1977 called — it wants my Han Solo haircut back. More importantly, it’s bringing some analog gear back with it. Vinyl is holding strong, CDs are seeing a bump, and audio cassettes are finding new fans among younger listeners. Walkman-style tape players, portable CD players, and classic ghetto blasters are proving some old tech still has life left.
At 55, I’m a collector — books, movies, music — and stubborn about owning what I care about. I’ve made some bad moves, some smart ones, and now I’m juggling life across a few spots. But here’s the thing: holding onto physical media feels more sane than ever.
All this tech was supposed to bring us together. Instead, it’s turned us into a nonstop freak show on social media and TikTok, airing every ugly thought we used to keep to ourselves — and I’m just sitting here secretly hoping Six drops the curtain and makes it all go away.
The world’s gotten rougher, lonelier, and way too loud. Yeah, books, vinyl, CDs, tapes—they take up space, but I’d rather stash that than waste my breath shouting at clowns on X trying to legitimize Hamas or debate which political circus is full of bigger assholes. Spoiler alert: it’s a tie.
At the end of the day, the only things that really matter are your health, your family, and the small circle of friends you’d walk through fire for. Everything else? Mostly noise — including your subscriber count on social media. So why not ditch the BS and curl up with a good book, ocean breeze hitting your face on the patio?
Watch a classic film with your kids that doesn’t read like a sixth grader’s homework. Put on a record as a family and dance like it’s your last night on this miserable rock spinning through the galaxy. Hell, pop in a mixtape on the vintage rig in the bedroom while you and the missus knock the slats out of the bed like a couple of horny teenagers reliving the glory days—that’s real life.
So what sparked this week’s column? A new vintage-inspired camera I just ordered because, yeah, I’m chasing the past in some way. Maybe it’s the creeping reality of getting older. I’ve started burying parents, classmates, even former girlfriends — people who stood with me through all the chaos — and it’s hard not to feel time slipping away as I watch my kids become adults.
Vintage Tech Revival: The Old-School Gear That Has Us Clutching the Past
I’m sitting at a café on Toronto’s Ossington Street, having just been fleeced buying three records and feeling a little bitter about it. Of course, being Canadian, I found a reason to apologize as I ate in silence, headphones on, my foot tapping my laptop bag to make sure it was still there—because, even in Toronto, you never can be too sure.
I’m tucked into my seat with a portable FiiO CD player and my Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO X headphones. My ’90s Case Logic CD case — still rocking that Y2K zipper — is packed with 20 discs I picked up between Florida and Toronto, where you can drop $40 on a used record and still get attitude from the clerk. And unlike Spotify’s endless streaming shuffle, this is real music I actually own — not some algorithm’s mood swing from XTC to Sofia Kourtesis without warning.
If you’re looking to get back into CDs without overpaying for nostalgia, two solid options come from FiiO and Shanling. Both are compact enough to fit in your carry-on, but they take slightly different approaches. The FiiO is practical and straightforward—built with utility in mind. Shanling offers a bit more style, like it’s designed to complement your vinyl setup.
Both players support Bluetooth, which is pretty much expected these days, but their user experience and DACs reflect different priorities: FiiO focuses on function, while Shanling leans more toward sound quality and refinement. These aren’t your old Discman throwbacks — they’re portable players for people who want to enjoy their music with real quality, not settle for low-bitrate streaming.
FiiO DM13: A Portable CD Player That Delivers Solid Sound and Portability
Somewhere between overpriced records and dodging another $16 hot veal sandwich, I remembered why CDs still matter—especially with a player like the FiiO DM13. Priced at $165, it’s what the Discman should have become: practical, solid, and built for people who don’t care about irony.
With my Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO X headphones on and The Cure playing, the DM13 showed why it still holds up. It supports aptX HD, aptX Low Latency, and SBC Bluetooth codecs, so wireless or wired, you’re covered. For wired setups, there’s a 3.5mm single-ended and a 4.4mm balanced output—rare at this price point.
