Fiio CP13: Best new portable cassette player?
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- New portable cassette players are getting very popular but the quality is always scarce. Is the CP13 device presented by Fiio going to set a new bar for tape playback?
CP13 website: fiio-shop.de/EN/FiiO-CP13/HL0...
We Are Rewind review: • "We Are Rewind" casset...
INDEX:
0:00 - Intro
1:49 - Unboxing
11:33 - Specs & characteristics
16:33 - Wow & Flutter
17:52 - Playback test & comparison
20:04 - Pros & Cons
25:26 - Outro
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#cp13 #cassette #fiio
Sony should just re-realease the Walkman II and call it a day. That thing was gorgeous.
I hope that if we continue to insist on this the will, sooner or later!
@@anadialog 100%!!! I LOVED cassettes. Also loved my mini discs, mp3 players, it goes on. But a new really good tape player would be awesome! Nothing cooler than making a mixed tape.
they can't. the factories are gone, tools are gone, parts suppliers gone. and reinventing the wheel is too expensive now.
@@rikimiki12 Not necessarily, just because they don’t have the original factories or parts available on hand doesn’t mean they can’t remanufacture them again. It just means they won’t mass produce them like back in the day. Probably be one of those limited quantities releases like Audio Techica did with their rerelease of the Sound Burger portable turntable which came with some modern perks in it like Bluetooth connection. The biggest issue I would have with Sony though would be pricing of such re release, knowing how they have been lately it be some ridiculous price of over $1000
@@anadialog $ONY shall not redo what she used to do. If you were a big shareholder of that PLC entity . You would be able to say what you prefer, Remember, you better express in Japanese first during these formal meeting.
You talked about wow & flutter, but you had the NAK T-100 software set to display the audio level, not the wow & flutter, and you didn't turn off its built-in test tone oscillator.
I was actually flicking through the video looking for the W&F test given he is meant to have a calibrated 3kHz tape + appropriate software! what a disappointing review.
I captured the 3kHz audio from this video and measured its W&F, which is about ~0.18% WRMS @speed: +0.6%
@@wch346that is not too terrible all considered. Still sounds a bit warbly, though! A frequency response plot would have been nice too (no way to do that)
@@davealancaruana6727 TBH, the w&f is better than most of my vintage portable players today. I’m also curious about the FR plots.
Please do a review, we need a true pro on this
Great video, man. Loved being able to listen to each one audio output, I was looking for that
I was looking forward to you doing a review on this product Thank-you
Thank you for the review! I did buy this and just received it. I didn't have high expectations just something decent. Yes I own a number of the vintage Sony's already but I like to try new things as well. The price was right for the venture.
I have the "We are rewind" & have had it for about a year. It cost me an arm & leg to friggin' get it here! That said, I'm glad I have it. After an azimuth adjustment, it works fine. The loudness & quality of the sound depends on the tape being played. But all & all, EXPENSIVE but fine. I'm happy with it.
What exactly do you mean by "azimuth adjustment"? I already received a third replacement and all of them sound like absolute garbage (especially treble) due to the azimuth. I find out that is gets better when I pull the door slightly, but it feels absolutely ridiculous to do things like this with such an expensive device.
Matthieu from the company wrote me that they have never heard about this before from other customers, are they deaf? Because three units with the same fault in a row, that cannot be a mistake. Overall, a huge disappointment.
So anything that would improve this would be greatly appreciated.
Yes please explain the azimuth adjustment you made. Please create a video showing us how to do it. This would be very helpful to anyone that owns one. Thanks!
Azimuth is a pretty common adjustment on most cassette players. There will be a screw near the play head that will be exposed when you hit the play button, and you adjust this with a screwdriver or other tool while playing a tape and listen as the sound gets brighter/duller. You're aiming for the brightest sound you can get, so listen for cymbals and hi-hats. On portable cassette players like the We Are Rewind or FiiO CP13, to adjust azimuth you need to play a cassette with the door open in order to do this, this means opening the door and putting the cassette in the "wrong" spot so that the tape ends up sitting where it would be if the door was closed, but with the door still open.
@@WillWill56 thanks for this! Much appreciated :)
Honestly waiting for the old casette player days
Think you could be waiting forever, sadly
Big thank you.
Still use my old cassette decks so I can make mix tapes.
Me too, all the time, I listen at work on my Walkman.. screw streaming fees
I believe the small plastic part included in your box is a screen protector for the front window to keep it pretty. it appears to be the screen protectors that you can find online but cut to fit the viewing window.
