Dictaphones SONY: ICD-PX370, ICD-BX140 And Other Digital Models. How To Use? Instructions And Principle Of Operation, Reviews

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-16 04:36

In this article, we will talk about the principle of operation of an indispensable tool for business and study, the capabilities of which include recording and playback of audio meetings, conferences, interviews or lectures. Let's review the assortment of the popular SONY ICD series of voice recorders.

Peculiarities

The portable hand-held voice recorder was produced more than 50 years ago. Its prototype was the phonograph, designed by Thomas Edison in 1877 . Reproduction took place due to audio tracks on analog media - grooves on the foil (then wax rollers appeared, and even later popular gramophone records), which were read with a needle-cutter, and the sound was transmitted to the emitter membrane. For recording, a membrane microphone was needed. Later, magnetic analog voice recorders with cassette decks appeared, which were also very bulky and immobile . It was only in 1969 that the first miniature microcassette recorder from Olympus appeared.

Fact! Today's digital voice recorders are even more compact and lightweight, but can record hundreds (even thousands) of hours of high quality digital audio.

Audio files can be easily copied to a computer via USB for permanent storage and transcription of voice memos . Standard devices are not designed for recording music, as the sound quality (sampling rate) is much lower than required for professional songwriting. The principle of operation consists in converting voltage (audio information) into a digital binary code using the PCM stream method (pulse-code modulation). For this, a special ADC device is used - an analog-to-digital converter. SONY voice recorders have introduced advanced technologies . Such devices are considered perfect because the company has a reputation for developing many new inventions in the digital market.

The lineup

Sony digital voice recorders save MP3 and WMA files that can be read by any modern device and application. They have different capacities depending on the maximum recording time and the amount of internal memory . Another factor affecting capacity is the setting of the recording quality: if it is high, it uses more space, the lower threshold has a lower sample rate and therefore will take up less memory. There are also various sound filters, mono or stereo recording. The popular ICD series is especially loved by users around the world for a wide range of settings, even in budget samples. Let's take a closer look at two excellent and at the same time completely affordable models.

SONY ICD-PX370

Save appointments, lectures and more with an easy-to-use interface that makes finding old files quick and easy. The USB connector automatically syncs with any PC. Optimizing voice recordings automatically reduces background noise so you can always make out words.

SONY ICD-BX140

Easy to use but provides a combination of simplicity and functionality. Offers: very long recording time in low quality, playback at a specified time, overwriting the existing one. The device comes complete with a large LCD display and front-facing controls.

Characteristics	SONY ICD-PX370	SONY ICD-BX140
Dimensions cm (WxHxD)	3.8 x 11.4 x 1.9	38 x 115 x 21
Weight	74 g	72 g
Built-in memory	4 GB	4 GB
Built-in microphone	monophonic	monophonic
Recording and playback format	MP3	HVXC / MP3
Battery Type	AAA (little fingers)	AAA (little fingers)
Maximum number of files (total)	5 thous.	495
Maximum number in a folder	199	99
Menu language	German. / eng. / isp. / French / ital. / rus. / turkish.	English. / French
Scene selection (dictation, conference, lecture)	there is	No
High pass filter	there is	there is
Optimizing your voice	there is	No
VOR (record and pause voice controlled	there is	there is
Recording Monitor	there is
Max. recording time MP3 8 kbps. (monaural)	-	1043 h.
Max. recording time MP3 48 kbps. (monaural)	159 h.	-
Max. recording time MP3 128 kbps.	59 hrs	65 h.
Max. recording time MP3 192 kbps.	39 h.	43 hrs
Autonomous work Мр3 8 kbps. (monaural)	-	45 h.
Autonomous work Мр3 48 kbps. (monaural)	62 hrs	-
Autonomous work Мр3 128 kbps.	57 h.	28 h.
Autonomous work Мр3 192 kbps.	55 h.	26 h.
Autonomous operation of HVXC 2 kbps. (monaural)	-	30 h.
AFC (frequency range) 8 kbps. (monaural)	-	75-3000 Hz
AFC Мр3 48 kbps. (monaural)	50-14000 Hz	-
AFC Мр3 128 kbps.	50-16,000 Hz	75-15,000 Hz
AFC Мр3 192 kbps.	50-20,000 Hz	75-15,000 Hz
Frequency response HVXC 2 kbps. (monaural)		100-3000 Hz
Digital Pitch Control (Speed Control)	there is	there is
Noise suppression	there is	there is
Digital Voice Up	there is	No
A-B repeat	there is	No
Quick search	there is	there is
Adding marks within a track	there is	No
Deleting, splitting, moving and copying	there is	there is
Protection	there is	No
Interface (inputs / outputs)	PC I / F, USB, stereo mini jack, headphone	Headphone jack, microphone input
Included	2 alkaline batteries	2 alkaline batteries

Selection criteria

The first step in buying any equipment is to decide what tasks you want to solve and how important the sound quality is. The maximum number of hours the device can record will at least double at the highest quality setting. WAV files provide the highest sound quality, but they are not compressed, so they take up a lot of IC recorder space.

Lossless stereo and high-fidelity formats require much more space and dramatically reduce the maximum recording time. But models from the upper price segment have a slot for an external memory card.

Other differences are as follows

1. Extended recording and battery life (over 100 hours). There are digital voice recorders that can handle over 1000 hours of recording.
2. Some use the usual type of batteries (finger or little fingers), which are convenient to carry or recharge.
3. Ease of Use - Dedicated One Touch Recording / Pause / Stop / Play.
4. Additional features: voice activation, variable speed playback and track marking.
5. Sound quality when some of the more expensive voice recorders are like portable studios, capable of recording sound in a concert hall using high definition directional microphones. The higher the recording quality, the fewer the recording hours will be.
6. Multichannel stereo recording. Some even have triple microphones for recording simulated 3D audio, as well as built-in editing and voiceover functions.
7. Dimensions. High quality voice recorders with additional features tend to be larger and weigh from 300 grams.
8. The price directly depends on the functionality and quality of the recording and starts from 2 to 30 thousand rubles.

There are applications for automatically transcribing a voice file to text. If you plan to use automatic voice recognition software, you need the best quality devices.

User manual

Voice recorders are extremely simple and reliable and very convenient to use. The storage media are solid-state, that is, there are no moving parts, as there were in magnetic coils . There is no need to rewind the tracks, when you finish recording, just press the play button to immediately listen to the result. Pause, search and edit, move between folders, split and delete are all standard and intuitive functions, even for a child.

Files are saved in numerical order with time and date stamp, you can create separate folders (from 2 to several hundred), in which it is convenient to store messages . Hold will disable all buttons so as not to interfere with recording. You can turn it off in the same way, but after stopping work.

Review overview

SONY Model ICD-BX140 the most attractive for the price, but the sound quality was rated by many as low (if you do not use a separate microphone). In addition, there is no cable for fast charging and transferring files to a computer, only through the audio output (which is very long). There is no way to expand the memory.

SONY ICD-PX370 almost 2 times more expensive, but also belongs to the budget segment. In this model, everyone praises: quality, volume, and a stylish lightweight body. Also, users were pleased with the battery life and the ability to quickly transfer files to a PC, and most importantly, the Russian menu.