Are music cassettes actually making a comeback?
15/1/2024
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Music cassettes haven’t been sold in shops for decades now. And yet, there are still many fans of the medium out there. A portable cassette player was recently presented at major tech event CES. What’s more, well-known female musicians are releasing their albums on tape.
Many new devices were presented at CES in Las Vegas. I’m guessing not many of the visitors were expecting to see a portable cassette player sporting that legendary Sony Walkman design – but that’s exactly what happened. Chinese high-end audio specialist Fiio presented CP13, its homage to the Walkman, at the tech event.
The CP13 looks very similar to the original Walkman and isn’t much different in terms of functionality, either. It plays back tapes and you can listen to them with your headphones. There’s no Bluetooth, just a 3.5 mm jack plug for your earphones. At least the device has a USB-C port for easy charging.
Discover further curiosities presented at CES in the following article penned by my colleague Michelle:
Tapes aren’t dead
As strange as the recent showcasing of a cassette player at CES may seem, perhaps it’s a sign of a dawning cassette revival. Even in the music industry, they haven’t fully disappeared. Even chart-busting superstars including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish have been releasing some of their albums on tape. Smaller bands and indie acts also seem keen on releasing their music on cassette.
Even in our very editorial department, cassettes haven’t been completely forgotten. Last year, Michelle used a Walkman to listen to music for a week and David compared old and new cassette decks, also giving tips on how to record to cassette.
Vinyls, which are even older data carriers than tapes, have become integral music merchandise, and many DJs have started picking them up again. In my opinion, vinyl records have a certain aesthetic value to them that cassettes don’t. I tend to look back in horror on incidents involving tangled tape. That’s why it didn’t take me long to get over them disappearing. But these days, I catch myself reminiscing about the music cassettes of my teenage years, now stowed away in the attic. Wouldn’t it be lovely to listen to them all again? Unfortunately, I got rid of my last cassette player over a decade ago.
Portable cassette players available at Galaxus
If you’re feeling the same way, browsing our shop might help. Turns out we have a few portable cassette players in our range. Here’s a small selection for you.
The edgy aluminium one
Kurt, the minimalist cuboid device sporting retro colours, is made by we are rewind and looks like it’s stepped right out of the last millennium. Only the basic playback buttons protrude from the housing, which, incidentally, is made of aluminium. Just like the original. The device also does Bluetooth and the battery should provide 12 hours of playback.
The quasi all-rounder
This device is also retro. Entirely made of plastic, with round edges and even a belt clip. It too features Bluetooth. There’s also a loudspeaker so you can listen to cassettes without headphones or an external sound system. The foldout antenna at the top also lets you listen to the radio. It also has a microphone you activate by pressing the record button. This turns the cassette player into a dictaphone.
Sadly, this model isn’t available in Germany
The digitiser
The cassette player by Renkforce doesn’t support Bluetooth, but comes with in-ear earphones. Interestingly, it can transfer your cassettes to the internal memory and therefore digitise them. At the end of the day, digital tracks are probably handier than cassettes.
*Still have cassettes at home? Miss the good old cassette era? Or do you think they’re rubbish nobody needs any more?
Header image: Shutterstock/JOKE777
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
