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Having spent hours trawling around numerous web sites and shops trying
to find a high quality digital voice recorder (digital dictaphone), to
record singing for opera vocal training, these are our conclusions.
The entire aim of this exercise was to find a unit that could not only
record for a reasonable time at high quality (HQ or SHQ) but that also
had decent playback quality for music and singing purposes through a built
in speaker.. None of the following results should be used in the context
of dictation which would be entirely different. There are now several
mp3 recorders on the market that can also provide the appropriate requirements
for recording but still need external speakers for playback.
This information may also be relevant to choirs and other musicians.
I hope that this may save someone else some time. Let us know if it is, CLICK HERE to contact us,
thanks.
Testing and conditions
All of the following were tested in as quiet a location as possible (yes
we even managed to use the back stairs at Argos!) to get a good idea.
Short opera extracts and speech were used. The differences were vast.
Do not assume that digital dictaphones and other devices "are all roughly
the same" as many a salesman will tell you.
| Models tested |
Results |
App. Price |
| Panasonic |
Panasonic were the only company able
to give explicit information regarding speaker frequency responses.
Web site link http://www.panasonic.co.uk/ |
|
| RRXR320 |
Unlimited recording time via SD cards. The best by far
in terms of built in mic quality and playback speaker quality |
£250.00 |
| RRQR160 |
Great microphone and speaker as above but not a large
enough memory for sensible high quality storage |
£50.00 |
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| Sony |
Web site link http://www.sony.co.uk/ |
|
| ICDB26 + others |
Very surprised at the low speaker quality on all digital
dictaphones. HQ recording times were also poor. All Sony models were
tested at an authorised dealer in an acoustic room |
|
| ICD-MS515 |
Unable to find a unit to test within 50 miles.
Was around £200.00 |
£150.00 |
| MZ-B100 (Minidisc) |
Not as good as expected but a quality result none the
less.
Was around £300.00 making it not an option. |
£250.00 |
| MZ-B10 (Minidisc) |
Not available at the time |
£170.00 |
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| Olympus |
Web site link http://www.olympus.co.uk/ |
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| DM-1 |
This fooled us because of its "music" capabilities. As
with many other similar devices it includes an mp3 player but this
function is separate to the voice recorder. What would be ideal would
be an mp3 voice recorder. Built in speaker playback quality was poor.
Recording times are not limited as smartcards are used to store the
data. |
£200.00 |
| DS-330, DW-90 + others |
Short HQ (High quality mode) record times, poor speaker
quality |
£40-80.00 |
| DM-10, DM-20 |
We were unable to find anyone locally with stock and the
price was prohibitive. This may have changed with time. |
£160.00+ |
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| Sanyo |
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| ICR B28 |
Poor all round |
£40.00 |
Results
Well we had specifically wanted an all in one solution and not separate
bits and pieces. However we had a deadline and the Panasonic RRXR320 was
not available at the time (stock issues everywhere) and the price was
outside of the budget we had set. So we ended up buying the following:
Sharp MD-MT888 Minidisc recorder
£150.00 John Lewis (this model is now discontinued but there are many
others out there)
Sony SRS-A5S mini speakers (Fully portable, battery powered)
£15.00 Argos (You can pay more elsewhere if you really want to!)
Sony ECM-D870P (Stereo microphone with excellent response range i.e. top
C!)
£40.00 HotKit
TOTAL £205.00
The Sharp minidisc is very small and versatile and has an excellent indexing
system that took a while to get used to but is superb for singing practice,
I'm told! We also use this unit for playback of piano accompaniment through
a rechargeable amplifier, another great buy and another story.
IMPORTANT!
I cannot stress enough the importance of a good mic. Just as much time and
research was spent looking for the ideal microphone for this application.
Whilst Sony and other manufactures produce higher specification but more
bulky models the ECMDS70P does not require batteries (though it should be
noted that the recording device must provide power to the mic socket, not
always the case).
The quality is superb. Ours is used to record voice (singing mainly Opera)
and piano simultaneously, the worst case scenario for any microphone.
http://www.hotkit.co.uk/
(personalaudio>microphones) provided great service and were very helpful
with advice on the microphone purchase.
Click
here for Sony microphones on superfi.co.uk
UPDATE. 12-12-05
The Sony ECM719 MICROPHONE provides the same frequency response
as the above item and also provides a solution to two possible problems.
1. The lack of plug in power on the recording device (It can use an internal
battery)
2. Background noise of the MiniDisc player can sometimes be picked up
(though this is faint) as the disc spins up. The fly lead would avoid
this issue, though of course a extension lead could be coupled with ECMDS70P.
The Sony MZ-RH910 MiniDisc recorder
seems like a good current solution and provides PC capabilities in addition
to the vital microphone socket. Priced around £135.00...DON'T PAY
TOO MUCH!
http://www.superfi.co.uk/and
http://www.hotkit.co.uk/
are good places to find rarer Sony kit.
Let us know how you get on and we may set up a reviews area.
Other links:
Sharp Digital Voice Recorders - NEW Test them and let us know!
Panasonic digital dictation products - http://www.panasonic.co.uk/dictation-digital/index.htm
All in one Panasonic MiniDisc product - http://www.panasonic.co.uk/md/sjmr230/index.htm
(This product looks as if it is soon to be obsolete)
Sony MiniDisc page
Sony Microphone info.
Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD Walkman on Amazon (Cheapest price at 12-12-05)
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