You can even rip CDs to a USB stick in WAV format—perfect if you’re offline and want to back up your collection. Sound quality is clean and detailed, without that typical digital haze. Battery life clocks in at about eight hours, enough to get you through most trips.
On the downside, it’s not pocket-friendly unless you’re rocking cargo pants from the ’90s. Ripping maxes out at 16-bit/44.1kHz, which might bother the purists. The rubber feet could use more grip, and the file browsing interface is basic, but overall, it’s a strong portable player for 2025.
Where to buy: $164.99 at Amazon
Shanling EC Zero T: High-Performance Tube-Infused Portable CD Player with Advanced DAC and Versatile Bluetooth Connectivity
The Shanling EC Zero T is a serious step up for anyone still clinging to CDs and refusing to go all-in on streaming. At $589, it’s significantly pricier than the budget-friendly FiiO DM13, but it justifies the cost with true audiophile features.
This player boasts a hybrid design centered around Shanling’s proprietary R2R DAC, delivering top-tier sound quality with a natural warmth thanks to two JAN6418 vacuum tubes—a rare feature in a portable CD player. It offers both balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs, plus Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless listening.
The EC Zero T runs on a built-in rechargeable 55mAh battery but can also be powered via AC adapter in desktop mode, giving you flexibility depending on your setup. There’s a USB port that lets you use it as a standalone DAC with other digital sources.
One neat feature: CD-to-Bluetooth output, so you can stream your discs directly to wireless headphones.
Where to buy: $589 at Amazon
The Tape Walkman Strikes Back: Your Bluetooth Streaming Soul Doesn’t Stand a Chance, Quill Would Approve
Like a villain who got left on the cutting room floor of an ’80s John McTiernan flick, the tape Walkman didn’t just come back—it’s back with a vengeance. You laughed it off, shoved it in a drawer next to your flannel and that Cult CD you still pretend you don’t listen to. But this relic? It waited, quietly plotting its comeback while you were busy streaming in blissful ignorance. And now? It’s back, asking for your $129 and a little bit of your rewound faith.
Sony didn’t just invent portable music; they accidentally handed every awkward Gen Xer a personal soap opera on a loop. Before “ghosting” was a thing, we had rewound tapes and broken hearts—and yeah, plenty of bad decisions fueled by those awkward Koss headphones with the punishing headband.
I still remember freezing my ass off outside Sam the Record Man on Boxing Day, lining up at 5 a.m. for a free tape giveaway—because apparently, madness runs deep in Canadian blood. That tape wasn’t just music; it was a lifeline, a rebellion, and the only way to survive the teenage chaos without totally losing your mind.
And yeah, there was that moment when I destroyed my copy of The Police’s Synchronicity because I kept playing and rewinding “Every Breath You Take” until the tape literally ripped. Nothing worse than being a dorky teenager with a soft heart and an unhealthy crush on someone who almost became your therapist forty years later. Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Yes, the revenge of the tape Walkman is real—and it’s coming in loud and clear. FiiO launched the CP13, a sharp little cassette player charged via USB-C that looks like something Marty McFly would’ve rocked if he was also obsessed with lossless FLAC files. Meanwhile, boutique brands like We Are Rewind have jumped into the game, and suddenly every aging hipster with a tote bag is spinning tapes like it’s 1986 all over again—maybe take a shower first.
The CP13 sports a dual-tone aluminum alloy shell with a seamless design—no visible screws to mess with the clean look. The control buttons are built tough, resistant to wear and corrosion.
When it comes to audio, the FiiO CP13 keeps it fully analog—from the magnetic tape head right through to the signal amplification—delivering that classic, somewhat veiled, analog sound.
Under the hood, the CP13 uses a high-voltage 4.2V power supply—more juice than the typical 1.8V or 3V in most portable cassette players. Paired with a custom motor speed stabilization circuit, this setup reduces motor drag to keep tape speed steady, eliminating pitch wobble and letting the player handle a wider range of cassette tape types—including those prized, blank TDK and Maxell tapes that retail now online in Japan for more than the CP13.
