A return to playing casssettes and CD’s on a portable device, is on the cards with a number of distributors, set to show retailers a new generation of Bluetooth enabled devices.
The Retro-Tastic Bluetooth Cassette Player being sold in the USA takes one back to the 1979 Sony Walkman and it’s already in big demand as consumers take to retro technology.
Also in demand are sales of top end CD players with brands such as Marantz last week introducing new models to the market.
According to one distributor the market will next year see new retro products released that take Australians back in time.
“There are thousands of CD’s out there sitting in boxes and people want to play them” said one distributor who is set to launch a new portable CD product. 
While there is a ot of Bluetooth turntables these days, Bluetooth cassette players are a little rarer despite there being a market for them claim suppliers.
Even Sony is getting back into the market more than 40 years after the original cassette version went on sale with a version of their famous cassette player which was superceded by Apple’s iPod.
Their new Walkman NW-A306 lets users access the internet so they can download music and stream from services including Spotify and YouTube.
It has a 3.6-inch touchscreen as well as physical controls on the side so users can change volume or switch tracks without having to take it out their pocket.
We Are Rewind’s Cassette Player that is taking off in the USA is a throwback product to the past.
It’s metallic casing and simple rectangular shape are a clear nod to the original portable cassette player, with modern touches bringing an additional 21st-century flair.
The player includes all the controls you would expect to find on a classic portable cassette player – Pause, Play, Rewind etc. It also includes a Record function, so you can create your own mixtapes the old-fashioned way.
What Hi Fi said recently, Alongside appreciation for audio quality, nostalgia is a big part of what keeps physical media ticking over. There’s a certain magic behind tangible discs, or in this case, magnetic tapes.
The devices being heavily featured in blockbuster hits such as Guardians of the Galaxy doesn’t hurt, either.
The BPI reports that cassette tape sales rose from just under 4000 in 2012, to more than 195,000 in 2022 and is set to rise as new products hit the market next year.
