FiiO CP13 Cassette Player (Transparent)

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.

I've been recording and listening to cassettes on home decks and portable players since 1980 and have been looking for a newly manufactured Walkman-style player for the day that all of my vintage units inevitably fail and can no longer be repaired economically. So, is this player worth a try? SHORT REVIEW: The build and sound quality of this model is equal to or better than nearly any other portable player currently in production. Newly made options are limited, so that's not an unqualified thumbs up. Still, recommended. Casual listeners: If you're NOT an "audiophile" and just looking for a portable cassette player to enjoy commercial cassette tapes, the sound quality of this Fiio CP13 will far exceed that of those tapes, which mostly sound pretty mediocre. I know, because the music label and audiobook company I work for produced cassette tapes for years. Though, for maximum enjoyment, do see my headphone tests below. Discerning listeners: If you've got great-sounding chrome or metal tapes that you've made yourself with a quality home cassette deck (this is me), you'll find this player better-sounding than many entry-level portable cassette players and even some entry-level home decks—with some tweaks required. Recommended, with caveats. See long review. LONG REVIEW: Warning: This goes on forever, so it's only for obsessive tape-lovers (or those with insomnia). :D First, THE COST: $99 is a fair entry-level price. I paid $60 for similar entry-level players in the late 1990's, with lesser build quality—though with more features like bass boost and auto-reverse. That's about $120 inflation-adjusted to 2024. I paid $200+ (about $400+ inflation-adjusted) for better players, mostly Panasonic and Sony. * MECHANICAL PARTS: Contrary to some of the negative talk online, this upgraded Japanese-designed, Chinese-made Tanashin style tape transport mechanism is very good compared to my vintage players, many of which have been professionally restored. No, it's not as good as a Sony Walkman DD direct-drive player, but the various upgrades are audible. Per Fiio, those include a heavier copper flywheel, a more powerful power source and motor that exerts more torque for speed control, and cherry-picked playback heads (similar to the way that Grado phono cartridges and Intel i3/i5/i7 processors are sorted and marketed post-manufacture). * WOW & FLUTTER: Very low, virtually inaudible even with 30-year-old cassettes. I've seen test results from 0.15% to as high as 0.24% online, but my unit tests at 0.13%. This is as good as my Dual 606 direct-drive turntable and better than my Technics 1991 mid-tier home deck and refurbished vintage players. Yes, my Nakamichi MR-1 professional deck tests at 0.03% (!), but anything better than 0.18% should sound fine to most people. Though note that some kinds of W&F will sound much more annoying than others, even if it measures low—it all depends on the frequency, amplitude, and "random-nicity" of the warbling, which varies from player to player. TIP: My favorite test is to play a tape containing long, sustained solo piano notes, which reveals W&F like nothing else. A good choice is "Thelonious Himself" (1957), which sounds smooth as glass on my Fiio unit. * WOW & FLUTTER WHEN JIGGLING THE UNIT OR WALKING. This has ALWAYS been an issue for portables (except expensive direct-drive players like top-end Sonys, which have gear failure issues all their own). With all units, including the Fiio, you're going to hear a bit of warble when grabbing your player off the table and definitely when jogging, but much less when just walking. TIP: When out strolling, get your player (and hands, lol) out of your pants and into a fanny pack or shoulder-sling pouch. * MECHANICAL TRANSPORT NOISE: Some posters have complained about this. Well, I can tell you that this player's motor is VERY quiet—as quiet as any belt-driven portable player that I purchased new from 1990 to 2000 in the $70 to $300 range (inflation adjusted). And it's MUCH quieter than those refurbished-but-still-aging units are today. NOTE: Many cheap blank or commercial music cassettes are quite noisy. That's why high-end blank cassettes like the TDK SA/MA and Maxell MX/XL series say "Anti-Resonance Mechanism" on them—even 30-year-old ones are nearly silent compared with cheaper blank and most commercial cassettes. TIP: If you are playing a noisy, rattly old cassette, put the player on a soft towel or coaster (plastic and wood tables act as natural noise amplifier-resonators). * AMPLIFIER POWER: Stronger than average. With various 32-ohm (typical) headphones, I've got the volume knob set around "3" for 80dB output (right on the edge of hearing damage). At "10" this