Sony ICDUX70 Digital Voice Recorder MP3 Stereo Recording and Playback

Comment: I got this digital recorder to record about 15 people sitting around a very large table at a government meeting every month. As I am the secretary of this group and have to write up the monthly minutes, I also wanted something that would create MP3s that I could hear and format on my MAC comupter. I was vey pleasantly surprized by the crisp recording of voices and the easy way it transfers the files from the recorder to my computer. The sound quality is nearly like being there. I'd buy this again. The key for me is to remember not to hold it too close to my mouth when I record my own voice. I can just leave it on a table or hold it at arm's length to speak.

Comment: We bought this through our workplace to record meetings and interviews. It is very easy to use for this purpose. Love the USB direct - saves time and extra steps being able to drag and drop. The ONLY thing that I don't like about it is the battery issue. This thing sucks batteries dry FAST! We've finally decided to just take out the battery when not in use as we were going through one battery per meeting. And the bad thing about taking out the battery is that all of your settings (date, time, folder names, etc) get wiped out and you have to re-enter all that info the next time you turn it on. This is a real pain if you need to have this information stamped on your recordings. Makes setting up even longer than it already is. But for the minimal use it gets in our office, it meets the need.

Comment: Sound quality is great ... especially with accessory mikes .... and ... it works with Linux !!

Comment: I bought this recorder for use in my church. I needed it for several purposes. I record board meetings in our conference room. I simply hit the record button and lay it in the middle of our table. The internal microphones have amazing clarity and pickup. The dual microphones are for stereo, but it also helps in picking up more voices in the room. I also use it for recording sermons. I purchased an inexpensive lapel mic and plugged into the external jack. This gives more consistent volume level of the speaker as he moves about. This combination was also useful for recording an outside tour guide where a traditional sound system would have been impractical. The quality of the recordings are very good. It does pickup ambient noises, but this to be expected if you want to have a microphone that doesn't miss any of the audio you are trying to capture. Another main factor in selecting this device over others is its native MP3 recording. Many others that advertise MP3 file format actually use a software program to convert the proprietary files on the device into MP3. This device is different. When you are done recording, you can remove the cover at the bottom to reveal its USB interface. It plugs into a computer port just like a thumb drive. The files on the device are already in MP3 format. This is great if you need to work on the files and you don't have a computer with some special program. It is not bad on battery life especially since it only takes one AAA. You can always get rechargeable if you start burning through a lot of batteries. This device was everything I had hoped it would be.

Comment: PROS:
- Light weight
- No software required to get files
- Records in MP3 format
- Mac compatible (drag n' drop)

CONS:
- Start-up time is too long (takes up to 8 or 10 seconds)
- Controls are complicated and its hard to navigate through files and delete them
- MOST IMPORTANTLY, the mic is extremely sensitive, even when set to low sensitivity. Records EVERYTHING, even the sound of movement in your hand.

BOTTOMLINE:
- Great if you want to record MP3 files and save yourself the hassle of software installation and/or file format conversion
- Horrible if you want to avoid recording ambient sounds
- Not the best choice if your recording things like your kids' sounds as by the time it starts up, the moment will be long gone!
- Go for a good old fashioned Olympus model and covert the files to MP3 using a free audio file converter.