I also got the pre-order with the case, i'm pleased with it, if they ever do a follow up i'd include Anti rolling.
I am wondering if any manufacturer will come up with a new analog TV set next.
Hello and Ciao, Is a Super important Video.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
From FIIO, I couldn't have imagined that they would bring an analog music playback device onto the market.
Maybe Sony will come up with the same idea and build the Walkman with a cassette.
我也买了，感觉非常棒！
這些只屬於僅僅合格。儘管ＣＰ１３不騙人，認真的人一般不會用這款。
Grazie infinite Guido, per questi video preziosi e per il tuo canale! Sei a conoscenza di qualche novità o upgrade interessante e significativo per le nuove cassette di tipo 2, ad oggi deludenti???
Grazie a te! Macché, nulla!
I couldn't figure which video to watch first yours or WVestlifes on these. I chose yours. There both great channels. I still would rather prefer a vintage Walkman but these are great starters.
thx for the review !!! what are the best walkmans ever for you ?
I've not heard it but I expect he will say Sony DD9, the tech is next level compared to others and so are the prices for vintage units!
Well, I did do a video on the DD9 (ua-cam.com/video/Xr32QSNKFY0/v-deo.htmlsi=Ve2DOTSwbtwG0r3a), but also the DC2 and D6C, which I also have are top notch!
Wonder what the oldest Compact Cassette recording is? i.e. someone who bought a recorder in around 1963 and did their own recordings even if they were voice of family or some copies of Vinyl records ?
Thanks brother
Gracias
Oh wow. I just felt a recording option also should have been there
a bass boost button would have been nice does it sound tinny. after watching your video the we are rewind does sound much better
Planned to buy one next month as a fiio fan and I liked the compact design. However, I got some negative comments from other people which leads me to reconsider buying the CP13. Thanks for the information anyway. W10C is not very good after all.🙄
In my opinion, at this point, i don't mind any new modern analog cassette player as long as it provided with decent quality stereo output whether with cheapest hardware or cheaper than cheapest. I already bought we are rewind player and it was average.
May I ask you what that white cable is that you connected when playing back and how am I able to hear stereo music?
As explained I used a normal 3.5mm stereo jack inserted in the headphone output (not good but it’s the only output) and connected it directly to the camera.
It would be not bad to compare the sound with a cheap DAP to see where we are going, even if we can bet the answer.
Anyway, very good presentation.
I believe the plastic clear piece is a protector for the window.
I will buy the CP14 or WAR with improved flywheel
For the price of these new, you can get a reconditioned and serviced 90's personal stereo.
Такое ощущение, что технологии откатились на 50-60 лет назад. В сравнении с этим недоразумением у Sony в 80-90 годы были космические технологии!
Very exiting that there are new cassette players, i like the colour. But i think there is still a lot of work to be done just to be able to compete with a WM-DD33 or WM-10.
Moreover i dont like the "fixed" battery. Why not rechargeable NiMh AAs just like a lot of portable CDs in the late 90s??
thanks for the review ... but, for me its just not up to scratch with the earlier walkmans
You’re not alone! ;-)
In another video it was found that after a certain time the tape speed increases from +1% to +3%. Were you able to notice that too? Thanks!
No, but it does surprise me. The mechanism is very poor, no quality control. If that comes up in the future I will pin it in a new comment.
Hello Guido, there you are the analog expert as your yt channel is called, and i enjoy a lot of your content you post.There i now have a question about vinyl playback. I have an vintage Philips 777 turntable which is a fantastic device in my opinion. But my dac and amplifier are from the new generation, a combi of NAD c658 and c 298. What i find when i am enjoying an evening listening to my vinyl records is a good and detailed sound with enough mids and highs, and the soundstage is also excellent. But i always experience a lack of deepness and bass, whichever quality record i listen to. Can an update to a modern turntable in a reasonable pricerange solve this problem, or is my vintage turntable from the golden age of vinyl good enough.
So there you are the analog specialist, do you have any suggestions or tips for my situation?
Thank you again for all your great movies, and i personaly looking forward to your next needledrop movie👍🏻
My YT channel is not called analog expert! I am analog passionate! The turntable is the last thing to change IMO, I would start from a good phono preamp and good cart. That will already help a lot!
