Inside View from Ireland: Best dictaphone

ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT used every dictaphone on the market, the one I can strongly recommend is the Sony ICD MX-20 digital dictaphone. I recommend it because no fewer than 1000 people come looking here every month to things I have written about the clever device. Oftentimes, they're looking for software to update their two or three year old Sony dictaphone. Other times, they're interested in the audio recording qualities. I've started telling podcast listeners when I'm using the MX-20 without any external microsphone in specific podcast segments. If you have half an ear, you can tell that yourself. For example, the lady on the street at 40:10 of Underway in Ireland #37 [32.7 MB 96kbps MP3 file] is recorded with the MX20 in my Bihn Bag. The comments section starting at 42:30 is recorded with an external mic, the white MXL that I call my iPod mic. Then the credits, starting at 45:32 are recorded with no mic. They are recorded on the Sony ICD MX-20 that I bought with no subvention.

I handle an average of two requests every week from lecturers or mature students about the ICD MX-20. One request asks for software patches. The other asks me to confirm directly that the MX-20 segment they hear on the podcast is actually a recording done without an external mic. I'm now emphasising this point directly inside podcasts from Ireland because people just don't believe the audio can be that good. I also compare notes with lecturers and business speakers about using the ICD MX-20 as a lapel mic. If you need to record a speaker for posterity, there's nothing better than recording at source--in the speaker's front coat pocket--because you avoid all noise from venue electronics, lighting dimmers, and extraneous humming noises.

Audiophiles know why this apparently high quality evolves. They know the ICD MX-20 comes with a proper switchable stereo microphone on board. They know the Sony MSV format captures better audio quality than an MP3 recorder. They know when the files convert to 96 kbps MP3 files, the best listening parts remain. They have heard my segments where I've recorded music at concerts using the device and then it's obvious that the onboard microphone lacks punch.

But if you're in the business of recording meetings, client conference calls, lectures or podcasts, you need to seriously consider whether you want to pay $300 (€260 in Ireland) for the Sony ICD MX-20. You might not need it. But if you get one, you might not believe your ears.

Image soon of the ICD MX-20 being used to record a phone call in-line by using a €14 Recall-It product.
Underway in Ireland -- "On the Show"
Previously on IrishEyes -- "Sony Digital Voice Editor Software" and my Bihn Bag.