I bought this specifically to play audio casettes because it has a speaker in addition to port for ear buds.  It actually has a very flimsy case and I actually worried about breaking it as I was inserting the 2 AA batteries (not included).  The opening for inserting the cassette is also very flimsy and any roughness will definitely break it.  However, hey, it is very light weight and has good audio -- which is my reason for selecting this player.