We are rewind - queued and reviewed
As previously threatened - here’s another video that I’ll schedule for release during my absence. There’s little I can add to this one - it’s a review of a new cassette player.
I should mention that when the CEO from the company offered to send one over for evaluation, I advised him I was only prepared to do so if I could “do one of my usual totally honest assessments with no strings attached”. He replied back confirming “Of course we want you to be honest” - which was refreshing (either that or foolhardy).
I’ll get straight onto making the next video tomorrow. I’ll need a holiday after this ;-)
Take care.
Comments (52)
This video shows how to open up the We Are Rewind and gives a close look at its internal components -- maybe you can add a link to it in the description of your video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chWDaAjddF0
It would have been interesting to see inside - are you sure the clips at the bottom can't be flexed inward sufficiently to allow the door to be lifted off - a lot of tape doors come off this way
We are Rewind - it's an anagram of "weird new era". It's inevitable the noise would present in the bluetooth; likely being picked up in the head amplifier which deals with low-level signals. Most likely it's coming from a brushed motor or boost regulator - try playing it with the door open and no cassette, then squeeze the capstan between your finger to slow the mechanism - then you'll know if the noise is motor-speed related.
I love how many "uSe A BiC bIrO" comments there are, even though you made it crystal clear that viewers should watch VWestlife's excellent video on the topic for more details. But I guess they'll all go over there and fill the comments section with "uSe A BiC bIrO" comments before they even hit the play button. At least you won't have to worry about this bollocks for the next couple of weeks, Mat. Safe travels to you and Mrs. T.
I’ve just looked - I think we’ve found the bottom of the internet. That’s the last time I’ll be looking on there for a couple of weeks. Cheers.
The styling reminds me of the “no name” brand here in Canada https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Name_(brand) “Back in the day” I used to use a “Walkman”’in my leather coat - with a torn inner liner you could shove so many tapes inside too. But having that record button able to be pressed while in play mode would certainly have resulted in a few mix tapes getting blank bits on them :(
What a nice bloke! You remind me of when I was an English teacher and a student submitted a not terribly convincing essay with loads of grammar errors. I would always compliment the formatting!
Hmmm it's nice to see its easy of repairability .... not! Although I am tempted to get one.
Oh I'm sure it's nothing that a hot glue gun and sugru can't fix 😉
Given the price, and available components, a reasonable offering. My last cassette player is an AKAI from the mid-90s.
The recording sounded overdriven...but not really distorted...did you try a type4 tape in it to record on?
Oh, yea, and obviously some filtering prior to the preamp...probably a cap over the motor terminals.
With whole audiophile market I still wonder why no one succeeded in building new mech from scratch or at least buying old design from some dead company that used to make decent ones. Dolby NR “replacement” emulation should also be doable (while brilliant it’s not rocket science, some companies do that brand new for records). And while of course lossless file will sound better there’s strong market for people wanting to listen to old tapes - niche, but still…
Nowadays there is a software-based Dolby B and C NR decoder that you can get for Windows or Mac and works just as well as the real thing. I did a video about it which got delayed by a copyright claim but will be released next week.
Just for a second I thought they may have built their own mechanism, nice try anyway. I do wonder if anyone will ultimately simplify the cassette mech with fewer moving parts, direct motor drives and modern electronics. Maybe I'm just dreaming, or could it work just as well with the head permanently engaged and all the switching done in software?
Hi, Mat. A couple of years ago, someone gave me an Anker stand-alone, rechargeable Bluetooth transmitter/receiver. They thought I might find a use for it. I have never used it and have no idea what flavour of Bluetooth is uses, probably not the best. The box says, "Speaker, headset, TV, MP3, PC and more..." I am wondering of that would help to record directly to the camera from Bluetooth if I sent it to you?
I think I’ve got a few similar things in boxes somewhere, if I ever need one I could dig those out, but thanks again for the kind offer.
Great review as always - very thorough, interesting and informative. I guess it is important to consider the target demographic for a device like this. People who are already in the know about compact cassettes and how good they can potentially be are always going to be disappointed by a low-end device. Possibly people who are just 'discovering' cassettes, initially as a novelty item, and just want to give them a try may well be pleasantly surprised by how good it is in relation to all the bad press they have had in the past.
I recognized the noise imediately. Being from eastern europe in the 90s my first walkmans were cheap, clunky clones of clones based on this same ugly mechanism. The whine was there. My first "tape deck" as a teenager was one of these walkmans hooked up to an amplifier - so the whine was especially annoying. Whatever circuit design they implemented is very "period correct" :D Even so I though I could get one - looks nice and I have loads of old tapes where audio quality is not a concern but the price is eye wattering.
Great, honest, review as always, but I would prefer a Sony Walkman any day. Much better quality and smaller. The reviewed unit looks like something bought in Ikea 😂 Jokes aside - Sony also made som funky players - bright yellow etc.
Unfortunately all of the used Sony Walkmans that are most commonly recommended by cassette enthusiasts are now selling for $300+ in good condition on eBay. And almost every used Walkman I come across in the wild is broken due to battery leakage and/or damage from being dropped. So I think a new Walkman-knockoff that works OK is a lot better than a genuine Walkman that is either really expensive or doesn't work at all.
Kind of a bummer the little cassette “revival” hasn’t produced any good hardware.
