Fiio

There were a few CP13 from the first batch showing up on Fiio Shop germany, so i decided to get one out of curiosity.
Today, it finally arrived and while sceptical at first, it´s first impression actually isn´t that bad.
The box is heavy, the unboxing experience great and the player itself feels very premium.
The cassette lid even locks into place properly and needs more force to be opened again - very good.

The lid has a pretty large window, which really looks stylish.

The frequency response seems pretty good on this one, there´s a good amount of trebles and the bass is punchy, but not too much.
See the attached images for more details.
Tested this player with my DT 1990 pro headphones (250 Ohm) and it´s getting decently loud, although i noticed something weird:
At low and high volume, the trebles are more present, in the middle it´s a bit reduced.
Probably caused by the high impedance of my headphones, though i haven´t noticed anything like that on my other equipment.

Also there´s quite some motor buzzing noise noticeable, similar to the WaR, but not as bad.
Still dissapointed, since the Mulann B1000, sold by Recording The Masters, doesn´t have ANY motor noise. So it´s definitely possible to get rid of it entirely!

The Fiio CP13 doesn´t have any advanced features, such as equalization settings for high bias tapes (chrome&metal) or any kind of noise reduction system, as expected.
Only type I ferric tapes will be played back correctly.
Given the already good treble response, type II/IV tapes and/or dolby encoded tapes will sound too bright.

For the wow&flutter performance, i sourced an properly recorded and calibrated test tape with a 3150kHz tone.
The amount of wow&flutter will probably reduce over time, but out of the box, it´s around 0,25%WRMS
It´s approx. 10Hz fast, so almost "spot on", but subject to change over time, as the mech loosens up).
There´s no access hole to adjust the speed! Dissasembly needed!
See the attached images for more details.

The mechanism still reacts to the device been tilted around, especiall horizontally.
The capstan&flywheel combo has a tiny little bit of play to move back and forth, causing the tape to be pulled away and worsen the treble response.
The same issue occured to the WaR and Mulann B1000, but the WaR is the worst example.
The tape usually goes back to normal after a few seconds.

I previously uploaded some test footage, to be found here, took the opportunity to simply add the CP13 here aswell.

So would i recommend the Fiio CP13 ?
Yes, it´s actually enjoyable, but a quite expensive retail price of 129€ ( Fiio Shop germany).

Will i replace my vintage gear? Hell no!

There´s still a chance to get a Sony WM EX 67x plus new belt, plus new pinch rollers, plus new battery, plus new charger for the same amount of money.
That´s obviously the better tape player, but usually needs service.