Sony ICD-PX470 Stereo Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in USB Voice Recorder, Black

The bottom line: Very fast delivery for international purchase and amazing product for its price! I bought this recorder on 22nd last month here on Amazon and had it send to Taiwan, where I live, using the cheapest Standard shipping method. The initial estimated time of delivery was 8th this month, but amazingly it delivered to my house on 31st last month, meaning it took less than 10 days to deliver and the item arrived at my place about a week earlier than the estimated delivery time, which is amazingly fast for international delivery and the fastest delivery I've ever had with any product I bought from Amazon so far. The package arrived safely and the product was intact and well protected. The product itself met all my expectations and some more. In fact it's better than the price it asked for IMHO. I'm glad I didn't pay more for the higher-end and more expensive model. And I don't understand why some people complain about its size or lack of LED screen. For me they aren't problems at all. True it may not be as compact as some of sony's other more expensive models but it sure isn't bulky either. It's compact enough for me. Also the lack of LED screen doesn't bother me either because I don't use it in the dark anyway. Besides having LED screen would only drain the batteries more quickly and I definitely don't want that. The point is you get what you pay for. For me what's important is the features of the product, which it totally delivered. I love that the settings are highly adjustable so that it can meet all the different recording needs and scenarios. And the ability to extend its memory up to 32GB through microSD card comes in handy too, especially if you need to record in the highest quality format LPCM. Speaking of quality, I mostly use this recorder for lectures and language learning and the recording quality is crisp and clear (the noise cancellation feature helps a lot there), and far superior than recording with iPhone (obviously). Overall I have nothing to complain about its functions and recording quality. My only gripes (if there's any) are: Firstly the sound quality of the built-in speakers are less than satisfactory. Fortunately I never use them and only listen to the recording files with my earphones, so it's not an issue for me. But if you plan to use them then don't expect too much. They are merely servicable at best. Secondly you can't recharge the device with its USB plug even if you have rechargable batteries inside. I pointed this out because I used to have an older model that could do that but this one doesn't have that function. But again it's only a slight inconvenience so I can live with it. Besides, like I said earlier, you get what you pay for. All in all I was very happy with this recorder and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a quality recording device but doesn't want to spend a fortune and waste money on bells and whistles they don't need. 2019/4/2 UPDATE: After more than 8 months of use, this recorder still works perfectly for me and I've also come to find that the build of the device is very robust because I've accidentally dropped it a few times from the desk or from my hand, yet there's barely a scratch. Although if I have to nitpick (other than what I've already mentioned above), I wish the recorder would allow the user to save their custom settings so they can easily switch among different ones depending on the situation. Also it takes a bit too much time to turn on the device. In normal circumstances this wouldn't be a problem but if you want to record something on the spot and you don't have it already turned on then it could be a bit annoying. But like I said, those are just my personal nitpicking and they don't affect my original review.

I was a professional opera singer back in the day. I am working my voice back in working shape and need something to record lessons primarily to listen back. This little recorder was something my husband found, and we decided to try it along with the more expensive zoom recorder. While the zoom recorder did have less distortion on almost every setting, we found two settings we liked on this one very much. Combine that with the settings on this one gave louder files out of the gate than the zoom and the price difference, we decided to keep this one. I will also say, this recorder is fairly intuitive to use. I thought others might appreciate hearing the two settings we liked for comparison. I know I liked a review I found on the zoom recorder that had an example of its sound. For reference, I am a dramatic soprano (Wagnarian soprano) who usually causes distortion on most mics. I only sang F4, F3, and D5 to A5 to see the ranges where things start to distort on this recorder. I had the recorder about 6 feet away from me for all tests. The settings that worked were: 1 (our favorite) Scene type: loud music -> high sensitivity Mic sensitivity: For Voice Focused/Wide: Focused 2 (good, but distorts with my voice a bit still and too much background noise for me meaning less clean of a sound for the voice) Scene type: loud music -> high sensitivity Mic sensitivity: For Voice Focused/Wide: Wide

It is lightweight, easy to carry anywhere, and the recording quality is surprisingly good for how small it is. The sound is clear and clean, which is really the whole point of owning something like this. That said, let’s talk about the not so fun part. The battery drains fast. And I mean fast fast. Recording a single class for about two hours will already knock down one bar. It is not unusable, but you will definitely notice it. The more annoying part is the battery drain when it is not even being used. I thought I kept forgetting to turn it off. Nope. If the battery is left inside, it slowly drains anyway. Which means when you actually need it, there is a decent chance it is already tired. The fix is simple. Take the battery out when you are not using it. Still, that is one more thing to remember. Now let’s be honest for a second. Phones these days do almost everything. They record audio, transcribe, organize, and basically act like your personal assistant. So no, you do not really need this. But sometimes you want a small dedicated device that just does one job and does it well. No notifications. No distractions. Just press record and forget about it. For that purpose, this is a great little gadget to keep around. If you know why you need it, you will like it. If you do not, your phone is probably already doing the job.

