemble these to get to the battery and belts to do my own repairs to the battery and belt situation! Cons- you will more and likely have to adjust the azimuth to get a clearer sound. Mine came a bit muffled sounding but I adjusted it and it sounds good! Overall I give the FiiO cp13 4/5!

Update April 2026. I got the clear one in December 2025 since I had sold the blue one to help pay for vet bills. I love seeing the tape while it’s playing. I have had the We Are Rewind player and it’s fine, but a bit too bulky. This Fiio player is the best modern era player out there IMO when paired with Retrospekt Koss headphones, also sold on Amazon. Can’t wait for the CP15 rumored to be coming out soon. I own many old school Walkmans that are breaking down. So I got this one because I like supporting companies that are putting out cassettes and cassette players. I have a Retrospekt and Aurex, both sound great but love this one as well. I love the rechargeable battery and it seems to play cassettes better that the other two new ones I have. Meaning, I had a tape play fine in the Fiio and slow in my other ones. This is also old school in that there is no Bluetooth, keeping it simple. It stops automatically when the tape ends but please note that it does not stop automatically when FF or RW. Not a problem because my old school players are the same way. This is built well and is very sturdy. Very cool design and high quality sound in my opinion. I use the Retrospekt Koss over ear headphones that sound great. Got those on Amazon too. I know there are people who swear by older Sonys but mine require constant maintenance that I’m getting tired off. Most everything is made in China these days, gone are the Japanese made Walkmans 😃. This player sounds great! Also getting a We Are Rewind player soon (yes I have a problem 🤓). I also really love the volume wheel on this Fiio Walkman, super cool and easy to turn the volume up or down.

As anybody in the cassette circle knows, all modern players are kinda junk. They use a "Tanashin mechanism"; a sort of "catch-all" phrase for shoddy Chinese knockoffs of a Japanese budget design meant for car stereos that ceased production around 2009. Every modern cassette player uses this Chinese clone mechanism, because sadly it's the only mechanism still being produced. It's known for poor tape feeding, insanely high wow/flutter (basically the tape playing at incorrect speeds or the sound "warbling"), and other issues. So how did FiiO achieve something so much better? The CP-13 has shockingly good playback quality for a new player. You can plainly see from the motor position and a few other signifiers (like button placement) it's a Tanashin mechanism. But, whatever improvements they've made have paid off, since of any modern cassette player I've used, this by far has the lowest wow/flutter I've heard, thankfully reaching the realm of "you can't notice it with your ears, only if you pull out some equipment to measure it will it show up." Can't say the same about some cheapo no-name players you'll find on this same website... As for sound quality, well, don't expect anything too insane and you'll be happy. It lacks Dolby NR, as Dolby has stopped licensing out that technology for cassette years ago. But still, with a good-condition tape I haven't noticed any serious hissing or crackling issues. Whatever amp they've put in here lets it get reasonably loud, good enough to drive some speakers probably. On my Koss Porta Pro's, around 20% on the dial is reasonably loud, anything beyond that is painfully loud, haha. The build quality is immaculate too; all-metal build, though I got the model with the transparent door, so that bit is plastic. (But, a very sturdy feeling plastic, not some cheap junk.) Buttons ka-chunk nicely just like you remember, the door opens and it loads tapes easily, everything just works, and works well. (I will say I wish it had auto-stop on FFW/RW, but can't complain too much.) Size-wise, yeah, there's been much smaller vintage players, but I wouldn't say this is obnoxiously large. There's certainly bigger ones out there. I will say this though; FiiO, where's the freakin' belt clip!? They even sell a separate case for it... which also doesn't have a belt clip! The heck?! Finally, for value, I'd say easily this is the only modern cassette player worth spending your money on. Yeah, vintage may be better, but some of us don't want 40+ year old electronics that could fail at any second, and want something that's guaranteed to work out of the box for some time.

As you can read I'm The title, I consider this to be the walkman style device out there nowdays. It's Great if you are like me and don't want to bother fixing a vintage walkman. While I absolutely love this device, there are some flaws I have to point out: 1. The speed was off from the start (I had to buy a tape to fix it by myself) 2. The wow & flutter readings are not really good, if you listen to music with a Lot of piano you are probably gonna notice some wobbly sound. 3. The lack of a recording function. 4.Lack of proper EQ for Chrome (Type II) and Metal (Type IV) tapes. Other than that the Unit Is pretty solid, it has a good battery life, maintaince (cleaning) can be easily done, and most importantly, sound quality Is good. I would recommend this if you're starting in your cassette journey and want something simple to start off. P.D. Fiio has a new cassette player in development, so if you are planning to buy this one, you might want to wait a little bit to have some more options.

