Customer Reviews

Sony ICD-BX112 - Digital voice recorder - flash 2 GB - MP3

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

At this price point I wasn't expecting a great deal but being SONY I went for it anyway as my requirement is quite basic. I wanted something that was quite lightweight and easy to use to take with me to a night class.

The unit comes in quite large blister packaging, upon opening I found that the main reason for the size of packaging was to house the multiple language instruction manuals (not the most responsible use of paper or packaging). The actual dictation unit is very small and lightweight (W 3.5cm, L 11cm, D 2cm). Although the unit is small the buttons are quite large and ergonomically positioned. I was also pleased to find that 2 x AAA batteries are included in the package so you can get up and running straight away.

After inserting the batteries you a promoted to input the date and time, after that you are free to start recording. The first recording I made was in a busy office with lots of noise and people speaking both close and far. The playback was very clear and you could easily pick out peoples voices without any sound distortion or crackling that you sometimes get with dictation units. I figured out the basics of recording, playback and erasing without use of the instructions that is probably all I will ever need. I did have a glance over the instructions to find that there are other features that may appeal to people with more of technical requirement than my own.

For example some of the other features are :
You can plug in an external microphone (a tie clip microphone is referred to so you could keep it in your pocket while recording)
Tracks can be divided
Tracks can be foldered away (5 folders to choose from)
There is a headphone jack so you don't have to share your playback

The onscreen display is very clear and easy to navigate through recordings and folders. The 2gb memory offering a maximum recording time of 534 hrs is good, even using the highest quality recording offers 22hrs 15min it would take me a while to fill the memory. If I had a criticism of this product it would be that it could do with an expandable memory, with the addition of a micro SD slot I would probably never need to erase anything to free up space again.

Overall a lot of features, surprisingly good recording and playback for not a lot of money.

I bought this device so that I could record and listen back to myself playing the guitar. It is very good for this purpose. Of course if I wanted to make a more permenant recording of myself I would need a more appropriate device and software.

The Sony IC Recorder on the other hand, is a good size and has easy controls just like a proper tape recorder ( I own a Hewlet Packard MPIII player and it's small and filldy to use and has an incomprehensible display). With the IC recorder I only have to worry about two easy to see, easy to press buttons and the sound quality is surprisingly good for what it is.

I only have one criticism. If you want to transfer tracks to another device it has to be via audio patch. So if you want them on your PC, apart from the fact that it's slow to record in real time, you would also have to re digitise the the tracks as well. To my mind that's like going from Liverpool to Edinburgh and having to go via London each time. Why didn't Sony think to provide a USB? Surely it couldn't be that difficult. Could it?

This Sony digital voice recorder is, simply put, an excellent purchase, representing value for money, high level of efficiency, and can be used for a myriad of different tasks, both in terms of business and in the home.

The dictation unit is small, portable and easy to use, measuring (W 3.5cm, L 11cm, D 2cm.) The buttons to activate the device are well positioned and accessible. Included in the price are two batteries, which are enclosed in the package, so there is nothing to prevent immediate use.

In terms of business, it will easily and clearly record meetings and of course notes and memoranda for subsequent typing up. The playback demonstrated a clarity of tone and diction.

Outlined in the instructions are many other features, and it is also ideal for recording lists or 'to do' items.

In terms of writing and developing themes , it may be used to quickly record thoughts and ideas without the need to go searching for a pencil and pad!

Sony have helpfully included space for a headphone jack, so playback may be private as well as an aperture for an external microphone. There are five folders so you may easily divide and organise your recordings into the various headings, thereby giving easy access for recall.

Navigation through the folders and recordings may be made through the clear on screen display and offers a whopping capacity of maximum time of 534 hours! That should be sufficient for most modest business and private uses.

I have used the unit and found it to be reliable, user friendly, without issues and excellent value for money. Recommended.

This little recorder is worth its weight in gold. I have a very bad memory to the point I can't always remember at the end of a sentence what I was talking about at the start! So this is now my memory, with 5 files I can record things to do, things required for shopping, things to tell my wife and just thing I want to remember. The sound quality is very good and with two microphone levels it is easy to isolate your message from the background or record everything(handy when my mind wanders).

