Customers have good things to say about the sound quality, noting its clarity and ability to pick up sound effectively, even from a distance. However, some users experienced difficulties with the software, citing installation problems and incompatibility issues. The software's lack of availability and unhelpful documentation were also mentioned. Overall, the audio quality is a strong point, while software improvements are needed.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-12 of 12 reviews
Pros mentioned:
Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
OUTSTANDING ! ! !
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Outstanding Product, can not live with out it anymore, perfect to record meeting notes, NEEDS to be used with software which allows you to jump anytime, anywhere within your recording, no need to be a geek to use it, nice autosave feature, saves your recording using date/time naming convention, you only need to setup date and Time,
Very, Very Good sound quality allows you to record a normal voice conversation with outstanding quality and has enough memory to don't worry about delete files for quite a while, the low quality plastic cap to cover usb port overall it's a minor issue
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Sound quality
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good for voice recordings
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Picks up sound - Excellent.
Easy to use.
Easy to Record and Erase.
Software Program works well on a windows XP. Does not work with Mac OS X.
I download my voice files to my windows XP PC and transfer than to my Mac by use of a JumpDrive. Use iTunes to play my recordings on both computers.
I use the recorder to record personal history of individuals.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Easy to Use and Does the Job Well
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The built in mic does a great job capturing sound even when the unit is on a table several feet from the speakers mouth. The audio is crisp and clear.
The included software is easy to use and allows splitting of the file and conversion to mp3 format. I have used it to isolate small clips from a larger recording easily.
Sometimes I have buyers remorse over a purchase. I have none over this one. I would recommend it to anyone.
The one drawback is that the clock/date needs to be reset when replacing the batteries. I use rechargable ones and I use the unit 5 days a week for about an hour at a time, so I tend to replace the batteries about once per week just to be safe. The upside is that setting the time and date is quite simple.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Sound quality
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
Waste of money
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I wanted something for my class so I decided to get this based on the reviews. It did hear my prof but there was still a lot of noise that I didn't like. It also didn't come out clear when I played it back. There was NO USB port which sucked becuase the cotnrols on the recorder don't allow you to playback as fast as Windows Media-- also, theres better soudn on there. The battery life is downright pitiful. There is no off function-- all you do is put it on hold. For the time that I've had it (no more than two weeks) I've had to replace the batteries TWICE. Do you know how much AAA batteries cost to a college student!?!?!? My classmate has an Olympus VN-3200PC digital recoder. The soudn is crisp and clear and theres a USB port. I will be going to get this!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Sound quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
pretty good recorder
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I actually purchased it twice, once just to test. I tested it recording the radio for an hour or so and played it back on my laptop. The sound quality was great, really clear. It was a really small file size, about 7 MB. I recorded it on HQ and saved it on the best quality of MP3. I would recommend this item.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good Recorder, Bad Software
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This as a pretty decent recorder, it was easy to use, and the folder options was convenient. It needed to be fairly close to the subject to capture their voice well, but once I had positioned it close enough, it worked great. The number one problem is the enclosed software. While functional, its ugly, slow and not use friendly.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Sound quality
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good for class lectures
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
After a few tries at recording class lectures by adjusting seating position, mic sensitivity, etc I got it right. Now I'm pleased with the product. Good sensitivity and picks up sound great. Listening through the speaker on the unit is disappointing. Computer speakers or a headphone /earpiece are a must with this unit.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Software
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Optimistic
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I purchased this for recording meetings as recommended by a colleague. While it's pretty expensive, if it works as well as my colleague says, it should be well worth it. However, the software for the Digital Voice Editor--the program that opens the recordings on my computer--was impossible to load on my own (my OS is Windows XP Professional SP2). I finally had to call Support, and we spent a full hour trying various methods before going to my computer's Safe Mode to load it there (which worked). The instruction booklet was incredibly unhelpful for this, and did not even include a phone number. The software was also not available on the Sony website.
Since I have a very long meeting to record tonight, I'm looking forward to seeing--or hearing--the results tomorrow.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Software
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Good Hardware, Mediocre Software
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The hardware was excellent, but i had a lot of trouble installing the software. i am normally good with computers, but the CD was not compatable with my system, even though it said it was... i eventually had to bypass the installation screen to get passed it. but overall, excellent! probably one of best on market.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Software
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
DRIVERS DO NOT WORK - AN EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I purchased this recorder with the intention of coverting the recordings into MP3 format using the supplied drivers...except that the drivers don't work. I have Vista Home Premium 64-bit OS and Sony's software is completely incompatible. On the outside of the packaging, NOWHERE does it state that it only works with 32-bit Vista. Just to clarify, on the outside of the package it state sthat it IS compatible with Windows Vista Home Premium, but says nothing about which versions. When I contacted Sony's support, flabberghasted that it wasn't working, they advised that many peole have contacted them about this issue, and that the developers have not yet responded. So...now I have this recorder and recordings that I can't do anything with. I cannot believe that Sony is so far behind in their software development. As I'm typing this, I'm waiting on hold to speak with customer relations at Sony becase all of the support techs have basically told me that I'm simply out of luck. If you buy any Sony product, be ready to pay the re-stocking fee out of pocket because the packaging contains false advertising.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great Recorder
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Recorder was easy to setup and use. Computer software was was very user friendly to install and interaction was not difficult.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
It is going back!
Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
It didn't record that well thru the built in mic but when I used an external phone pick up (which works great with my other tape recorder) the volume was horrid. I had the mic sens set to H for High. I cannot use this at all.