bringing back the heydays of mixtapes with fiio's analog rechargeable cassette player

fiio’s analog rechargeable cassette and mixtape player, CP13

Electronics company FiiO has revived the era of mixtapes with CP13, a series of analog rechargeable cassette players without recording and auto-reverse functions. Analog is at the core of the cassette and mixtape player, starting with a 100 percent non-digital audio circuit. This includes the magnetic tape head and the signal amplifier. It is all forged in aluminum, the chassis included. The knob, which is aluminum too, returns to increase and decrease the sound’s volume. That plus the tactile buttons to play, pause, stop, fast-forward, and rewind the music surface on top of CP13.

all images courtesy of FiiO

268 days of standby time for Fiio’s CP13

13 hours of playtime is what FiiO’s CP13 can offer to audio enthusiasts. The analog cassette and mixtape player is rechargeable using the USB-C port on the side. Users can plug it in when the battery is running out and still play music without a problem because of its safe charging circuits. The cassette player is equipped with a 1,800 mAh lithium-ion cobalt oxide battery. In that case, users can enjoy a standby time of around 268 days. The manufacturer says CP13 also uses a custom oversized pure copper flywheel. It may be larger than those typically found in other mixtape players. But it can make the tape reel move smoother during playback for a more stable and quality sound.

FiiO has revived the era of mixtapes with CP13

analog rechargeable cassette and mixtape player’s power supply

The buttons of the CP13 go through hard oxidation, which can make them resistant to corrosion and wear. A large analog volume potentiometer also hides behind the aluminum knob. The manufacturer says this can help stabilize the audio produced by the analog rechargeable cassette and mixtape player. On top of this, a high-voltage 4.2V power supply powers FiiO’s CP13 and its system.

The team believes it is more than the 1.8V or 3V typically found in today’s modern cassette players. The supply works with a motor speed stabilization circuit. Together, they increase the drag on the motor to make sure that the tape’s movement remains stable. Unwanted pitch changes then are absent as the music plays. As of publishing the story, FiiO CP13 is available at 119 EUR per unit.

the analog rechargeable cassette player has no recording or auto-reverse functions