Update: 10/17/2021 Was not the SONY recorder, was my three microphones all fairly new that were defective. Found out today as my second voice recorder arrived and had the same problem then I found a boom microphone testing both units. TIME FOR ME TO EAT CROW I was wrong. Will be sure to Follow up with SONY tomorrow. I love my ICD-PX470 great feature that it has its own USB connector for a direct line to my computer. Update: 10/15/2021 Talked with Sony 1yr warranty and they will be replacing recorder. Great sound recording except for right track when using external microphone. Update: 10/14/2021 Does not record right track with lavalier microphone anymore. Minus two stars as that is main reason I purchased this recorder. Pros: This Sony has great sound and great price. Currently under $50 I paid slightly more, isn't that always the case. Just had it out and about yesterday using Movo external TRS Lavalier microphone and the recorder performed flawlessly. I wish I could say the same for myself. The onboard microphones are more sensitive than my microphone for recording. There are many different options for recording. Also I found it super nice that you can even monitor while recording, found out my two lavalier microphones sound slightly different even though they are same make and model. Nice to know. :) CONS: Was a bit pricey when I bought but that has been solved. :) Would like the option to have belt clip case with microphone or as separate purchase offered. At under $50 this one is a must buy for anyone shooting video, or recording sound at all. Yes I'd buy this again. I like SONY Products, and I'd recommend to a friend.

This voice recorder is the perfect size for portability. Sound quality is great and the instructions are easy to understand. I used this to record speeches at a memorial celebration of life and am happy I purchased this item. Now I have the memories preserved for the future. Recordings are clear. The buttons work fine and are of a comfortable size.

MUSICIAN'S REVIEW: Small, excellent quality, easy and safe (hard to delete) to operate even in darkness, although no lighting except a red Record LED. This hi-tech recorder connects earphones on top, so you can snap it into a shirt pocket and jog or play guitar, or whatever. Super clean hi-fidelity recordings in either .WAV or .MP3 format, though mp3 will use a "lossy compression." If you want to record hours of some conference, use mp3. The recording options for music seem backwards; to record a low level signal select the scene with the piano, for high volume you would use the scene with the guitar. This confuses musicians that think more in terms of sensitivity. The automatic record level scene does not work for music, probably for conversation or wiretap type uses. This is my second Sony, and in between I tried and sent back two other brands. Very happy, last for years! Rechargeable batteries last a long time. I use this almost every day.

I have a Sony recorder purchased about 7 years ago that I really loved. Excellent quality recordings with minimal effort on my part. I record live music, usually a solo instrument (mostly fiddle) in class settings. I took this to a music camp, and the volume was so low that I had to find software to boost the signal. That said, the boosted signal was produced good quality sound, but I wish I didn't have to go through that second step. The settings were not very helpful at all in guiding me to choose the correct setting for what I wanted. I had specifically chosen a music class setting for close up. Now I think I've chosen a group setting. I also don't like changes they made to the interface. The recorder used to give you access to your recordings that were numbered 1-199 in each folder. Now I have to go to the menu to access previous recordings. REALLY ANNOYING. Considering this isn't a audiofile kind of device, these changes only make it more annoying for a user like me looking for a simple, uncomplicated experience without the bells and whistles of fancy (useless) settings. I'll continue to use it, mostly because I've figured out how, but it makes me grumble every time because it's needlessly complicated without adding value.

I should've bought this product earlier, but instead bought another cheaper recorder that was rechargeable thinking that the AAA battery on this Sony may not last. Alas! This Sony product is SOOO much better in stability and reliability, sound quality and intuitive interface. Sony was/is the best in audio/video electronics and I succumbed to cheaper price of another cheap mfr. So I got what I paid for. I had to scramble and purchase this Sony because the other recorder was unstable with files corrupt and unusable. I'm using this for work interviewing people for multiple hours over multiple days. So this piece of equipment is critical for me. Sony is only $10 more in price, but priceless when it comes to reliability, sound quality, intuitive interface, ease of use, build quality ...it reminded me of the Sony electronics I used to have years ago. Foolish of me to have even thought that others could compare in quality. Unfortunately, I lost valuable recorded interviews with the cheaper unbranded recorder. With Sony, I have peace of mind now. Amazon delivered quickly, so I was able to use this immediately.

Until transcription services were available at a reasonable price, dictating notes wasn't an appealing option but now, I can make long notes and get them accurately transcribed for a few bucks a month. This little device plugs straight into the USB port and away we go. I carry it pretty much everywhere now. Worth considering.

Produto entregue antes do prazo

Bought for a very important meeting, playback sound is not great through the speaker, but perfect through headphones or computer.

very nice unit

Hace lo que debe de hacer, graba bien aunque eso si las grabaciones pesan bastante precisamente con una interfaz de audio puedo grabar mis juntas, para ser perfecta esta grabadora le falta poder pasarte las grabaciones de manera inalámbrica, es pequeña y sis e siente algo barata en los materiales pero creo acorde al precio, por cierto le compré una micro se de 32 gb y no la reconoció le puse una viejita que tenía de 8gb y esa si sin problema. Finalmente es fácil de operar y los botones responden bien, aun no he explotado la función de poner banderas en ciertas partes del audio supongo se usa el software que viene integrado el tema es que tengo Mac y no es compatible, fuera de eso sencillo de usar