Sony ICD-MX20 Memory Stick Pro Duo Digital Voice Recorder
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony ICD-MX20 Memory Stick Pro Duo Digital Voice Recorder
Customer Review: Perfect buy
Summary: 5 Stars
I was skeptical about any recorder that could transcribe as well as straight from Naturally Speaking but I am no longer. I love this thing. Just load up on batteries and have a great time.
Customer Review: Sony ICD-MX20
Summary: 5 Stars
The Sony ICD-MX20 works wonderful. I highly recommend for integration with Dragon Naturally Speaking software. The support for Recorders has gotten even better in release 10.Customer Review: Excellent sound quality. Questionable unit finish. Good software. Poor documentation.
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this unit because Nuance, the publishers of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 gave it higher marks than the Olympus DS-2 I already own. My review of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 appears elsewhwere. Suffice it to say that the software is superb with nearly 100% accurate voice recognition. My dream has been to be able transcribe dictation from a recorder to a finished document.
The Olympus DS-2 is an excellent recorder at a very reasonable price. It's performance with Dragon Naturally Speaking 8, the previous version, left a lot to be desired. With the new version 9, performance is better, but still far from perfect.
Thus I was brought to decide on testing the Sony ICD-MX20, a unit that costs more than twice as much as the Olympus DS-2. My primary interest in the unit is in being able to dictate and then transcribe automatically. I will not be using it to record lectures and meetings or the like, although I did a couple of experiments to see how the unit would work in such environments.
The ICD-MX20 is shorter and slimmer than the DS-2, but slightly heavier. The finish of the ICD-MX20 is very slick; slick in the sense of being smooth and slippery. I am seriously concerned with my ability to hold the unit securely. The surface is so slick that it may be difficult.
The ICD-MX20 controls are well laid out. The mini-joystick works surprisingly well after a few minutes of practice. Swirtching between functions, such as setting the microphone sensitivity, is cumbersome howevr. All of the switches on the sides can be manipulated with one hand and a flip of the unit is required to maneuver the Hold switch on the back. The LCD display is clear and doesn't present too much information at one time.
The unit uses 2 AA batteries and my first impression is that battery life is poor. Sony says " 8 hours" at highest quality recording - and it appears they mean simply 8 hours if the unit is powered on. That's not a lot: better use that Hold switch.
Finally to sound quality, the one thing that motivated me to buy such an expensive unit. It's superb. The MX-20 microphones can be set to mono or stereo. I used only the mono mode since my primary interest is dictation. The microphones are very sensitive. Hold the mic too close to your mouth and even a low voice will result in pops. But once you load your voice file onto the computer, Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 --- without training --- does a credible job of accurate transcription. The sound quality is excellent, clearly superior to that of the Olympus DS-2.
Using a headset, as recommended by Dragon, the sound quality is absolutely outstanding. This unit could be used in professional settings for reporting or creating podcasts. Put on a headset while you're driving (being aware of local laws, of course) and you can transform drive time into dictation time --- and simply transcribe the files automatically in Dragon. Very cool.
As a conference recorder, the ICD-MX20 shows promise. I used it to record the audio of a television talk show as I walked further and further away from the set. The Voice Up function of the unit, which amplifies distant voices, really works.
The Sony documentation accompanying the unit is poor. The English translation is awful, showing all the earmarks of being translated from Japanese by someone who doesn't speak English well. All the information you will need is there, but it is a struggle to wrestle the meaning from the mangled syntax, grammar and occasionally strange use of language. Sony also persists in printing the documentation as a single broadside sheet which is very difficult to handle. The documentation for the included utility software is worse. It is very sparse in terms of detail, but fortunately the user interface of the software is very intuitive.
Overall, the ICD-MX20 is impressive. Sound quality absolutely deserves a 5. Design and construction overall merit a 4, the toggle and its functions being a bit too cumbersome. But the slick and smooth texture of the unit which makes handling a bit anxiety-provoking brings my overall rating down to a 3. Documentation is a 2. In all, I'd give the unit a 4. But for its prime purpose in my case, of recording audio that Dragon Naturall y Speaking 9 can automatically transcribe, my rating is a solid 5.
Jerry
Customer Review: Solutions to inaccurate reviews.
Summary: 4 Stars
This "review" is primarily to clear up some inaaccuracies I have read in many reviews for this recorder. First, you can turn off this recorder without removing the batteries. Second, Digital Voice Editor Software IS available!!!
Turning Off the Sony ICD-MX20:
Flip the hold switch on the back of the recorder -> wait -> the display will turn off. Further, even with the display "on" battery drain is minimal. Think of it as a digital watch. You don't have to turn off that display, right. The majority of battery drain on this device occurs during recording and playback.
Digital Voice Editor Software:
I had the same problem of losing the CD. I have owned this recorder for almost 2 years and have always been able to find the software for download. 2 years ago, however, it wasn't available from Sony. I had to do a deep search on google until I found a consumer who set up a download link.
