Best Voice Recorder for Lectures

Best voice recorders for lectures

In this post, I’m going to share with you my top 3 recommendations for the best voice recorders for lectures. I also share with you research on why you should record your college lectures, what you should look for in a voice recorder for lectures, and some tips on the best way to record your lectures. Let’s get started!

Here are the 3 recorders I recommend for recording lectures.

1. Sony ICD-UX570


Best voice recorder for lectures, the Sony ICD-UX570
Sony ICD-UX570 Display

Amazing little recorder that’s perfect for recording lectures (and I also recommend the UX570 for recording research interviews).

Records amazing sound. And you get even better quality sound if you record in the LPCM 44.1kHz format that this recorder supports.

4GB internal memory. If you plan to use it often, get additional memory – compatible with 256GB microSDXC cards (the 64GB microSDXC is enough capacity for most students, and here’s a list of more UX570 accessories).

With the right settings, works well from a distance. In-built battery…I could go on but here’s a detailed review.

Stop shopping around and go and buy this beauty on Amazon!

2. Sony ICD-PX470


Best recorder for lectures: the Sony PX-470
Sony ICD-PX470

Great budget recorder. If you are looking for excellent lecture recorder on a budget, this recorder is perfect.

Records great sound, not as good as Sony UX570, but close enough. And you get even better quality sound if you record in the LPCM 44.1kHz format that this recorder supports.

4GB internal memory. If you plan to use it often, get additional memory – supports microSDHC cards (4 GB to 32 GB). I bought a 32GB microSDHC for less than $10 on Amazon, and it works well with my Sony ICD-PX470.

With the right settings, works well from a distance (see this post on the settings I recommend). However, does not recharge batteries, no back-light…I could go on but here’s a detailed review.

Buy it now from Amazon, you won’t be disappointed.

3. OM System WS-883


Best recorder for lectures: the OM System WS-883
Olympus WS-883

If you have a little bit of more money to spend, I recommend you get the OM System WS-883 over the PX470.

The OM System WS-883 is a rebranded Olympus WS-853, Olympus hacked off the A/V division to form an independent company; OM System. The two recorders are very similar (the only difference is the 883 also records in WAV format) – get the cheaper version.

Records stereo mp3s and mono linear PCM (WAV), comes with a USB rechargeable batteries (great), and 8GB memory; double the recording capacity of the Sony ICD-PX470.

It’s slightly more expensive than the PX470, but this recorder is easier to use and a great self-contained solution for your lecture recording needs. Buy it now from Amazon.

That’s it for this post on how to record your lectures and choosing the best digital recorder for lectures. I’ve also shared with you by top 3 recommendations for lecture digital recorders. These choices represent my best advice when it comes to choosing a digital voice recorder to recorder your lectures, at a price point of less than $100. A college student is pretty lucky these days, as high quality handheld digital recorders are more affordable than ever.


Summary: Best Voice Recorder for Lectures

Best Voice Recorder for Lectures, the Sony ICD-UX570
Best Voice Recorder for Lectures
  1. Sony ICD-UX570

    Lightweight and low profile; powers up instantly; amazing sound from distance; records in LPCM (wav) format; 3.5mm mic input with plug-in power. Large, clear, sharp, and crisp LCD screen. Perfect for recording lectures. Stop shopping around and go and buy this beauty from Amazon!
  2. Sony ICD-PX470 

    If you are looking for excellent lecture recorder on a budget, get this recorder. Very similar to the Sony ICD-UX570, but larger and bulkier. Uses 2 AA alkaline batteries (no USB recharging), no back-light. If you can’t afford the UX570, this recorder will save you some money. Check current price on Amazon.
  3. OM System WS-883

    8GB internal memory; USB rechargeable batteries. Okay sound recording from a distance – not very loud. Records only in mp3 format. Great if you plan to record a lot of lectures and don’t want to worry about battery life or storage. Buy it now from Amazon.

Should you Record your Lectures?

When I was in college, I recorded a lot of the lectures and found the recordings to be incredibly, incredibly useful.

Why?

They were a useful learning tool; I used recorded lectures to strategically revisit sections I wanted to reinforce, and when preparing for assessments. I was always amazed, when I listened back to the lectures, how much stuff I didn’t write down!

