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.

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to the cassette world, I was just collecting vinyl for a couple of years, so, I am looking to buy something to reproduce my cassettes but I need it to be portable. Watching reviews and stuff I found out Fiio launched a walkman style cassette player that seemed to be good, do you guys think thats a good option for its price or should I buy a Sony walkman from the 90s? Because people reviewing Fiio don't seem to like it that much.

So, I did it, I went and bought a Fiio CP13 even though I had seen all the reviews saying how rubbish all new cassette players are and they should all be burned etc etc. I decided to buy it after receiving a Sony Walkman WM-F20 for mt 45th birthday that looked amazing and was sold as fully working and in great condition. It failed within an hour and was promptly returned. As I had also got a bundle of 90's cassettes in the parcel, so I thought I should get another portable cassette, being the Fiio CP13.

I've been using it all this afternoon and yes it does sound a bit rubbish, but do you know what? I love it, I knew I wasn't going to get perfect sound and it was probably going to hiss a bit, but I don't care! All I would say to anyone thinking about getting a walkman to revisit their youth, its going to cost double the price of one of these, it won't have much (if any warranty) and can go pop at any time. The one I bought went wrong with something other than the belts and I'm not sure if it will be repairable. The Fiio was £99, got 12 months warranty and everything on it worked.

Personally, I think all the negative reviews about these came from people that probably didn't experience the torment of cassettes in their youth and probably expected the to sound like the all singing and dancing astrell & kern players that cost a fortune. These things are a bit of fun and your recording of the top 40 from 1994 probably isn't going to sound great, even if you had a Nakamichi Dragon, but you will love every moment of it because it will take you straight back to the day you recorded it.

I hope I'm not going to get a load of down votes for saying this, but I thought it would be good to give my reason behind getting one.

I'm looking at buying a FiiO CP13, mainly because I have zero experience in opening and repairing tech and want something that has brand new components. Its a very sleek and retro looking tape player. For those using a CP13, how are your experiences? I'd be using it with a pair of 250Ohm Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro headphones.

Just picked one up on the Amazon sale and been messing around for the last two days and honestly liking it better than my We Are Rewind that I have had for the past year- which if I look at the wrong way will skip. FiiO feels solid and walking around with zero skipping so far. My OG yellow Sony sports still reigns king but this is a great option for $80 and don’t have to stress trying to replace a belt! If Bluetooth isn’t a concern, pretty cool deal for a cassette player as a jumping off point.

I have a few maintained vintage walkmans. They work mostly okay. One works pretty well, but hate the gum stick batteries. The Fiio appeals as it has USB charging and all I want is simple playback. But I’m worried about WF ans overall playback quality. Anyone has one? Are they decent as a daily portable player for commuting to and from work?

tl;dr if you have nothing portable to play cassette tapes, for $90 the CP13 is a reasonable choice if you don't want to hunt for and fix up a vintage walkman

I'll start off stating that I'm lucky to have some great cassette gear: Revox B215, Sony TC-D5M and WM-FX1.

So I know how good cassette recordings can sound. Right off, to be clear the CP13 is not at this level. Side by side with any of the above mentioned models the CP13 sounds like crap.

I also own some lowend gear, including a couple of super cheap aliexpress cassette portables. The CP13 easily outperforms these low end cheapies. Compared to these it sounds pretty good.

Pros: CP13 is bulky but the contruction feels solid. Nothing loose or janky feeling. The controls engage well and nothing feels like it would break from normal use.

Recharage from usb-c

The amp is bright and loud. No problem driving any of my wired headphones.

The volume knob has a good solid feel.

The transparent version looks nice to me.

Cons: Quality Control, mine came with a swollen seam where I guess the battery is inside. I'll send it back tomorrow. Many reports of these breaking after a few months of heavy use.

Sound reproduction is very mid. It compares to my Sony WM-B53 sports walkman.

Its clearly a technology regression compared to later cassette walkman models.

Bottom Line: if you already have a good late model walkman or similar, the CP13 will only disappoint by comparison. If you have nothing, the CP13 is one of the best modern options you can buy. To me it feels and performs like the price should be $75 max.

edit: typos

For those who were fortunate or unfortunate to purchase the FiiO CP13, here's a video teardown demonstration of the unit, just in case you wish to replace the cassette belt or fix the battery.

UNFORTUNATELY, the video's text is in chinese and there is no voice over work to guide you, but hopefully the visual demonstration is sufficient to show you what to do.

As to how I got a hold of this, I emailed FiiO the other day asking about a service manual, they replied that they didn't have a manual but, a video demonstration instead. So I thought of sharing it here.

I am well aware that this device's status is infamous and that older Aiwa, Sony, or Sanyo cassette playees are superior. But I just thought of sharing this for people who own the FiiO and had run into problems and also maybe for the community here if they wish to make modifications and adjustments.

I just want to make this common and public knowledge for everybody.

Received my Fiio CP13 today. Very impressed with the build quality, functionality, and sound. The leather case is very nice, as well. My only complaint is that you can’t flip the cassette without taking the case fully off but that’s a minor inconvenience. (See case in picture.) I’m not a Walkman/cassette expert, I’m aware that this is a cheap commonly used mechanism however I couldn’t justify buying an expensive 30 year old Walkman that could break at any moment.

Does anyone here own and use a CP13? I am getting into cassettes and would like opinions/buying advice. Thanks.

I love it already! It’s not that bigger than my other player I have! The case is really good but a bit inconvenient that you have to take it off and remove the headphones from the port to change the cassette, it feels heavy and well built, tho the mechanism doesn’t look as good as my previous one.

For me the killer feature is definitely usb-c, the fact that I don’t need to carry batteries and can charge it with the same cable as my phone is pretty cool!

I’ll definitely use it alongside my other one!

This is the only cassette that moves when playing. Others don’t do that.

Just today I received my Fiio CP13 has been disappointing. Will anyone ever make good quality personal cassette players again?

https://twitter.com/FIIO_official/status/1749369367480164769?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

If you are interested in taking a gamble on this new player, the pre-order page is live with 153 units remaining at the time of writing. There is some additional information about the player on the sale page, not much though:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806299408379.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

hi! I was thinking of treating myself and buying a fiio cp13 walkman, I think I'll get the blue or transparent version, but besides that, I'd like to find some vintage headphones, that go well with its aesthetics. any advice? :)

I'm using the new cp13 fiio with a new cassette, and I noticed that if I move the headphone cable where there is the connector to insert them; the sound changes, you hear better and worse, is all of this normal?