This trendy Bluetooth cassette player (and matching retro wireless headphones) might have been my favorite music experience at CES 2025

In an age where even casual music fans know how miserable streaming services can be when it comes to paying artists, the return of physical media was perhaps inevitable. Last year alone, vinyl record sales grew 10.5% with 6.7 million records sold thanks to artists such as Taylor Swift and Fleetwood Mac. Although CD sales remained constant, tape sales cassettes have also made a strong comeback.

From 81,000 units in 2015 to 436,400 in 2022, the resurgence has been driven by Generation Z’s adoption of nostalgic formats and affordability. Artists are releasing albums on tape for as little as $10, which is a fraction of newly released vinyl, which is significantly more expensive. So it makes sense that French brand We Are Rewind aims to offer a stylish yet incredibly functional cassette tape player, inspired by Sony’s original Walkman. During my time with the device at CES 2025, it delivered on its promise.

Available in four color combinations for around $160, there’s a lot to appreciate about this audio device. The We Are Rewind cassette player works with all versions of tapes, from I (which only has write-protect notches) to IV (which has a third notch near the center of the top of the cassette case ). When it comes to playback, the device supports two-track stereo with a quoted frequency response of 30 Hz to 12,500 Hz, a signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB, and minimal distortion.

The player uses Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity to connect to the best wireless headphones and the best Bluetooth speakers. We Are Rewind also has $52 retro-style EQ-001 over-ear headphones that come with three interchangeable ear pads. These feature a 12-hour battery life and three equalizer modes for personalized audio experiences. The headphones also work on smartphones and offer voice assistant support.

If you want to keep it old school, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for the best wired headphones and an additional 3.5mm jack for recording to Type I tapes, which I love. Recording quality is quite high, with a frequency response of 30 Hz to 10,000 Hz, a signal-to-noise ratio of 45 dB, and a typical distortion of 1%. The We Are Rewind cassette player is powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides approximately 10 to 12 hours of extended use.

During my time with the device, there were a handful of cassette tapes to use, including The Weeknd, Linkin Park, and The Saints, among others. Thanks to the cassette player’s internal technology, I enjoyed the warm, smooth audio quality, but it omitted the confusing hiss. I think the best way to explain it is a combination of the bold sounds of vinyl with the clarity of a compact disc.

Add headphones to the situation and it becomes a unique retro combination and listening experience, and I had a great time. Users will have to be intentional with the tapes they have with them, whether it’s an album or a mixtape of their own, but that’s part of the fun.