'Everyone seemingly hates modern tech': this brand new retro cassette player proves the hipsters right

Date:
Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:01:15 +0000

Description:
The Gadhouse Miko Cassette Player is part of a growing trend of
feature-packed physical music players.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Gadhouse announces its new Miko portable cassette player Modern features in a retro chassis As digital detoxing continues apace (especially in music), it makes sense First, the hipsters came for vinyl. Then, the hipsters came for CDs. And for the last few years, hipsters have been reaching a little further back in time to reclaim the humble analog cassette player, showing that until wax cylinders are back in common use again, they won't rest up.

In the last year or so we've seen Barbie-colored players which come with pencils to re-spool your tape , FiiO-built Walkman mimics with modern
features , and even boomboxes which will let you create mix cassettes like you're listening to the Sunday night charts again. And now audio maker Gadhouse has an option which looks like a certain strain of retro tech. This new item is the Miko Cassette Player, selling for just $99 / 59 (about AU$120). It's available to buy on its own right now, but there's an option that bundles the Miko player with some Gadhouse headphones set to arrive by the end of the month. Article continues below You may like This dictaphone-style music player would be my perfect commuting companion Finding 2026 a bit much already? You need a digital detox and for me, a stack of cassette tapes is emphatically the way The RetroBox is a new TV/VCR combo
with a classic design and modern tech

As you can gather, the Miko plays cassettes, but it has a few modern features too. It can output to headphones via Bluetooth 5.3, record from a cassette, let you record via a microphone (so like an old-school dictaphone) and plug
in to charge via USB-C (or do it the old way, via two AA batteries).

According to the brand, the Miko was designed to evoke the design of Japanese tech between 1985-1995, and it does give off that retro-tech, vaguely Sony Walkman vibe. Ca-settle in, there's more (Image credit: Gadhouse) As someone who frequents second-hand stores aka thrift stores, aka charity shops it's not hard to find countless CDs for sale and plenty of records too. According to a source who works at a charity shop, far too many of these are donated
all the time, and many get destroyed as there's very little demand.

What I don't see often is cassettes, although my audio editor tells me that outside of the UK's capital that's changing drastically. Hipsters can readily get their hands on the other physical media mediums making a comeback, but it's sometimes hard to see how (or why) they'd pick up these potentially fiddly, slightly hissy and warm-sounding things. Maybe it's the reassuring cluh- clunk of loading them into the slot and shutting the door, or the rewarding feel of depressing actual, mechanical buttons? Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The fact of the matter is that more and more companies are releasing cassette music players; it sometimes feels like we're in the noughties again because
of how many are joining the market. I recently tested an MP3 player and wrote about how I still use my iPod Classic ; I'm part of the growing wave of
people like my audio editor (whose digital detox continues) , ditching music streaming for more old-school solutions.

Partly there's the nostalgia factor for this kind of old tech, but a lot more of the push is a rejection of rapidly-worsening subscription entertainment. I believe a certain sweary word was coined to describe the problem and you'll find no AI-slop on a cassette album. It does feel like everyone seemingly hates modern tech right now, no?

And I get it. When trying to entertain yourself online right now, you're subjected to rising prices of services, worsening features, advertising everywhere (even in things; this summer's tentpole blockbuster is a two-and-a-half-hour space-set Skittles commercial), and gallons of AI slop that are enough to put you off these services. And what do you get for rising subscription costs? Companies seemingly squandering it on more AI nonsense
and the nagging feeling that the bands you love are getting squeezed more and more. What to read next Philips unveils an extensive and delightfully retro audio product lineup for 2026 Panasonic combined a portable TV with a CD player, and it's kinda charming This elite hi-res MP3 player offers listening tests via its bundled IEMs

So it's easy to see why people are returning to OG media ownership. Physical ownership of your CDs/records/cassettes (as well as the tech on which to play them) and enjoying them on your own terms can seem better than paying ever-increasing costs for a streaming service that feels like it's giving you less and less.

While a resurgence in cassettes and their portable players still feels like a quite-bonkers turn for the mid-2020s, I can at least understand why it's happening. The best music players for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best hi-res music players 1. Best overall: Activo P1 2. Best budget hi-res player: Fiio JM21 3. Best step-up hi-res player: Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/everyone-seemingly-hates-modern-tech-this-bran d-new-retro-cassette-player-proves-the-hipsters-right


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)