During my freshmen year, my friends took the piss a bit, but a few of them borrowed the recordings after they’d missed a class (instead of my lecture notes) and soon everybody realized how useful it was to have an audio recording of the lecture.  By the second year, everyone expected (including the professors), that I’d record the lectures and the few times I forgot to carry or switch on my lecture recorder, they were mad at me!

Go figure!

Why college students record their lectures.

If you’re still on the fence, here’s what recent research has to say on the benefits of recording your college lectures.

Soong et al. (2006) found that 34.51% of the student surveyed used recorded lectures to (re)listen to selected parts of the lectures which they didn’t understand. If the course subject matter is complex and difficult, it may help to listen to a lecture two or three times to help you understand it, especially when you’re reviewing for an exam.

Gosper et al. (2008) found that 79.9% of students felt that recorded lectures made it easier for them to learn. If your professor speaks quickly and you can’t keep up with what they are saying or if you’re not a native speaker, consider recording the lectures.

McKenzie (2008) suggests that recordings of lectures are used primarily as a means by which core information can be effectively made available to students. Thus, “live” lectures can focus on student engagement.  If you find that you are spending a lot of time taking notes and not participating enough in the class discussions, consider recording your lectures.

Williams et al. (2012) reported that the use of lecture recordings had a statistically significant positive direct effect on student performance. If you want to improve your exam preparation and performance, record your lectures!

Traphagan et al. (2009) found that 69% (N=305) of the students surveyed in their study reported that recorded lectures “reduced their anxiety” about the course.  So, if you’re stressed about doing well in a course, record the lectures!

You get where I’m going with this. I strongly recommend that you record your college lectures and whenever possible get them transcribed by our academic transcription services.

So what should you look for in a voice recorder for lectures?


Choosing the Best Voice Recorder for Lectures

Durability

You want to get a lecture recorder that’s going to last. You don’t want a recorder with shoddy construction with bits of plastic breaking of after a few weeks. My experience is to buy a recorder with a smooth, compact design, they turn out to be the best voice recorders for lectures. Don’t buy anything that has components that stick out – very likely to break off.

I’ve also found that brand recorders: Sony, Olympus, Zoom, Panasonic, Tascam, Roland… last longer than the no-brand cheap Chinese voice recorders. Keep in mind that buying a good recorder is a sound investment. In the future, you’ll probably use your voice recorder to record research interviews (here’s a great post on best voice recorder for interviews), your bluegrass band, or dictations: your voice recorder will do more than record lectures. Buy one that will last.
Memory and Battery Life

Get a recorder that has lots of storage memory – at least 4GB internal memory and an expansion slot for additional memory. You’ll want to record your lectures as a highest bit rate possible and that takes up quite a bit of storage capacity.

Ideally, you want to get a recorder that can recharge the battery via USB. This will cut down on the cost of having to buy batteries and it’s really convenient to simply plug in the recorder into your laptop or PC and let it charge overnight. However, I do recommend that you can a couple of extra batteries in case you ever run out of juice and don’t have time to recharge. And they don’t have to be rechargeable batteries.

A tip on connecting your lecture recorder to your PC or laptop. Use a cable. This will avoid accidentally breaking off the USB connector when charging or importing the files to your computer.

Ease of use

Sometimes you’re going to have someone else operate the device. And you don’t want them to have to press 5 buttons to record the lecture. The recorder should be really easy to use. Avoid recorders with complicated settings and buttons. It should be as simple as hit the record button to record and the stop button to stop the recording. Luckily for you, most digital voice recorders are really easy to use.

Tip: most recorders have a lecture recording setting. I always made sure that I set this recording as default, but I tended to mess around with the settings and often got better lecture recordings using custom setting. Also some recorders take a few seconds to boot up (especially if you’ve set it to record to the external memory). So switch on the recorder beforehand and let it go into standby mode. When you are ready to record, simply hit the record button and it should start recording the lecture right away.

And here are some tips on the best way to voice record your lectures.


Best Way to Record Lectures

Step 1: Get the Right Equipment

The first lesson I learned when I started to record my college lectures was that no one wanted to listen to a poor recording. Getting a good recording is very important. I experimented with a lot of recording equipment and realized that digital recorders were best suited to capturing lectures.

