2-in-1… and a bit more

After seeing this, I canceled my pre-order for the Maxell. I tried two of those Gracioso players but the wow and flutter was untolerably bad, even when sitting still. I also tried the Fiio; it had more stable play but something seemed off with the equalization...the bass was lacking and there was a harsh bump in the high-mids. The Gracioso actually sounded better if not for the wow and flutter. Guess I'll finally break down and try the We Are Rewind next.

I don't know if it can help, but I've found this page https://walkman.land/modern It looks like there is some kind of choice :)

I've own two FiiO DACs and both of them work just fine, but I paid a bit more than $50 for the privilege. I do know a certain noisy Australian tech reviewer is quite fond of their more expensive music players. Apple figured this whole thing out 25 years ago, I'm amazed nobody else has. As for the cassette deck, ho hum another one using that same mediocre mechanism, yawn.

Off topic, but I am curious - has the Bob 2.0 dishwasher held up over the test of time?

At last, a Fiio media player I can afford! Too bad you get what you pay for. 😔

Blimey, I'm late to this one, it's gone live to the public already! I've owned two Fiio products over the years and both have had their quirks. Plus twice I had a screen replacement I ordered for the DAP stopped at customs, presumably I was going to use it as an offensive weapon. Funny how you never get inoffensive weapons. I miss my Sony NW-A45 (I think). Bought a belt holder thing for it... and it fell off one day, without me noticing. Never found it. The Fiio M7 takes a larger Micro SD card, but the Sony was far more user friendly.

Id love to see you do a blind listening with the snowsky vs your Sony and iPhone to remove any placebo effect. Also once the firmware is up to date

That tape player is awful! My old Crown 'fake man" used to play really well even when walking or cycling with it. It used to eat batteries though

“Same shirt, different day” 😂

I wonder why the manufacturers don't just print everything the other way round and let the player go left to right?

Better to get the (free) tape2 app for an iPhone. Much better at emulating a cassette tape using music on your phone.

Just the mention of Gelignite has got me listening to my Blaster Bates records again. Personally I wouldn't feel too upset if I had to blow either of these to bits.

The firmware updates for the Echo Mini definitely improve it in various ways. Great video, thanks!

That Fiio was on my "to check out" list, so I'm really glad you wasted the money so I don't have to :D

Crystal clear: if you have a nice heavy brass flywheel, it's producing a lot of wow & flutter when you move it around, the wheel tries its best to stay in the same place 😅. For a "Walk"man you would indeed need no flywheel but a very tightly regulated direct drive motor I guess. I guess it uses this little lever in on of the small holes on the cassette shell to shut off play when at the end the tape tension pushes it up? The mechanism looks very familiar, we used to have an Erres (also available branded Philips of course) deck with the same mechanism, it also made the same sound when the tape end was reached while winding, I guess it's just the second belt slipping... O ja: greets to the cat, also from my cats, give him a pet from me!

I have a similar type of china walkman with 2 flywheels and autoreverse Still with a low end amplifier

Maxell has indeed started selling that cassette player in the US, but just like in the UK, it’s $80 on Amazon while the identical Gracioso model sells for $35. If FiiO is really working on a thinner mech, I will wait to see some reviews on that model. My 22-year-old Sony Walkman is still working just fine.

• Entertaining video. 👍🏼😀 • The cat has the best life. • These products are portable deterioration devices. • The portable cassette player's anti-warble function is faulty. It needs a very vigorous percussive maintenance session. You know, the one involving a hammer. • The DAC is a DUD. *yawn* • 22:07 sounds like something I remember hearing on Doctor Who or Blake's 7 - at the very moment when the aliens are planning something funky. • The Snowsky logo might well be an algebraic equation that Patreon won't allow me to put on this comment... that old Y insists on dominance in mathematical equations. • 'Same shirt different day' is my life these days. A short break sounds fun. I hope it's appropriately crowd-free and relaxing. Take care 🤍 Edit: SNOWS<Y

'Issues' like the Snowsky re-ordering the track numbers would drive me INSANE!! There are so many products nowadays that have irritating quirks like this, I don't care how cheap it is, if it can't properly perform the most basic of functions it'll be no good to me. Shame.

read about the Snowsky last year in some article about going back to dedicated MP3 players. so was mildly curious about it. glad I didn't pull the trigger on it tho. thanks for covering these.

Good video, Matt. I think both devices mate quite well. You speak of the relatively low aural quality of the Snowsky Echo, and the relatively higher quality, (emphasis on 'relatively'), Maxell player. I'm sure you caught with your ears some compromise that engineers in China used to reduce costs by streamlining some part of the electronics. But this is totally irrelevant to me. In my old age, I've totally chosen to drink the Apple koolaid. I only use one device to listen to music: Apple iPhone, Apple's premium music subscription, and AirPods. Honestly, I think the sound is outstanding, it can stream practically anything, (music or spoken word), and I almost always have it within grasp. But I still like to watch these videos. And yes, I was watching it using multiple Apple devices.

I happened to buy a small portable mp3 player with speakers recently. It does what it says, it's discontinued and running low on stock. All the things but not even interesting. I think you should review one so people can get angry about it and complain. Yes I was being sarcastic, hence I didn't mention the brand. I like these kinds of videos, just to see if there is substanse behind the novelty of whatever.

Fiio are good with firmware updates. I bought the same unit and it has had several firmware updates. I agree it is very fiddly to use. Thankfully I paid even less on Fiio's Ali Express shop for a launch special last year so I don't feel bad that I'm not using it much.

Perfect timing. I was just looking at that Fido music player yesterday. Glad I hadn’t pulled the plug. I was thinking that I should just save for the Sony one. Answered that question nicely. Thanks.

The Maxell has been my "daily driver" Walkman-type cassette player since I made my review of it. It sounds good and has held up fine. My only complaint is that the rechargeable battery just suddenly goes dead when it runs out; it's not like regular batteries where you get some advance notice via the sound gradually getting weak and warbly.

The Snowsky is a bit like a hybrid Toyota I drove recently. Did everything it should, well equipped but just no spark to make it fun. The handling issue is why Apple and Sony do so well. The cassette players are just for people who want to look trendy.

How would one accurately adjust the speed without going back in time to buy your Philips gadget? 🤔

22:00 mark. Sounds like a Beatles track post-1965

I like how positive Matt is. Positive something will go wrong.

I bought the Snowsky, using a pair of Senheiser momentum headphones and am happy. Chucked 4000 files on it and set it to random play so I discover music I might not be aware of. Only complaint is it seems fiddly to add a track to favourites

I dunno, that cassette player for under £40, with very low wow and flutter and easily adjustable speed, and good sound output... I might actually be tempted. I don't need to take it out for a walk, so I might well have a look at it. Not so much the MP3 player, though.

I'm glad you know the correct place for the human in the human-cat relationship.