@@anadialogoffcourse i know your channel is not named that, but it presumes your an expert, and your answer proves that. Thank you Guido 👍🏻
I really like my Fiio digital audio players, but I can't make myself want one of these huge things with low-end playback. Having lived the '90s, it's really hard to see these big honking things coming out lately that look like drug store budget models of yesteryear, and sound even worse. I know it's impractical, but I keep hoping somebody is going to really put some hardware design into a new unit and also develop their own playback mechanism so we can get some quality sound out of our tapes again. I would pay a lot for that.
I want DAT recorders. Bring them back and its an instabuy for me.
id love to see you review the retrospekt cp-81
It’s always the same stuff unfortunately… :-/
4:00 is that film is front glass protector? Like screen protector for phones?
It could be (that is what I also thought) but it says use it to remove the film...strange
@@anadialog It is a protector for the plexiglass window. There is a film in this protector to help you apply it to the window. It is a two step process like when applying a screen protector on a mobile phone.
That transparent plastic is "screen protector" for the front window, perhaps?
It would have been a good idea if they added a belt clip to make it truly portable. Even if it was just on the case.
I think they should do a campaign backing production run of a new quality cassette deck. Or have teac improve the w-1200. The market is there.
Only one cassette mechanism is made now. So someone would have to find an older good one then remake it
@@turokforever007 True but to be fair both Teac/Tascam and Sony source the best currently available mechanism from CSG. The W1200 performs fine for playback, as does the Sony CD-S70, not able to compete with older high quality decks from the 80s,90 and early 2000s but comparable to budget or even some lower mid range decks from that time period. The W&F from these mechanisms is perfectly acceptable but the lack of proper noise reduction is one major issue. Both companies also do OK when it comes to recording on unused ferric cassettes because they use AC bias recording whereas others use DC bias which introduces unacceptable noise. Having said that It may be CSG don't make a smaller version of their mechanism for these portables so Fio had to go with the same crappy mechanism all the others that make portables also have to use.
That volume knob sticks out like a soar thumb, They could have opted for one similar to "We Are Rwind" for more compactness.
I'd rather they have an electronic control for the volume consisting of two buttons.
Maybe is the added Bluetooth with the addition to any of these it would be 20% better
To me, the cymbals and higher frequencies sounded better on the We are Rewind
hi i'm looking for a portable cassette player without bluetooth but has bass boost and a decent size window so you can see the cassette inside could you recommend anything thank you.
I could recommend you Panasonic from the RQ-SX Series they perform better then Sony's and are cheaper also.
On the newer side I can't recommend anything...the best is to hunt for ANY serviced Sony walkman and it will win hands down over any of these...
Whatever the classic Sony walkman shown here is just 🔥🤌
WM-150!
They need to make this adaptable for car use with USB connector.
Right. But for new device just from 2024 until now
I was looking for you to review this Fiio Walkman. It's a shame it is the same trash mechanism. I'll stick to my old walkmans!
If i can get a sturdy sports model id be on it.
The tape almost ate itself during the movement you put it though, but it was stable enough. If they put an EQ or even a preset EQ it might make it better.
Indeed!
Wish Sony rerelease cassette walkman just like you owned
how long should should this last you think? easy to repair if needed?
Don’t know, more than others. No, it’s not exactly service friendly but a good technician knows how to open it.
Good to Know their is a new Portable cassette player, I remember back in the day I'd tweek the screw by head to adjust azimouth , I also had a car cassette player in my bedroom in the early 90's that sounded quite good through my 70's Sony Amplifier, and a little azimouth adjustment was required for pre-recorded tapes in particular was happy with sound. its a pitty this new device did not invset just a bit more on the mechanics like sony did, but guess cost is high now and demand lower, to coin a phrase , tape is for the average person not the latest meal of today ! like CD, s DVD,s are old school but nice to own your one tapes & hardware to play them on.
That's why you have an equaliser in your hi-fi system, you boost the bass and treble as desired during recording of your personal mix tape so that you have the bass and treble response on whatever you listen your tape on!
That's all very well, but what if you have Pre-recorded tapes?
A few weeks ago some people called bullshit on me for calling out on the shitty mechanism on What Hi-Fi? Facebook page. I know one when I see one. Now it's evident in this video.
it's a shame that with Fiio's resources, they couldn't do the R&D for a better Mech. I'm so sick of the Tanashin mech. It isn't that it sounds bad, it's just stupidly unreliable and prone to breaking because of it's flimsy construction.