unit drives all of my home receivers and integrated amps (with 200- to 200,000-ohm input impedance) perfectly, with no distortion. What about fancy high-impedance headphones? I don't know: please post your results if you test them with the Fiio! * LEFT-RIGHT BALANCE: Perfect on my unit, tested with monophonic audio recording. * FREQUENCY RESPONSE. This is the Fiio's weak point for me. While one user tests this as nearly flat from 40 to 18,000 Hz (graph here: https://www.reddit.com/r/cassetteculture/comments/1ap2o6q/fiio_cp13_a_first_impressiot n_and_detailed_review/), I found the bass response thin. My old top-tier Panasonic playback heads (rated at 5-20,000 Hz) sound much better, but so do my Panasonic entry-level players (rated at 40-16,000 Hz). I wish this player had a bass-boost or EQ function. A solution? Pick the right headphones (see below). * TAPE TYPE SELECTOR? No Normal (Type I), Chrome (Type II), and Metal (Type IV) settings—so chrome and metal tapes will sound brighter—though interestingly less trebly than on any of my other vintage portables without tape type EQ. If this is a deal-breaker for you, see "HEADPHONES" recommendations below. I'm listening only to chrome and metal tapes on the Fiio, and they sound fantastic with the right headphones. * DOLBY B, C, or S? Nope. But commercial tapes have such poor high-frequency EQ that the treble boost of dolby-encoded commercial tapes actually sound better to me than ones without (when played back on a player without dolby decoding). * SPEED & AZIMUTH: Both were calibrated near-perfectly at the factory (speed within 0.5%). But amazingly, you can adjust BOTH without cracking open the case! When I hear reviewers complaining that these adjustment screws are "such a pain to access," I have to laugh. I have spent hours taking apart my old players to get to the speed adjustment screw inside (when they even had them). And AZIMUTH adjustment? This is a true "audiophile" feature: Nearly all old portables at this price point had no such option. In the old days you'd have to keep buying and returning units before you got one with proper azimuth (i.e., that sounded clear in the treble range and not "muddy" or "muffly"). Or we'd bend the metal head frame when possible. Even my many home cassette decks lacked this feature (though the Nakamichi has it). See Fiio's video instructions: https://youtu.be/gcqCSET-EXU?si=a9izz_H0Kenau06V. TIP: Tape speed may drift as the belts break in, so use it for 10-20 hours before adjusting speed. At 18 hours, mine is still within 0.5% accurate. You can get a calibration tape with standard frequency tones online and pair it with a free frequency-measuring app on your phone or computer). * REWIND SPEED: Slow compared to vintage players and home decks, but perfectly acceptable. With a 100-minute tape: Fiio 3:49 (min:sec) | Panasonic RQ-E20V (typical entry level vintage player) 3:21 | Nakamichi MR-1 deck: 1:44 * "BUT I CAN'T REPLACE THE BELTS OR BATTERY!" - I haven't taken this apart but there are screws inside the cassette bay (hidden under little sticker dots). In all my old Sony and Panasonic units, this is how I've gotten inside—so the Fiio looks serviceable. Removing the spring-hinged cover is the hardest part, but Fiio posted a video in Mandarin Chinese showing how to do so (sorry, can't find the link, but their rep on a hi-fi audio site says they will post an English-language version soon). -- MISC TIPS FOR THOSE NEW TO CASSETTE PLAYERS: * Clean and demagnetize after every 10 hours of playback, or when you hear HF (high-frequency) attenuation or W&F. See Fiio video for cleaning the rubber roller, capstan, and PB head. BUT, if your unit still sounds muddy in the high frequencies, it's time to demagnetize the head. You can use either a demagnetizer wand (best) or cassette (adequate). Wand: https://www.amazon.com/Universal-DEMAGNETIZER-Cassette-Recorder-Track/dp/B003ZKLP4 | Cassette: https://www.amazon.com/CASSETTE-CLEANER-DEMAGNETIZER-WET-TYPE- * If your player (any cassette player) stops while playing a tape, forward fast and rewind it completely 2-3 times. The base layer of old tapes can get sticky. And also ... * Always hit "STOP" as soon as your player is done rewinding/ff-ing (there's no auto-stop). Reason: you can stretch, shear, or over-tighten the tape spool, damaging it. In play mode, this player DOES auto-stop at the end of the tape, so no worries when just listening. * Be mindful of getting your headphone cord stuck on doorknobs etc. and yanking it while plugged into the player! Over time, faulty headphone sockets have been the death of HALF of my players, not the belts or heads—and the main reason I bought this Fiio replacement. * Break in the capacitors and mechanicals before you decide on the sound quality - I've played this