Perhaps you’ve already picked up a vintage turntable and you’re looking for a retro music fix that’s a little more portable. Sure, you could buy an old Walkman, or you could check out its latest, greatest descendent: the “IT’s OK,” a new cassette player complete with Bluetooth.
Just like its forebears, the IT’S OK runs on AA batteries and plays old-school cassette tapes if you still have any hanging around, and also comes with a blank in case you don’t. Unlike the players that came before, it also supports Bluetooth in addition to a traditional 3.5mm jack, making it a first-of-its-kind oddity that’s bringing resurgent magentic tape technology into the 21st century.
The hottest cassette player of 2019 isn’t yet available directly, but through a (fully-funded) Kickstarter campaign where backers can get one player for about $75 with an estimated shipping date of December 2019. It’s worth noting that crowdfunding campaigns are notorious for delays and other complications, but the project’s parent company NINM Lab has run successful campaigns in the past, so it should be a relatively safe bet. Of course if you just want to jam out to your old tapes and can live without fancy-pants Bluetooth, you can snag a used Walkman much quicker and for much cheaper on eBay.
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