Finally, they got rid of the motor noise in the modern tape mechanism! Tapes aren't amazingly clear to begin with but that's part of the allure, an audio "aesthetic" if you will. They also don't sound bad either, and this cassette player has FINALLY addressed the one major problem holding these new ones back. It now sounds as good as my old walkmans used to. Now of course there's going to be hiss, no dolby, maybe some wow and flutter. It doesn't sound broken or bad in any way, just very "tapey" which is the reason you come back to these in this day and age. People are expecting the level of quality of a top-of-the-line 90's deck in a $100 portable device created with what's basically a dead technology in a dead market. That's not realistic in the slightest! Such a device wouldn't be anywhere near $100 even in those days. Furthermore, anyone looking to cassettes for hifi quality or portability (for say, jogging) is being a little silly in my honest opinion. In 2024 you have extremely cheap options for much higher fidelity than a cassette based device can ever give you. Plus, you're not seriously considering going on a jog with a semi-fragile device that can literally only hold one album at a time, right? If not, then you don't need to worry that it doesn't have an anti-rollback mechanism. It sounds just fine when laying right-side up. Also, fast forward and rewind have always had to be stopped manually. It might be new if you've never had one but that's normal, you just gotta pay attention to it. The lithium battery + type C makes it SUPER convenient to use. However, if you need a really good digital audio player go for the Surfans F-28. I can recommend that little dude. Expensive but quality. Back to business. If you're still hooked on cassettes in 2024 it's because you're a nerd, you gawk at those Bandcamp cassette releases and you like the warm fuzzy vibe of old technology but aren't dedicated enough to really get into 90's hifi and "proper" cassette machines. If you're one of the old tape heads, that's a no go. But if you're just like me, and want a cassette experience that's not total crap and like cheap cassettes for what they are, and aren't asking them to be hifi, then this device is for us. Don't let the negative reviews scare you away! But wait, how does it compare to the We Are Rewind cassette player (which I also have)? Aside from some missing functionality (Stereo recording, Bluetooth) the Fiio wins. As much as I like that device, it still has the horrendous motor noise during playback due to lack of proper electrical interference shielding (?). The recording would be good for a lofi musician or good enough for us average joes, and the Bluetooth of the We Are Rewind is awesome but not really needed. It's also about $70 more expensive, and it's poorly laid out. None of the buttons are oriented correctly for you to see what you're doing from a casual glance. I don't regret buying it but if you're on the fence get the FIIO. It's just so much better audio wise because that motor isn't screeching in all the quiet parts. One thing both players don't do great is the lack of rubber stops to keep the aluminum from getting scratched up. I added some generic sticky ones from this site all over the We Are Rewind so it can set on a desk. I might not for the FIIO because design wise it is so much prettier. Plus these guys need a case, preferably with an arm sling like they used to come with. Other than that, that's my clunky review. Full 5 stars and I hope we continue to iterate on these cassette players and give them back the popularity they deserve, even if it's an evolution of what they are now rather than what they once were. As for me this is a modest dream come true. It isn't my first FIIO product either, check out more of their stuff. Not paid to say any of this. I just buy a lot of their stuff.