Great video as always! I much preferred the apples/apples comparison with the other device you did there, since I couldn't tell at all what that random piece of electro was supposed to sound like.
Man that recording sounds like someone trying to play music on a boat, or drunk, or both
It's strange that audiotechnica can release a new soundburger that wins people over with its quality and yet no one can make a cassette player. If someone has made a true high end tape player in the last 10 years I'd love to hear about it because it's odd to me that seemingly no one has succeeded.
The mystery of how to make one is lost forever to the ancient 20th Century. We're a species with amnesia.
Looks nice, wife thought it was another ikea attempt. Nice tape deck shame about the price lol. A few artist putting out on tape again on low quantities. Enjoy your cruise im secretly jealous always wanted do a cruise
They apparently offered this to every tech-related YT channel to review, based on the comments here - a fairly clever promotional technique, I must say.
Exactly, that's how it works (e.g. NordVPN buys all youtubers)
So ... battery is non-replaceable?
Seems like it. Arguably this device's biggest problem.
They offered me one too, I declined but I was wrong to turn it down, I could compare it directly to a Philips NOS walkman that was very cheap back in the day. It could have been an interesting comparison.
After watching the video I noticed at 19:05 that there seems to be a hole on the backside of the player? Speedadjustment?
Yes I expect it will be. It wouldn’t be uncommon. I don’t have a thin enough screwdriver to fit in the hole though…it’s about as wide as a cocktail skewer.
I thought most Walkman-style players made that sort of motor noise, even ones from back in the day. I don't remember ever having one that didn't sound like that, but then again I never owned a high end Walkman. The worst thing about this device is that it it appears to be sealed and has a non-removable battery. It's as if the maker knows it'll be e-waste in about 3-5 years time.
I think your comment about high end probably seals it - although I’d expect better in the lower mid-range models too. I’m half deaf at the moment but it stood out to me as being unwelcome.
Hmmm.. I'm not a huge fan of the boxy look. Also I think I'm less interested in a portable device as I would be for a decent compact system with stereo speakers (and a line-input). I'll keep waiting for somebody to make one of those.
It looks like they actually didn't try very hard and they spared too much expense on visuals. This mechanism can be made good. They can use a better motor. It can have soft touch or logic controls. It can have a real auto stop. It doesn't have to have electrical interference. The Teac and Tascam decks are proof that this mechanism can be good enough. I have mid range TEACs from the 80s and 90s, refurbished and calibrated, and a botl Yamaha and a middle tier Nakamichi plus the new Teac decks. Even the updated Pyle that fixed some of the issues from this year. They're definitely not as good in recording but playback? I can't tell the difference by hearing. Why do these portable cassette players suck so hard?? And you can't even open it up? Come on. Might as well get 20 of the 10 dollar units and pick the good one and return the other 19. Ask me how I know.
This is a different mech to those used in the home decks - out of the two I've seen in modern day portables this one might be the 'best'. The other one offers auto-reverse but that's the only thing it seems to have in its favour. Neither are going to win any prizes though.
One thing! It is good that you told them that you Will make a honest rewiew. It is important to hold on to your integrity. Keep up the good work. Bedst wishes from Denmark..
They also offered to send one to me for review, and I accepted, but it has yet to arrive. The mechanism is identical to the Mulann / Recording The Masters walkman-type player that I and a few other YouTubers reviewed a while back. The main weak point is the motor -- its speed regulation simply isn't good enough. In a record player the rotational mass of the platter helps to stablize it, but cassette players don't have that benefit unless you add on a big flywheel, which wouldn't fit in a pocket-sized device.
Oh good I remember that RTM walkman you did. Good but not good enough.
Looks nice, but I agree with your outcome: there is still a lot to wish. At least it is proper stereo, both recording and playing back. BTW: I hear a lot on the internet "this thing cannot play Type II and Type IV tapes", which is of course BS... Any cassette recorder/player can play them, they might sound a little bit too bright, but that is probably anyway not noticeable on a device like this. Recording of course is a different thing, I guess the permanent magnet erase head would not be able to erase Type II or Type IV tape properly. And for the auto stop: that's the little white thingy between the 2 heads, it gets pressed upwards if the tape tension is high, like at the end of the tape. Was also very common back in the days on cheaper cassette recorders, especially portables.
Are those headphones the XM3 or XM4? I have the XM3s and they are excellent but the GF "borrowed" them so I replaced them with Apple AirPod Max headphones. Great sounding and noise cancelation but the battery life is utter poo. They lose 10% a day when not in use because Apple decided not to bother with an on/off switch. Tempted to replace them with the XM4s.
Yes - XM3s. There's a deal on the XM4s and XM5s at the moment on Amazon - also Bose are doing a deal on the QC45s at the moment. All of them are a good choice.
Everything should be available in that orange colour.My car, phone, iPad, tools would all be that.
Yes, it must. I do 🧡 the orange.
Many many thanks for this and all your other videos Mat! Hope you have some great holiday's and time off YouTube ahead!
I got the same colour. Yet to try mine. Look forward to seeing your review.
*must ration, I must* 😵💀 Oh man, don't break yourself before your holiday. Just looking at the thumbnail and taking your wisdom of prior videos, I fear this portable cassette player may live in infamy.
Yes, I'm worried about him breaking himself. I do it before every holiday, rushing around to get everything squared away, then it takes me half the holiday to relax.
Has a fascinating look to it