In 2024, the Discman we’ve been dreaming about our whole lives will hit the market. Here’s the MD13 from Fiio!
I am old enough to remember the glory days of the Walkman, but young enough to have used mainly its successors, the Discman. No one has ever experienced true frustration if they did not have a portable player without a buffer, which meant that it was in fact nothing more than a stationary device. No one has ever experienced sadness if the batteries died and there was no replacement, and rechargeable batteries were still a dream.
And although in 2024 a portable CD player may seem like hipster (because who still uses physical media?!), the Chinese company Fiio is introducing such a gadget to the market. It is pricing it at… a lot ($179, which in direct conversion gives about PLN 700 – but I have no doubt that it will be a bit more expensive here and I expect the price to be closer to PLN 1,000). But there is no hiding the fact that this is not supposed to be equipment for the masses, but a gadget for enthusiasts. And it is perfectly tailored to modern times.
New Discman from Fiio. Beautiful, with built-in battery and support for wireless headphones
Fiio knows what it’s doing and knows its customers. Not long ago, the company introduced its portable cassette player, and a few months later it jumped a generation and served us its “Discman”. In addition to playing CD Audio, the device stands out with its Bluetooth module and support for the AptX, AptX HD, AptX Low Latency and SBC codecs. But don’t worry – if you prefer more classic solutions – there are also 3.5mm and 4.4mm optical inputs. The cherry on the cake is the built-in battery, which is supposed to allow for up to 8 hours of playback. If you decide to use the Fiio DM13 in a stationary form – you can be sure that you will not destroy the battery by connecting it to the power source.
Of course, there is no shortage of buffering, as well as support for more than just classic CD Audio. DM13 will also play MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC and WMA files. And for the picky ones, the company has prepared several color variants. It will debut in boring silver, but a few weeks later it will be joined by more: red, blue, black and titanium.
Nostalgia prevails. There will be more such returns
In the era of streaming, reaching for cassettes, vinyl records or CDs seems… stupid and inconvenient. But I admit that I am one of those who got carried away and bought a few vinyls. And a few CDs. Some new, some old. Some as souvenirs, some as a treat. However, while I use the latter because I have something to listen to them on – for now, I could only transfer CDs to my computer. But looking at devices such as the DM13, I think that this may change in the near future. It all depends on availability and the Polish price. But who knows, maybe we will see some solid discounts and manage to snag such a modern Discman at an impeccable price? This is a project that I will undoubtedly follow – especially since I am a big fan of design and how its creators combined classics with modernity. Because you can’t deny style to this product!