Firstly, I knew this thing would be pretty awful, but an elderly friend wanted a walkman-type cassette player, and this seemed to be "the best of a bad lot". The only cassette Walkman I was ever really happy with was the Sony WM-DC2 Walkman "Professional" (DD Quartz- locked mechanism, amorphous heads, Dolby B/C, etc.) Even with the Sony there were certain things that could've been better. I'm a professional audio engineer...I'm pretty demanding! Compared with the 1980s Sony, this Fiio thing is a toy. Even though it's super- basic, they somehow still managed to screw-up the design! Initial impression of the sound quality was "Huh? wtf?" Not a good start. Jogging-on-the-spot to test out its "shock resistance", the sound was literally all over the place. Far worse than just simple wow & flutter. Quite bizarre! I've used probably 50+ different Walkmans/personal stereos over my lifetime, and never experienced this kind of issue before. Not once. Well, there is indeed a simple explanation. Unlike EVERY Walkman I ever owned/used, there's nothing in this thing to keep the cassette FIRMLY in place. Tape-to-head contact is absolutely critical in a cassette player, and this thing fails miserably. The lid has no leaf-springs to hold the cassette steady. The lid is barely more than a cover, and its technical role has been totally overlooked. If your Fiio sounds thin and weedy (it almost certainly does!), try this: Turn it door-side-down (cassette facing the ground). Almost certainly the audio will dramatically fill-out in both bass and volume. The head height is therefore also wrong. (I don't mean azimuth, I mean height). The solution to fix both issues (no firm grip on the cassette and the sound quality issues) is to raise the cassette position slightly. Easiest done with the door removed, and you'll also want to remove the door to adjust the azimuth, too (for clearest sound). To remove the door/lid, just force it open further than it normally opens. Re-fitting the door is slightly harder, but just the same thing in reverse. There are a couple of springs, too, but just pull upwards and the springs will pop off the main unit. Anyhow, the solution involves stacking-up sticky labels until the sound is optimal. I found that a stack of seven little circular paper labels, placed inside the cassette well (left, right, and center top) will fix the problems. It's not a very elegant /professional fix, but I didn't want to actually modify the unit. See photo to make things clearer! These Chinese manufacturers making record players, cassette players, etc. seem pretty clueless. Digital they can do, analog/mechanical, not so much. God knows how this design got approved with so much "slop" in the positioning of the cassette. It's literally free to wobble around inside the cassette well of thxthe CP13. Needs a lid which hold the tape FIRMLY in place, and proper height alignment of the tape head. Yes, I'm available as a consultant, if anyone from Fiio wishes to hire me to improve their designs! Meanwhile, get some ChromaLabel colored stickers (available on Amazon) if you want your Fiio CP13 to sound how it's meant to sound. Remember to also adjust the head azimuth (screw) to achieve clear treble after adding the sticky labels to get the bass/volume optimized. The rest of the unit is totally "meh". The metal exterior is "ok", nice-enough volume knob, too. Everything else is mediocre (compared with virtually any half-decent Aiwa, Sony, Panasonic, etc). One glaring omission is a belt clip, carrying case, or even a little lanyard/hand strap. You get NOTHING. Nada. ZILCH. If the good-old-Japanese players were still available, this Fiio would be going straight back to Amazon, but unfortunately choices are so limited that I think my friend will have to keep this thing (along with 21 little sticky dots to make it work properly!) "Enjoy" 🙂

I have had this cassette player for a little over a month and it has exceeded my expectations. As soon as I took it out of the box, I knew it was quality. I was a little nervous after reading some of the negative reviews but all I can say is either, they received defective versions or they don’t know how to use a cassette player. The volume is perfect. I’ve used different headphones; over the ear, ear buds and IEMs and the sound is always consistent. I have never had to put the volume past 40% and generally keep it around 25%. I’ve listened to all sorts of tapes on this thing. Paul Simon - Graceland, Terror - Live by the Code, MF Doom - Mm..Food, R.E.M - Murmur, etc. All types of genres as well as old to brand new tapes and this player performs. I only listen to about two full tapes a day but I’ve only had to charge it once, which was super easy because it has a rechargeable battery with a C charging port. The only thing I haven’t used is the aux port. One thing to note. The sound quality only differs based on the grade of the tape. I bought a beat up version of Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album that sounds awful but that is due to the condition of the tape, not the player. The eq on this thing is straight across. If you’re listening to a hip-hop tape and want more bass than you’re going to have to plug in headphones that have a bass boost option. I am beyond satisfied with my purchase. I almost went with a $30 player and I’m glad I didn’t go cheap. I carry this thing on the train daily, in my pocket and it is strong. Just like any players, before digital music, if you move it around a lot while you’re listening, it will effect the sound. This is best used while being stationary. The hype is real. If you’re looking to get into the cassette tape world, this is a great player for beginners. It has all the features you need and it is the perfect size to fit into your pocket.

