Digital Voice Recorder Review

Sizing up reviews of digital voice recorders

Digital voice-recording capability can be found on all kinds of devices designed primarily for something else, particularly in MP3 players, cell phones and smartphones. However, if you intend to record a lot of speech (personal dictation, class lectures or podcasts) rather than just infrequent reminders to yourself, experts say you're best off with a dedicated digital voice recorder that's designed to record conversations and filter out background noises. The best digital voice recorders also allow you to edit sound files, including inserting audio without recording over existing material (multi-track recording) and to easily transfer the files to your computer, usually via USB. You can then save the audio files, transcribe them or email them to others. Some digital voice recorders are designed to do a narrow range of tasks extremely well, while others are more versatile but lack the high-end performance that specialization can offer. Therefore, choosing a recorder depends partly on what you hope to do with it.

The best reviews of digital voice recorders are based on hands-on testing and objective evaluations. We especially appreciate those reviews and reviewers that test and review a good selection of digital voice recorders. Among top reviewers, CNET's roundup of professional-grade digital voice recorders is a great resource, as it provides in-depth analysis and tests of several models, along with useful comparisons. O'Reilly Digital Media is another top source for in-depth analysis of digital recorders, featuring detailed reviews and a forum where reviewers answer reader questions. However, while a true audiophile could spend an entire day diving into some of reviewer Mark Nelson's probing research on high-end digital recorders, O'Reilly and CNET might be a little too much for someone with more everyday recording needs.

For more mainstream users, we found good but limited coverage at PCMag.com, PC World and BrightHub.com. While these reviews are very worthwhile, fewer digital voice recorders are covered and some reports are dated -- though largely still valid. While some of the models mentioned in these reviews have since been discontinued by the manufacturers, a handful of popular older models are still widely available at online retail sites. Good coverage of recorders that work well with voice transcription software is available at VoiceRecognition.com. User reviews can also be helpful; Amazon.com is a good place to read those, as more models and feedback can be found there than anywhere else.

Most digital voice recorders record in a common audio file format, such as MP3, WMA or WAV, but a few do not. For example, Sony uses a proprietary audio format that has to be converted to one of the more common formats if it is to be played on a standard media player. Sony provides the necessary software to do that, but it is compatible with Windows and not the Mac OS. Those two issues are the source of lots of user complaints at Amazon.com and elsewhere. Sony digital voice recorders also tend to be a little more expensive than their competition and use Sony's proprietary memory cards.

However, other users and some experts say that these issues aren't necessarily deal killers, especially for those who will be mainly using their recorders for making personal notes or dictation that will later be transcribed to text. One strength of some Sony recorders -- such as the Sony ICD-MX20 (*Est. $250), which is named as a Best Reviewed product in this report -- is that they play well with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which is one of the most popular speech recognition programs available. In fact, Nuance, maker of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, recommends the Sony ICD-MX20 as one of the most accurate recorders when used with their software. For more information on voice recognition software, see the separate ConsumerSearch report.