OK. So you’ve just bought The Molotov’s Welcome to Urbia on limited edition cassette – now what are you going to play it on? The good news is that there’s a wave of cassette players hitting the market, perfect for those punky beats.
According to industry data, year on year cassette sales are flying. The UK now sells over 210,000 cassette albums a year, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Official Charts Company reporting. This marks 10 consecutive years of growth, a rise of roughly 800% since 2012, when annual sales dipped below 4,000 units.
In 2026, BPI’s Q1 data indicates the UK is on track to exceed 240,000 units, with HMV identifying cassettes as its fastest‑growing physical category.
It probably helps that new cassette releases typically sell for less than half the price of equivalent vinyl. They’re also easier to store.
Major artists now rely on limited cassette editions to help drive first‑week chart performance, many independent releases appearing first on cassette before vinyl or CD. Indie rock is apparently among the genres accounting for the lion’s share of Bandcamp cassette releases.
The compact cassette was a Hi-Fi fixture for decades, both as a pre-recorded alternative to vinyl and later CD, and as a home recording format, where it was used for everything from mixtapes, to bootlegging live shows. It also famously ushered in a revolution in personal listening when Sony introduced the Walkman in the 1980s.
And now, against all odds, it’s back. If you've been building up a collection of cassettes, you'll find my pick of excellent cassette players you can play them on right now.
Best overall
An homage of sorts to the original Sony Walkman, this high performance portable from Hi-Fi disruptor FiiO is a real head turner. A sensation at the 2024 CES tech show, it apes its predecessor in style, but improves with a solid aluminium chassis which feels great in the hand, and a USB-C rechargeable battery.
Offering a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, it’s well worth pairing this player with a decent pair of headphones. My only criticism is that the tape compartment is a bit of a faff to open - but once you master the knack, the playback experience is satisfyingly tangible.
Best hi-fi option
Double the decks, double the fun! The Teac W-1200-B represents the high-end of the audio cassette market. A classic double deck design, it combines copious recording options and serious sonic sensibilities.
There’s one-touch dubbing, with variable pitch control, plus A-B repeat for when you need to loop that mind-bending guitar solo. Simultaneous recording on two tapes? It can do that too.
And if you want to relive rather than rewind, it’s ready for some classic rock karaoke, courtesy of built-in microphone input and mixer.
For those with a collection of old, valued cassettes, the Teac W-1200-B is probably the best quality option to bring them into the digital age. It has a USB output for recording in CD quality (48kHz/16-bit PCM) to USB stick or SD card, with Dolby B noise reduction to reduce tape hiss.
Best all-in-one
“Cassettes, CDs, records. A Jedi craves all these things,” Yoda was never heard to say, but he would doubtless have been excited by this all-in-one music system. The Force is strong in this one, with a side-mounted cassette player, turntable and slot-loading CD player built-in.
The system also comes with a pair of stereo speakers, and has Bluetooth connectivity, plus Vinyl to MP3 recording - you can back up albums directly to SD card. With AM/FM radio, an AUX in, plus LCD screen backlight, and full-function remote control, we reckon that’s all your boxes ticked.
Best retro system
The Denver MCR-50 is a time-travelling, 8-in-1 music centre. It plays cassettes CDs, and vinyl records, all from a vintage-style enclosure. Good to go straight out of the box, stereo speakers are built in, while an equaliser helps fine-tune the audio to match your metal preferences. The MCR-50 isn't just about playback; you can also convert cassettes or vinyl to MP3 - just plug in a USB flash drive.
The look is very retro, but a blue backlit LCD screen adds a modern touch, as does the full-sized remote control.
The MCR-50 isn’t only about legacy formats, you can also connect your smartphone over Bluetooth, or an Echo Dot via AUX IN, and there’s a headphone socket for when you want to listen to old Steve Hillage albums on the sly.
Best for digital
Budget-priced, the DIGITNOW! BR607 cassette player will resurrect your tape collection as MP3 files, no PC required. The player sits neatly in the hand, and is equipped with a standard 3.5mm jack for headphone listening. The BR607 can convert an entire C90 to MP3, or save each song as an individual MP3 file in Auto mode. Just don't expect audiophile-grade sound though.
Whether you're playing back your favourite tapes or archiving old recordings, this player operates more in the realm of nostalgia than hi-fi, but given it costs less than a round in the pub, let’s not be too picky.
Best budget
This portable tape player may be as cheap as chips, especially considering it also doubles as an MP3 converter. With a USB connection to your PC or Mac, it provides a low cost way of digitising your tape collection, but there are caveats. You’ll need to download Audacity, the free recording software, to handle the conversion. For those who shy away from delving into unfamiliar PC software, this could make tape back-up with the Reshow a bit of a challenge.
AAA battery powered, you can also use it on the move. Plug any headphones into the 3.5mm AUX jack. For this price though, I find it difficult to resist.
Best portable
Lightweight and low cost, with a translucent retro design, the Gadhouse Miko cassette player is an authentic throwback to the heyday of cassette culture.