The Sony ICD-BX112 is pretty simple but is as much as most people could want from a voice recorder, for the lowest price you can really pay without sacrificing quality. The recording quality is surprisingly clear and can pick up voices from an inch away to the other side of the room without distortion. It's pretty straightforward to use, and like so many gadgets it's probably easier just to take a moment to figure the basics out yourself than to consult the instructions- which, incidentally come in so many languages there's half a tree's worth of paper and the box is about ten times the size it needs to be just to incorporate these booklets. The device itself is lightweight, and if it's still too cumbersome for you, you can attach an external microphone that you can just clip onto a particularly handy piece of clothing and go about your daily business. Add to this the reasonable internal memory and you have a decent little device. However the The Sony ICD-BX112 has one major flaw that could potentially make it useless to many prospective buyers: With no external memory, bluetooth, or even USB connectivity there is no way at all to get recordings off the device to backup or share at all, an oversight that really doesn't make much sense, and means a potentially handy little device is useful for little more than helping you remember talking to yourself.

I'll be using the product for recording interviews and focus group activities in education settings.

The product feels a little cheap (but this isn't a big thing), the product also doesn't plug into a PC. So if you were hoping to record and then just transfer MP3s to your computer this wont do the job. BUT....

You can transfer audio via an Aux cable. You need a cable with male connectors either end, and you need a Audio in-line port on your PC or you'll have to get one and plug it in. You can then use a free programme to capture the audio recordings, and save as MP3. No quality lost so far. Audacity does this well and works on a PC and MAC. I have a macbook, which has a built in audio in-line port, so this product is fine for me.

Definitely worth it for the price. Quality is good enough, and you have lots of features to adjust settings on the product (like reducing sound distortion or split audio clips, or increasing microphone range....).

Buy it.

This little recorder is an absolute gem. I have had two Dictaphones before and both did a reasonable job, but this one has very ergonomic buttons and controls that are so straight forward that I didn't really need to refer to the huge instruction manual. When you put the batteries in it asks you to input the date and time, like a mobile phone and then you can start using it.

It actually comes with two batteries so you can start using it straight away, and I did. It copes well with all noise even background sound and there is no hiss or rumbling that you often get with a single microphone unit. It also has a headphone socket (headphones not included) which means you can listen to it on the train etc, without arousing the wrath of other passengers.

The thing I really like is the weight, and size, it fits nicely into the `lighter' pocket of most jeans and is smaller than most mobiles whilst weighing a few grams. It has a massive memory but no USB connection to save files onto your computer. It does have a filing system in the machine, but a USB portal would have made this perfect, still it is not fatal. East to use, easy to carry and easy to understand as the screen is very user friendly. If like me your work means you need a Dictaphone, then I think you would be hard pressed to find one as compact , light weight and user friendly as this.

I've had the recorder for a few months and really not impressed, thinking of buying a replacement already. The major problem, (that I stupidly didn't realise at the time) was that there is no way of transferring files from the device- a major flaw and it is also not possible to encrypt or password protect in any way. Having borrowed a different recorder recently I have also realised just how bad the sound quality is on playback- and it seems to eat up the batteries pretty quickly. All in all a surprising let down from Sony.

I looked at several voice recorders, most of them considerably more expensive than this one. I didn't want any super features (although this has many useful ones), so I plumped for the 'economical' end of the range. That was a fortunate choice. The recorder is; small, effective, easy to use, has a big memory and a long battery life. I can happily recommend it.

Dictaphone is really easy to use with clear, marked buttons of an appropriate size. Recorded discussions between 4 people clearly; without distortion and without interference from significant background noise. Was able to pick up voices from about 4 metres away - but those closest to the dictaphone were loudest (as expected). I would have liked to have known how much recording you get for 2GB so here is this detail according to the instructions (which are provided in many languages). The maximum recording time for this 2GB device is: SHQ 22hr 15min; HQ 33hr 20min; SP 89hr; LP 534hr 25 min. I didn't fill mine up so I don't know how accurate these figures are. I considered the version with the USB (check out other reviews with comments for how you can transfer data to PC) but decided not spend the extra money, therefore I awarded the full 5 stars.