Currently the software is available for download from Sony. I think this became publicly available after conflicts with Vista were discovered. If you do a google search for the latest version "Sony Digital Voice Editor Version 3.1.03" it should be one of the first results. If you find you need an older version of "Digital Voice Editor", try doing a google search for "Sony Digital Voice Editor download truckerphoto". This "truckerphoto" website has download links to older versions and some helpful installation troubleshooting tips.
Personal Opinions:
As for my opinion on this recorder. I wish it recorded directly to MP3 instead of the Sony proprietary format (which requires the Digital Voice Editor software to convert to MP3). I do like that it will record to a memory stick duo card. Since cards are cheap these days, this gives you virtually unlimited recording space. I can record an entire semester of lectures on my 1GB card (high quality settings enabled) without a thought of running out of space.
Sound quality is excellent for dictation. However, I purchased this unit for recording in a classroom environment. Sound quality is still very good if you sit close to the front of the class room. However, if you have a lecturer that has a soft voice and you sit toward the middle/back of the class room you will certainly be disappointed. The voice up feature increases the volume, but also increases the background noise. I rarely find the voice up feature to help. I am currently exploring my options for external, directional microphones.
Finally, the little "joystick" control is a bit cumbersome. You will get use to it, but I often get annoyed while toggling through the menus.
Overall, I am satisfied with this recorder. Don't be fooled by the "Date First Available on Amazon" on this page. Maybe that is the date that it was available from a particular seller, but this recorder has been available from Sony since 2005. While I still believe it is a very good recorder, I would encourage others to compare with newer models and other manufacturers.
Tip: Invest in some high quality rechargeable batteries. The Maha MH-C9000 Battery Charger is probably the best you can get. Along with the MAHA AAA 1000 mAH NiMH batteries (the higher the mAH rating the better, as of the time of this review 1000 mAH is about the highest you can get). Also, don't be lured into the new "Low-Discharge NiMH" batteries for this device. These "Low-discharge" batteries are great if you are only going to use your recorder once or twice a month because they don't drain/discharge as quickly while not in use. However, if you use your recorder daily or several days a week you'll appreciate the higher mAH you can get from the standard NiMH batteries. I have personally used both verities of batteries and I get longer play/record times from the standard MAHA 1000 mAH batteries over the "eneloop" & "Acculoop" 800 mAH "low-discharge" batteries.
Customer Review: Excellent recording quality & utility ( 4.5 stars)
Summary: 4 Stars
This device is lightweight and sensitive.
I bought it for recording memos to myself while driving, and for recording meetings & lectures. Amazing recording quality from such a small device - even when in my pocket.
It does take a little reading and tinkering to get used to the various recording modes - trade off highest quality stereo for longer record times, and for choosing the additional memory chips (optional) instead of the onboard memory.
While this does record in a proprietary format, the management software is easy to configure - and can automatically save every audio file to your PC in a universal format like wav or mp3.
The management software can do a lot more, like changing sampling rates and merging or separating files. The software does more than I expected - and more than I have use for (so far.)
It also comes with plug-ins (also available at Sony website) so you can play the proprietary format audio files using Windows Media Player. I'm not a fan of the proprietary format, but it is a huge space saver over other formats.
I have even taken to using it as an mp3 player since I usually have it with me.
Others complained about no voice-recognition software. There are 2 different models of this device; only one ships with the software. The model with software costs more - but less than if you bought the software separately. I bought, but have not tried the Naturally Speaking setup.
Someone else said the pouch was no good - okay, it's only minimally useful to prevent the recorder getting scratched. I've adopted a good cellphone belt carrier. I carry extra batteries and any additional memory I might want in there, too. I don't think the pouch has anything to do with the function of the device - but yeah, it is pretty useless.
so my pros:
- lightweight
- expandable
- excellent recording quality
- auto-save feature whenever I plug into my PC
cons: I have 3 issues that would otherwise make this a 5 star + device. (Batterylife, proprietary memory, tiny interface)
this thing eats batteries, and like a Palm - it never really shuts all the way off.
(get the AC adapter and a good set of high MAh rechargeable AAA batteries.) I have gone through top-of-the-line alkaline and super lines in 3 hours of recording and 5 days on stand-by. Rechargeables are used up in less time. Rechargeables with less than 850 MAh aren't strong enough - the device just says "change batteries" - even when fresh.
- requires proprietary SONY or compatible memory sticks for expansion. Make sure you get the exact "memory stick pro" or "pro duo" sticks, or something compatible. ( Only up to 2GB - the 4GB is not on the compatibility list.)
- also, the tiny interface is a necessary compromise. The device is very small, so the menus and choices aren't always intuitive. It's not hard, after you spend some time reading and tinkering - but don't expect to use it as soon as you unbox it.
( I don't consider the pouch a con - it is too insignificant in the overall price and use.)
I definitely recommend buying this if you want easy digital recording and archiving.