What doesn’t work? Phones, iPads, laptops. These devices have a microphone that is (obviously) built for recording near-field sound – not from someone speaking 5 feet away. They don’t work well in a lecture setting. I did experiment with using a USB microphone – the Samson Go Mic (amazon link) is a good one, and connected it to my laptop. But not all professors allowed me to take my laptop into the lecture hall.

I recommend that you get a small, unobtrusive digital dictaphone – the best lecture recorder.  Because it is small, it’ll save your shoulders and arms the extra weight, and will also not distract you, your classmates, or the professor.

Another tip when using a digital recorder to record your lectures: direct the mic toward the front of the class and place it on a book or soft cloth to dampen tapping or scribbling sounds. Also keep the lecture recorder away from phone and other wireless gadgets – or you’ll record a lot of static!

Step 2: Find the Perfect Location

The closer you are to the professor, the better. Proximity is king. Sometimes the professor will allow you to place the lecture dictaphone on the table at the front of the lecture hall. And some of them will even keep checking it to see if it’s still recording (I had some very understanding professors).

If you can’t sit at the front, then choose one of the sides so that there are not too many other students around you to dampen the professor’s voice. Also keep the in mind that you if you sit next to someone who’s the flu (especially the freshers who always get the fresher’s flu) all you can hear on your recordings will be coughs and sneezes!

Step 3: Beware of Good Recording etiquette

Your lecture recorder should not be a distraction in the classroom!  Switch off all beeping sounds in the device setting and turn off the back light. Ensure that your devise is unobtrusive and does not make any loud noises or create any distractions.

Ask the professor if it’s okay to record their lecture and also check university policies. Most university have strict policies on how you can use the recordings. Make sure you are not infringing on the parameters set out for recording lectures.

Finally, don’t forget to save and label your recording. Most digital recorders will automatically save the recording the moment you hit the stop button, but you’ll need to use your computer to rename the file with a more appropriate heading. Here’s a schema that work well for me [Course Name][Date]. So Chem 202 – October-11-2012. And don’t forget to share the recording with your classmates!

Best voice recorders for lectures
Top 3 Recorders for Lectures in 2021 (from left): Sony ICD-PX470, Sony ICD-UX570, Olympus WS-853

I hope you see something you like in my recommendations. At the very least I hope they serve as a starting point for your quest to find a recorder that’s right for you. Please let me know if you found this post helpful in the comment section below. Good luck in college.


References

Gosper, M. et al., 2008. Final Report: The Impact of Web-Based Lecture Technologies on Current and Future Practices in Learning and Teaching, Sydney: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.

McKenzie, W. A. (2008). Where are audio recordings of lectures in the new educational technology landscape? In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings ascilite Melbourne 2008. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/melbourne08/procs/mckenzie-w.pdf

Soong, S. K. A., Chan, L. K., Cheers, C. & Hu, C. (2006). Impact of video recorded lectures among students. In Who’s learning? Whose technology? Proceedings ascilite Sydney 2006. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org/conferences/sydney06/proceeding/pdf_papers/p179.pdf

Traphagan, T., Kucsera, J. V & Kishi, K., 2009. Impact of class lecture webcasting on attendance and learning. Educational Technology Research & Development, 58(1), pp.19–37. Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11423-009-9128-7

Williams, Andrew, Elisa Birch and Phil Hancock. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2012, 28(2).

Isaac

Isaac here. At Weloty, we provide bespoke academic transcription services to qualitative researchers. If you wish to hire us, get in touch. Please note that if you choose to buy the products we recommend as a result of our research and testing, we’ll get paid some money through an affiliate commission from the retailer when you make a purchase. You can find out more here.

49 responses to “Best Voice Recorder for Lectures”

  1. Tony Daniel Avatar
    Tony Daniel

    Good piece of information for recording lectures. Choosing the right recorder and following the above steps will provide good quality audio. Good quality audio will result in accurate transcription.

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Yes Tony, recording good quality audio is really important if you want the lectures transcribed.

