I have a love / hate relationship with CP-13. My single biggest complaint is it’s light on bass. Here’s the thing - I actually don’t like players with Xtra Bass, Super Bass, or what ever the manufacturers marketing term happens to be. 100% of the time when I turn it on, the bass just runs all over the mids and highs. To me it’s a gimmick. That said, the CP-13 is really thin on bass. Even for me. I almost think I’d welcome a Super Bass switch. Now - here’s where this player really shines. Clarity, imaging, and stereo separation are exceptionally good. This evening I grabbed several vintage players, my favorite pair of IEM’s (Zero:2), and a Maxell XLII cassette with Depeche Mode’s Behind the Wheel - freshly recorded on a Harman Kardon tape deck. The Radio Shack (a rebranded AIWA), the actual AIWA, and the GE all had better bass and sounded richer and fuller, but at the expense of of all the things the CP-13 excels at - clarity, separation, and imaging. The CP-13’s sound stage, clarity, stereo separation, and imaging are a pleasure to hear. It ticks every box except an appropriate amount of bass. a small EQ or a variable bass control would really make the CP-13 shine. To be fair, I do not own any high-end Walkmans for comparison against the CP-13. I can’t justify spending that much money on such a tiny device. If I’m going to spend hundreds of dollars it’s going to be a boombox. Anyway I love the CP-13. And I don’t. I have high hopes for the upcoming CP-15. If they can dial in some bass and retain clarity, separation, imaging, and sound stage they’ll have a winner.
I would bet the CP-15 has a good chance of addressing some if not all of these issues. From what I understand they are serious about improving the cassette experience overall. Time will tell. I mean, I know it's weird, I'm not in the market for any modern tape players, but I want to see them succeed and "knock the ball out of the park"