Unlike the single-ended signal paths used in most modern cassette players, the CP13 features a differential circuit that works with its custom tape head for balanced signal acquisition. This design delivers more stable transmission, a higher signal-to-noise ratio, and lower distortion for cleaner playback.
Despite the physical limits of the cassette mechanism, FiiO kept the CP13 impressively slim—just 31.8mm thick—making it more compact than most portable tape players.
Power comes from a built-in lithium battery, charged via USB-C, with up to 13 hours of playback on a single charge under normal listening conditions.
Where to buy: $99.99 at Amazon or £103.87 at Amazon.co.uk.
Camp Snap CS-8: The Super 8-Inspired Digital Camcorder for Anyone Still Narrating Life Like It’s The Wonder Years
Camp Snap — the California outfit best known for its cheap, screen-less digital cameras that look like they’ve been smuggled out of a 1978 department store catalog — just dropped its first digital camcorder, the CS-8. It’s the company’s inaugural stab at video, and it leans hard into the nostalgia, borrowing its silhouette from the Super 8 cameras of the 1970s.
Which takes me right back to 1972, Niagara Falls: my mother, my second cousin Armand visiting from Paris, and my Danish nanny, Ideal (actual name), with two-year-old me riding on her shoulders. I don’t remember much from that day except being convinced she was about to pitch me into the churning river below, and Armand — in that insufferably French way — filming it all like he was auditioning for the Cannes short-film circuit. Spoiler: Truffaut had nothing to worry about.
Point and Shoot
Camp Snap’s CS-8 nails the vintage Super 8 look, right down to the “let’s go make a student film” grip — but instead of film cartridges, it writes everything to a modern SD card. A rechargeable battery via USB-C keeps it alive, so you won’t be raiding a corner store for AAs mid-shoot.
This is video-only territory — no stills, no fiddling with exposure or aperture, no swapping lenses, and no frame rate experiments. It’s point, shoot, and embrace your inner ’70s auteur… minus the processing lab and the smell of burnt celluloid.
The CS-8 keeps things simple, but it still gives you a few party tricks. You get five filter options — standard, black and white, grainy analog, and faded sepia — all designed to make your footage look like it was pulled from a dusty film reel in your uncle’s basement. Four aspect ratios are on tap, selectable via two rotating dials on the side.
On either flank, retro-style meters show battery life and SD card space, like a polite reminder from 1978 that you’re running out of juice or tape. Up top, a pair of buttons handle zoom duties, so you can move from intimate close-ups to shaky hand-held drama without breaking character.
The CS-8 can capture up to 4K video at 30fps, though your chosen aspect ratio can affect the resolution. Shooting is refreshingly straightforward: power it on with the dial, pick your aspect ratio and filter, then press and hold the handle trigger to record. Let go, and the recording stops — no menus, no mystery buttons, no “accidentally filmed your shoes” moments.
Out of the box, Camp Snap includes a 4GB SD card, good for about 30 minutes of footage. Upgrade to the maximum 128GB card, and you’re looking at roughly 16 hours of video — enough to document your entire family reunion, including the awkward karaoke finale you’ll later pretend never happened.
Analog Vibes, Digital Reality
The CS-8 is unapologetically old-school in spirit. There’s no screen, no digital viewfinder — no instant gratification. You don’t see what you’ve shot until you plug it into your computer with the included USB-C cable or pop the SD card into a reader. It’s the cinematic equivalent of sending film to the lab and praying you didn’t leave the lens cap on.
There’s no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, no companion app — which means no quick jump from “record” to “viral clip.” Unless you fire up a separate editor, your footage stays exactly as you captured it.
Kurosawa once said, “To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.” The CS-8 updates that for 2025: never to avert your eyes, because you can’t fix it later.
Availability
The Camp Snap CS-8 is up for preorder now through the company’s website at $199, though early birds get $50 knocked off the price. Shipping is slated to begin in mid-September — just in time to film your fall road trip like it’s 1975 and you’ve got questionable sideburns.