Indeed! Tanashin does not exist anymore...only this Chinese stuff...
Me think that too
WM-150💪👍💪❤️
It's disappointing that this is an idential internals as We Are Rewind player. I was also hoping Fiio would stick a better amp solution for theirs. :(
What would be best for metal? Cp13 or we are rewind?
a sony from the late 80's or early 90's. The mechanisms manufactured today are junk. Every cassette deck has one of 3 mechs made by the same company and they are all junk.
metal tape ? these cruddy players can't handle anything like that. see the other comment by jesse which is accurate. You don't even have to go Sony there are many manufacturer from the past that made players capable not just sony. Sanyo is an amazing choice or Awai ..ect.
Neither. Not even Type II. They say they are compatible but they don't have the EQ setting nor the heads capable of delivering high frequencies.
What's an unbarksing?
Tape sounds better than Tidal 👍
What about the playback with chrome and ferro tapes?
The frequency range of the head and the lack of the proper equalization make them. It playable. You can, but they will be distorted.
@@anadialog Thank you very much for your feedback.
the only problem with the case it has magnets and you shouldn't have magnets near tape
Why have we gone backwards with size and design? I once had a JVC that, when empty, was actually thinner than a cassette on one side! Now, 30 years later, they're big like a garden shed. It's curious.
magnets? On a cassette player case?! Won't that damage the cassette tape?
Can regular headphones ok to use ? If not why ?
Of course! You can use any normal type of headphone. Obviously if you use a planar magnetic pair the sound is going to sound thin and low.
@@anadialog Thank you. Great videos!!!
The we are rewind sounded much better, as long as you didn't move it . . .
Exactly! 😆
I’ve seen this in other places, didn’t realise it was a play only machine. For that reason it makes it a “non purchase”
That is actually a bonus! ;-) I strongly recommend not to use these low quality devices for recording.
cant get descent Walkman this days
Is it available
it is on aliexpress (I bought one!), a wider distribution is expected in March
Greetings from Hamburg ❤️❤️❤️👍
I HOPE SONY STARTS MAKING THEM AGAIN THAT'LL BE AWESOME, THEN I'LL GET 1.
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
They should have put belt clips on.
Probably a very nice player but I'd prefer to have it powered by AA batteries.
a belt clip would be nice
No one is actually going to use that.
They could have done so much better than an off the shelf cheap mechanism.
Sounded fine to me…. But why no belt clip? I use my Walkman at work, needs a clip
I'm using this fiio cp-13 less than 1 month and already have issue with play autostop - it has stopped working at all. It start curling tapes. So, tape transport mechanism is really poor.
Oh no! Thanks for sharing…
Those late 80s Sonys with the little green button all have gears that are prone to breakage and seem to have w&f problems no matter how much u refurbish them. Will avoid if anyone is looking for a more fuss free old Walkman.
Are the heads actually stereo? No one that I know is actually making those stereo heads. It's software at this time.
Yes, they are stereo heads on both (two lines instead of one)
@@anadialog that's great, because, following #techmoan, he has stated in numerous occasions that there are no modern manufacturers of proper stereo cassette heads. Chinese are the current ones making them, and I think just one or two.
How much ???
He said $120.00 or €120.
My "we are rewind" went to trash. He had a parasite noise each ~60 seconds
This is a bit on the sphere of unbelievable!
NO FUCKIN WAY!
Available in market ??
On Aliexpress there are some units...in March there are going to be more in other places (they claim)
No one is mass producing the mechanism, and if someone started making one the price would be very high. Too bad. :(
I believe thats a screen protector. 😅
I’ve trying to find a good enough walkman from ebay for months and returned every single one of them. The seller always says it’s working but I always get a device that’s falling apart. Got one from China and the thing is spinning really fast and I wonder if they don’t test the devices before shipping it because you can hear the Chipmunk voice for crying out loud. This one on the video was my last hope, but it also seems just as bad. I might as well just give up.
Find a shop that sells vintage analog gear. Even if you pay a little more you will be sure of the result
@@anadialog I haven’t thought of that! That’s actually a great idea that will save me from a lot of trouble and a lot of time. Thank you for the advice!
most likely a quality control issue with these type of devices
I know my comment won’t be popular but I have a device that is portable/has no wow and flutter/good quality sound and battery life/virtually endless choice of music/no moving parts to wear or degrade the sound.