Metal build is very solid. Unit looks really nice. This is NOT cheap plastic garbage like most current production cassette players today I'm glad someone is making something like this today. There is good treble output **when the unit is stationary and not in motion. ** But there are a few flaws. First, if you tilt the unit from the vertical position to its side or vice versa while a tape is playing, all of the highs drop out for several seconds. It seems that the tape transport cannot keep the tape aligned with the head properly when the unit is subject to motion. This makes listening while walking or moving around not practicable. Second, there is lack of bottom end heft and punch. Very thin sound. I have a lot of vintage walkman devices from the 80s, including cheap ones, that have a lot more low end and punch. Third, the overall volume level is low, even with max volume selected, a tape recorded at a hot level, or a very efficient and easy to drive headphone, like Koss PortaPro or Grado SR225e (and the Grado e-series drivers are more efficient than the current x series). Fourth, there is a lot of hiss in the circuitry that isn't coming from the tape. If you press play with no cassette in the player, you still hear a ton of hiss. If these problems were fixed in a future product update, and a noise reduction circuit were added, this would be a perfect device for what it is, even at a higher price point. I understand that Dolby is no longer licensing their NR systems for cassette players today, but even a single-ended system like National Semiconductor's DNR (which works extremely well on both Dolby encoded and non-encoded tapes and is cheap to implement) would work wonders. Kudos to FIIO for making a personal portable cassette player that is a step above what else is available today, but this misses the mark except as a novelty.

منتج جميل وسلسل

Lo pedí para un regalo y me lo terminé quedando xd Por el precio me hubiera gustado que trajera más funciones como grabadora y tal vez Bluetooth, sin embargo se siente de muy buena calidad y reproduce cassettes de formas perfecta, me gusta mucho que es de cargar y no de pilas

Comprato per curiosità, avendo ancora molte cassette musicali e nessun riproduttore funzionante. Non avevo grosse aspettative (abituato al mio Sony WMD6) ma devo ammettere che come riproduttore funziona bene e la ricarica da usb-c è molto comoda. Provato sia con le cuffie (riesce a suonare bene con le cuffie a bassa impedenza, con le Sennheiser HD600 ovviamente non ce la fà) che collegato all'impianto stereo. Qualità audio piu che accettabile (stiamo pur sempre parlando di musicassette, con tutti i limiti del supporto), peccato non abbia una uscita di linea per la connessione allo stereo ma si debba utilizzare l'uscita cuffia. Il bluetooth sarebbe un plus per l'uso con cuffie/auricolari, ma usandolo esclusivamente a casa non lo trovo un limite cosi importante

私の勘違いで録音もできると思っていたら再生のみでした。評判の通り再生音はカセットとは思われない音質でとても満足しています。まだデジタル録音のない時代に録り溜めたJAZZのエアーチャックのカセットを聞いて楽しみます。

The Fiio CP13 was promptly delivered and exceptionally well packed. Feel/Quality The Fiio CP13 is a delight to hold and feels like a well-made quality product. It has a simple design and solid buttons which should hopefully last a long time. Operation The operation is simple and manual with strong chunky buttons for play, rewind, fast forward & stop. It has an auto stop on play but not on rewind or fast forward so please be aware of this if you have a weak or fragile tape. I found this to my cost when it chewed one of my 1970’s tapes. Cons There is no button to open the cassette door so this may prove difficult if you have limited manual dexterity. Sound Quality (dependent upon how recorded) The sound quality has proved to be good when replaying my cassettes recorded in the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s (could do with a little more high-end response but that could be my recording) however, 2000’s onwards the quality has been excellent. Please note this can also be dependent on the headphones used. To maintain best sound quality, it is advisable to clean the cassette heads regularly. Cons Due to limited space (the cassette case does not open very far) it is difficult to clean and demagnetize the cassette heads. Earphone Socket I used the Sennheiser CX300 S ear canal headphones and found that if the supplied ear tips did not provide enough bass, you could use ‘Aiivioll’ silicon ear tips instead. I used cheap Philips over ear headphones and they gave excellent bass. When using ear canal headphones, the volume is very good requiring minimal adjustment to increase the volume. This is handy as it saves battery life giving more cassette playing time. Note: If you are using over ear headphones, you will have to drive them a lot more and turn up the volume considerably. Cons Using ear canal headphones, it is likely that you will have to pull the jack out of the Fiio CP13 headphone socket a fraction (0.5 to 1mm). This was not necessary when using over ear headphones. Charging Battery life depends upon headphones used and volume selected. Ear canal headphones give at least 9hrs 10mins. Over ear headphones give about 7hrs 45mins. The cassette player gives no warning when it runs out of power – just stops! Thankfully charging is easy and quick in about 2.5hrs.