unit for about 18 hours now and the bass and treble balance is already sounding better. This seems true for many audio devices. -- *Updated 6.1.2024* HEADPHONE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS PLAYER: After trying 9-10 different headphones, I've found three that sound very good with the Fiio—with all types of tape, but especially chrome and metal. And I found a few that TRULY SUCK with this player. Of course, all ears are different so your mileage will definitely vary. Just offering some ideas: * BEST (*****): Samson SR850 $40. Gigantic AKG clones. Best headphones that I've tried for this player: Near-neutral treble and bass, and very low tape hiss with chrome & metal tape (with no Dolby). Also pretty good with commercial normal tape encoded with Dolby B. High sensitivity (very loud at low settings). Also great EQ and sound with phones, DACs, etc. https://www.amazon.com/Samson-SR850-Semi-Open-Back-Reference-Headphones/dp/B002LBSEQS * EXCELLENT SOUND (****). Sony MDR-G45 (discontinued, wah). I got these "behind-the-neck" cheapies for $15 a few years ago and they sound custom-made for the Fiio. They now go for $90 on eBay—sheez! The Sony MDR-G52 "classic" walkman-style headphones look similar (and cheaper). With chrome and metal tape, better-than-average bass with the Fiio (but not as strong as the Samsons) and more accurate treble EQ than anything else I tried. High sensitivity (loud). * V. GOOD/EXCELLENT SOUND & CHEAP (****). Panasonic RP-HT21. $8 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004T8R2. Marketed with "XBS bass boost", lightweight walkman style on-ear headphones. These sound just a tiny bit less lower-resolution than the Sony MDR-G45 but still very enjoyable listening. 24-ohm, 30mm drivers. Sensitivity: 100 dB (loud). * V. GOOD SOUND & CHEAP (BUT NOT VERY LOUD) (***): Maxell 190316 behind-the-neck style walkman headphones, $17. With the Fiio, sounds as good as the Sony MDR-G45 above but requires volume set at 9 or 10 for 72 dbA listening volume. https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-190316-Stereo-Neck-Bands/dp/B00006JPRP. The Maxell 190319 $6 (what a deal!) looks similar https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-High-Quality-Headphones-Adjustable-Lightweight/dp/B00006JPRN/ HEADPHONES I DO *NOT* RECOMMEND FOR USE WITH THIS FIIO PLAYER: * Bose QC25 or equivalent. The active EQ makes these very frequency-neutral (accurate): which means that with the Fiio, excessive treble with chrome/metal tape and weak bass. Also, this inline-microphone headphone doesn't seat quite right into the Fiio's 3.5mm input so the right channel will cut out unless you jiggle it just right. Finally, most active noise-cancelling headphones use DSP (digital sound processing), which kind of defeats the pure-analog point of this player, right? * Grado SR60 & SR80. My favorite high-resolution headphones but way too "bright" for chrome or metal tape and weak bass with the Fiio. * V-Moda LP crossfade2. Renowned for huge bass but sounds very muddy with the Fiio. * Koss Porta Pro. You'd think these retro walkman-style headphones with famously fat bass were made for the Fiio, but they sound horribly muddy with this player. * Panasonic RP-HTX7-K1 - These retro "ham radio style" headphones (as seen on "Stranger Things") sound just awful on a high-end system—and even worse with the Fiio. Just mentioning to save you the disappointment. * Shure I2C-M in-ear monitor headphones (similar to many current entry-level IECs without bass boost) - These are also neutral-EQ headphones with no bass emphasis. They sound clear but tinny/trebly with the Fiio player. * Apple earbuds, iPhone 6-11 (the hard plastic ones, not the kind with soft in-ear seals) - For me these sound tinny/trebly with all music players, and very weak bass with the Fiio. I can't believe you read this whole review, thanks! Hope this helps, and happy listening whatever you're using to play music. Note: I am in no way affiliated with Fiio, Amazon, or other manufacturers mentioned, nor have I received this product in exchange for a review. Just a music lover who also likes to write epically long posts. :D

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!

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.

Este es un walkman con la calidad tal vez mejor que los que se hacían en Japón en los años 80. Solo le faltaría tener Dolby-B para ser perfecto. Sonido analógico del bueno (por supuesto con auriculares buenos o unos buenos altavoces) ya se sabe que en una cadena de dispositivos sonoros, la máxima calidad es la del eslabón más débil. Es una pena que nadie encare la elaboración de buenos boombox, radiocassettes y pletinas con la calidad de antaño, y como demuestra FiiO ya se puede hacer también en China, si se quiere.