In an age the place even informal music followers understand how measly streaming companies will be concerning artist pay, the return of bodily media was maybe inevitable. Simply final 12 months, vinyl report gross sales grew by 10.5% with 6.7 million discs bought because of artists together with Taylor Swift and Fleetwood Mac. Although CD gross sales remained fixed, cassette tape gross sales have additionally been making a powerful comeback as effectively.
From 81,000 items in 2015 to 436,400 in 2022, the resurgence has been pushed by Gen Z’s embrace of nostalgic codecs and affordability. Artists are releasing albums on tape for as little as $10, which is a fraction of newly launched vinyls, that are considerably dearer. So it is sensible for French model We Are Rewind to have a objective of delivering a smooth but extremely useful cassette tape participant, impressed by the unique Sony Walkman. Throughout my time with the machine at CES 2025, it delivered on its promise.
Obtainable in 4 colorways for round $160, there’s a lot to understand about this audio machine. We Are Rewind’s cassette tape participant works with all variations of tapes, from I (which have solely write-protect notches) to IV (which has a 3rd notch set close to the center of the highest of the cassette shell). With regards to playback, the machine helps two-track stereo with a quoted frequency response of 30Hz to 12,500Hz, signal-to-noise ratio of 50dB, and minimal distortion.
The participant makes use of Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity to hook up with one of the best wi-fi headphones and greatest Bluetooth audio system. We Are Rewind additionally has $52 retro-styled EQ-001 over-the-ear headphones that include three interchangeable ear cushions. These characteristic a 12-hour battery life and three equalizer modes for tailor-made audio experiences. The headphones additionally work on smartphones, alongside providing voice assistant assist.
If you wish to preserve it old-fashioned, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for one of the best wired headphones, and a further 3.5mm jack for recording onto Kind I tapes, which I completely love. Recording high quality is pretty excessive, that includes a frequency response of 30Hz to 10,000Hz, a signal-to-noise ratio of 45dB, and 1% typical distortion. The We Are Rewind cassette participant is powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that gives an estimated 10 to 12 hours of prolonged use.
Throughout my time with the machine, there have been a handful of cassette tapes to make use of together with The Weeknd, Linkin Park and The Saints amongst others. Because of the tech within the cassette participant, I loved the nice and cozy and smooth audio high quality, however it skips the fuzzy hiss sound. I believe the easiest way to elucidate it’s a cross of the gutsy sonics of vinyl with the readability of a compact disc.
Add the headphones into the scenario and it does develop into a uniquely retro listening expertise and combo, and had a good time. Customers are going to must be intentional with what tapes they’ve with them, whether or not it’s an album or a mixtape of their very own, however that's all a part of the enjoyable.
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Avalible now, We Are Rewind has purposefully embraced the previous whereas maintaining with trendy audio participant developments. A mix of slick fashion with sufficient technical sophistication makes this greater than a novelty however a unique method of consuming music immediately accessibility age for higher or worse. Now I can't look forward to when We Are Rewind ultimately releases its large $429 moveable boombox Blaster participant…
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