It’s called a mobile phone! (humour). I can see hackles rising. Tape players were the thing of my past and some portables were as cheap as chips. Often needing a little tweak of the playback head to get the best treble. Do they still use Dolby to reduce the hiss? Eventually the heads would wear down or the gizmo went into tape chewing phase destroying your prize recordings. So I’m afraid I won’t be going back there even though I love boys toys. I always respect each to their own as no doubt people think I’m a vinyl dinosaur-but I love it . In my ignorance is there much new recorded music out there on tape or is it for playing your own recordings/vintage tapes? For those who love it-enjoy. 👍
I do appreciate the channel is mainly about analogue devices and so understand the interest in such devices.
a lot of smaller bands that cant afford vinyl pressing do cassettes still because they’re cheap and a decent medium for physical merch
It's maybe a step nearer, but that thing is so underwhelming in it's design.
That's the problem really, because Sony (for instance) had top designers for their Walkman's, and if we just consider the early WM models, they were gorgeous, and have not been surpassed since.
But, that's not to say some clever young designer will come up with an ultra sleek model using quality parts.
magnetized case.. magnets so close to tape !!!??? wtf !!!
It will have no effect. You'd need a very strong magnet placed very close to a cassette in order to damage it.
Yes, same awful dirt cheap mechanism you get on $5 units :(
Is it just me or is this “Walkman” a bit too chunky? It’s a bit too boxy for my liking, even though I am fond of boxy cars for example…
How disappointing , I was really looking forward to a positive review of the Fiio Cp13 can't understand why this company would make something that seems not as good as the We are Rewind product, embarrassing if you ask me.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how much they polish it, charging $100+ for a turd like this is a ripoff. And the sound quality of this FiiO isn't just lacking in bass, it's lacking in treble as well - it sounds flat, like a £10 cheapo 3-button store brand personal sounded in 2000. This points to a most likely poor quality amplifier as well. At least these devices seem to have sorted out that nasty motor noise you always got (and still get) on the very cheapest devices.
Fact is though, these things don't even reach the level of a Base-level Sanyo from the mid-1980s, much less a mid-range logic-controlled Sony, Panasonic or Aiwa from the '90s - which it should be remembered were only $50 at the time.
Indeed!
I'm so disappointed again, I expected from a producer of one of the best high resolution digital portable players that they would deliver a better quality cassette player than all others, but nope it's again a unportable crap . Even my Panasonic RQ-SX 21 sounds way better than this. W&F 0,06-0,08 ( better then official spec's) 30Hz-18KHz. We'll probably never get a realy high quality NEW, realy portable cassette player again. It's so sad.😢
what an unfortunate model number.
Did I just wake up in 1985?
Why do people even bother? All they can do is change the design a little (and still not match the 80's design.) The flywheel would've been a nice touch, of course, but only when the tape mechanism is truly solved. Using the same old, same old, cheap mechanism, doesn't make for a $100 worth cassette player, no matter how many accessories they include.
I wonder if it would be possible to take that mechanism and improve its components to make it high quality?
@@Solitaire001 I doubt it. As you can see, many have tried. There are some improvements to a certain degree, but it's not enough. It remains the same old, unreliable, clunky mechanism.
@@themeantuber I guess the only possible option is to rebuild the entire cassette infrastructure (players and blank tapes). Unfortunately, I don't think there is enough of a demand for compact cassettes to make that possible.
@@Solitaire001 imagine if Sony had decided to re-make just one of their old walkmans. They wouldn't be able to supply the demand.
@@themeantuberOne possibility is for Sony to farm out the Cassette Walkman to a third party. The Third Party is given the specifications for the Walkman, and then work to recreate the Walkman to Sony's standards or even higher than those. Once approved by Sony (the player meets/exceeds their standards), it is released. The third party takes the risks and reaps the rewards with Sony taking a cut of the profits. Considering the interest in the player shown in this video, I think that there would be enough interest in a high-quality true Sony Walkman.
To keep the cost down and to keep it simple, the first new Walkman is a simple and straightforward player. No fancy functions (such as auto reverse). No Dolby Noise Reduction (since it is no longer available). Just a player that concentrates on being a great cassette player that is easy to use and is reliable.
While the initial run might be expensive (although I'm sure there are people who would be willing to pay that price considering that some new Sony Walkman DAPs run over $1,000), the price would come down. That, in turn, could lead to the development of a new high-quality cassette deck.