Now, as then, the overall experience is simple and tactile. In addition to self explanatory buttons for Play, Fast-Forward, Rewind, Stop and Record, there’s a 3.5mm minijack input for mixtape recording, plus a built-in microphone for taking voice notes, or recording personal messages.
You can listen via the wired 3.5mm stereo output, or using Bluetooth 5.3. Juice comes from either an AA battery, or USB-C power.
Cheap and definitely cheerful.
Best boombox
It’s not just portable players that are riding the cassette revival, the boombox is back with a vengeance, in the shape of the GB-001, from We Are Rewind.
This formidable transportable, also known as the Curtis, delivers pronounced stereo courtesy of left and right woofers and a pair of soft-dome tweeters, all powered by 104 Watts of amplification.
Styling takes its cues from the 1980s, albeit with better tech and a rechargeable, replaceable battery. Backlit VU meters monitor playback and recording levels, and there’s a mic input to make live recordings.
Sound quality has the scale and presence you might expect from a mini Hi-Fi system. Tape stability is top notch, with plenty of visceral attack. The perfect soulmate for your cassette copy of Five Finger Death Punch’s Legacy.
The cassette mechanism supports both Type I and Type II chrome tapes, with optimised biasing, while an active AC erase head helps to keep noise down and frequency response consistent when making recordings.
Of course, the Curtis doesn’t just play tapes. There’s Bluetooth 5.4 for easy smartphone pairing, plus a 3.5mm input for connecting local sources.
FAQ
Cassette sales may be slightly on the up, but the choice in what you can play them on remains limited. This isn't really a surprise given tapes' small market share when it comes to how we digest music. The good news, though, is there’s still a solid choice available, whether you want to relive the days of portable playback, or make your own recordings at home.
If you’re buying a cassette player to listen to pre-recorded cassettes, look to see if it offers Dolby B noise reduction (or an equivalent). Dolby B goes a long way to minimising tape hiss on cassettes, resulting in cleaner, better quality sound.
If you’re buying on the second-hand market, condition is everything. Ensure that any cassette player has been well maintained, and avoid anything that looks like it’s been mouldering in a shed for decades.
It's also worth noting before you buy how many cassettes are available to purchase. More and more mainstream artists are releasing tapes along with vinyl editions of their latest albums, but the choice, at the moment, is limited.
However, a quick glance on Bandcamp will show you that more artists using that particular platform sell cassettes through their merch tab. It's a fun way to collect albums - and although they are manufactured in limited quantities, buying them will give more money directly to the artist.
How we test
When I was a teenager back in the 1980s, the vast majority of my music collection was in the form of cassette tapes - so it's pleasing for me to see the humble tape make something of a comeback.
That said, they're not as convenient to use as vinyl or streaming, but they're a nice option to have and collecting them won't take up too much space. So when testing some of the best cassette players currently on the market, I used several new releases along with some older tapes - which surprisingly performed well given the passage of time.
I took a look at the players' mechanisms, design and ease of use - along with how they performed and took into account their aesthetic appeal. Price was also a factor, with several on our list coming in at the cheaper end of the market. That's no bad thing if you're just discovering music cassettes for the first time and don't want to go all-in on an expensive piece of hi-fi equipment.
In addition, many modern cassette players can also convert tracks into MP3, so where applicable, I looked at how easy this was, if a flash drive was needed or if an additional software download was required.
Why you can trust us
⚡ Louder was established in 2017 and founded on long-running brands including Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog (launched in 1986, 1998 and 2009 respectively)
⚡ Over 80,000 products reviewed on site, from music listening tech to albums and box sets
⚡ Our reviewers are all passionate music fans who draw on decades of testing experience
Louder’s reviewing team consists of music fans, musicians and professional product testers, who between them have accumulated decades of product reviewing experience, writing thousands of words on music listening gear across thousands of reviews on Louder. Our tests also inform our buyer's guide - just like this one.
As lifelong music fans, we're serious about the tech we listen to our favourite artists on. We want them to sound incredible, giving us all the detail those bands intended us to hear, and deliver the perfect balance of bass, mids and highs.
We're looking for pure immersion in our chosen sounds, whether it's a classic '70s rock album, or a cutting-edge noise band.
Meet the expert
Steve is a home entertainment technology specialist who contributes to a variety of UK websites and mags, including Louder Sound, Yahoo UK, Trusted Reviews, T3, The Luxe Review and Home Cinema Choice. Steve began his career as a music journo, writing for legendary rock weekly Sounds, under the nom de plume Steve Keaton. His coverage of post punk music was cited in the 2015 British Library exhibition Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination, as a seminal influence on the Goth music scene.
Latest updates
23/09/26: The guide has been updated with new information and new product entries. We've also added a section on why you can trust the Louder team when selecting a new cassette player. In addition, there's a meet the expert bio so you can learn more about the author of this buyer's guide.
Read more
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
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