Sony ICD-MX20 Memory Stick Pro Duo Digital Voice Recorder by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony ICD-MX20 Memory Stick Pro Duo Digital Voice Recorder
Digital camera Review: The Sony ICD-MX20 Recorder is a great little unit
Summary: 5 Stars
The Sony ICD-MX20 is an amazing little stereo recorder. It is well worth the money if you understand recording devises and can handle more complex type devices. The sound quality is very good, 60 to 17,500 Hz.
FILE STRUCTURE: The proprietary file compression process Sony has is nothing short of fantastic. It is hard to understand how they can squeeze so much into such a small file size. The Sony files can be converted into Wav files with very little effort. Yes, you need a secondary program to convert into mp3 files, but anyone serious about high quality recorders would already have this low cost software.
NAMING FOLDERS: I have read other reviews saying you can not name the folders. This is true if you try from the recorder; however, it is very easy to name them, using the Sony software that comes with the unit. They display on the recorder with the same name.
BATTERIES: As far as eating batteries, if you make use of the "Hold" switch on the back of the recorder, batteries will last a fair amount of time. You can also turn off the record LED, and the display back lighting if you wish, to conserve battery life. I consistently get at least 11 and sometimes up to 12.5 hours of recorded time per set of standard alkaline AAA batteries. If you plan not to use the recorder for an extended amount of time, remove the batteries.
MEMORY: You do NOT have to use Sony proprietary memory sticks. I have two of SanDisk 256 MB memory stick PRO Duo that work fine in this recorder. One of these 256 MB memory sticks is good for more then 11 hours of record time at the highest quality sound.
SUMMERY: If you think you might want to buy this recorder I can understand how some people would be disappointed, if they just picked it up and tried to use it. I believe that reading the manual on this recorder is a must. It has a large number of options on how it records. If you pick the wrong options, you are almost guaranteed to have poor results. If you read through the manual and set things for the type of recording you really want, this little machine will do a fantastic job. It will deliver near CD quality sound, with no recorder motor noise, no microphone background hiss, or pops, just clear clean sound.
Digital camera Review: Very Poor Sound Quality
Summary: 1 Stars
I have returned this product. The sound quality and sensitivity was very poor. Other reviews do not report this, but the one I had produced virtually unusable recordings.
Also, the toggle for the menu was very sensitive and I often had to make several trys to complete an operation.
Very disappointing.
Digital camera Review: A disgrace to sony, here's why in point form
Summary: 1 Stars
-small button size
-recording time is crap when used with the best batteries
-hold button, many bugs with
-bugs; files often end corrupt in various ways, meaning you get f***ed over
-software is crap, also it cant convert to mp3, o and did i mention you have to convert in general not true for all ic recorders, which others record directly in mp3 for example
-mic is without noice reduction
-device is the most fragile ic recorder ever
-a consumer grade product, not a professional grade product
Go with the following: ds-2200 made by olympus, it smokes this ic recorder by a mile, and its tough and goes for about the same price perhaps cheaper.
Digital camera Review: Good Product
Summary: 3 Stars
I like this product. However, it does not allow you to name the folders. The model I purchased two years ago will do that. Also, the memory stick is a proprietary item. I wanted to use an off the shelf memory stick. The best part is the reliability of Amazon. The order arrived when they said it would.Digital camera Review: No MP3 support but very high quality device
Summary: 4 Stars
I was mislead with Amazon review which said it supports conversion to MP3 format with the software supplied, it does not. The help quite clearly states "You cannot convert a file into an MP3 file". It will convert to .wav then you can use a 3rd party program to go to MP3.
If it had MP3 support (at least conversion on the PC from the Sony proprietary format which is .msv) I would have given it 5 stars due to the good software supplied and the amazing sound quality possible. It you record in full quality mode (1.25 hours with built in 32meg memory) and listen to it again with good headphones it does sound amazing. The Voice Up (so you hear each person in a conversation) works very well as do other nice features.
But it is let down with the software supplied not performing MP3 conversion. Going to .wav then .mp3 with another program is a pain and simply converting to .wav to get away from proprietary .msv takes up too much space.
But I would buy one again, as it is very easy to use, small, and very high quality. I just hope Sony would listen to consumers and support MP3.