  2. Sarah Matthews Avatar
    Sarah Matthews

    Frequently we receive poor quality audio from the clients. Certainly I will share the above information with my clients. Thank you!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Glad I could help.
      Regards,
      Isaac

  3. Caitlin Avatar
    Caitlin

    Just ordered the Olympus Digital Voice Recorder WS-853. I will be a freshman in college this upcoming semester and I am trying to prepare myself as much as possible. This is such wonderful information and makes me feel more confident in me getting the most of the lectures. Thank you!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Great! All the best in your freshman year…

  4. Sam Jane Avatar
    Sam Jane

    I have two digital recorders from several years ago and I can’t figure out which one of them was best in the lecture setting. I’m not even sure why I have two of them. I’m about to head off to a lecture series and I’m trying to determine which one is the better device to bring. I know they are older models, but any guidance is much appreciated. So, the Olympus DS-30 or the Sony ICD-UX523?

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Definitely the Sony ICD-UX523. That’s a really good recorder.
      I’d recommend it on the post, but it was discontinued a couple of years ago…

  5. Jozef Avatar
    Jozef

    Thank you Isaac for sharing this.
    Have you also experience with external microphone? Are these 3 recorders able to connect ext. mic?
    Thanks.

    1. Isaac Avatar

      My pleasure Jozef.
      Yes, all the 3 recorders have a mic input – 3.5mm mic input to be precise.
      External microphones help if you want to get closer to the lecturer.
      Having said that, I never found a need to use a mic – I’d place the recorder right next to the lecture and got very good audio.

      Regards,
      Isaac

  6. Mariaelena Jones F. Avatar
    Mariaelena Jones F.

    I am a Spanish teacher. I have a student who will be traveling and does not want to miss class. What recorder would you suggest that would provide me with a CD to send to her? Thanks, Mariaelena

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Hey Mariaelena,
      The 3 lecture recorders I recommend will output a digital file, which are easier to share than a CD and your student can listen to the lecture using her phone, ipad, computer…or copy it to a usb drive and plug it into a radio, home theater system etc. They’ll have a lot of options…
      You can easily email the digital mp3 file to her or use a file sharing website like wetransfer.com
      I don’t know of a voice recorder that will directly record the audio to a CD. You’d probably need to transfer it to a CD using a CD/DVD writer.

      Not sure if that answers your question.

      Isaac

  7. Raj Avatar
    Raj

    Can you please tell me what yhe maximum distance between student and lecturer can be to have a reasonably good recording of the lecture?
    I am talking about the sony icd-ux 560.

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Raj, I’d say 5 feet in all directions and 15 feet when the recorder is placed facing the lecturer. And you’ll have to consider room acoustics, presentation style (does the lecturer move around), obstacles (does the recorder have a clear “line of sight” et al. My advice, play around with the recorder setting (especially the mic settings) and find out what works best for you. And come back and let us know.
      Thanks.

  8. Ranieri Avatar

    Hi, nice article! I’m 23 italian student of Milan. I like Your article a lot but I have one more dubt about these devices. You Said that it would be better to have a li-ion rechargable battery. But all 3models you suggested are using stilo. I struggle to fine one good recorder with integrated liion battery for mese than 100€.
    May you help me? I don’t really want to buy rechargable aa battery because I may have to recharge them often with the specific recharger…
    Thanks for the effort!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Ranieri, thanks for getting in touch. Love Milan, the duomo is awesome!
      Get the Sony ICD ux-560. I comes with a long lasting in built battery. And it’s very easy to charge, even using a phone charger or a battery pack. And it’s only about €80 on Amazon Italy.
      All the best.

  9. Judy Avatar
    Judy

    Hi! Thanks for the article. I would like to some lectures, but I sit in back of the room and forgetting to take the recorder is a repeated issue… so I need to keep it on me (as opposed to near lecturer) either in a pocket or on a necklace. Would any of these recorders work for distant/obstructed recording? Or would you recommend something else?
    As for WS-853 and Sony, they are $7 difference, should I go with the Sony in that case, or is it not match for my need?

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Hi Judy. Yeah, I used to forget my recorder all the time! The trick was to store the recorder in my pencil case – which I’d never leave behind.The 3 recorders I do recommend come with a strap hole, so you can get a necklace and attach.
      Proximity is key to getting a good recording of the lecture. Depending on the acoustics of the lecture room, the recorders will do a decent job of recording the lectures. And there’s nothing else that’ll do a better job than a digital recorder.
      My advice, get the Sony ICD-ux560 and use the settings I recommend in that post.

      All the best.

  10. Samantha Avatar
    Samantha

    Thank you so much for this! I’m preparing to purchase a voice recorder in the next few days for a three-hour lecture. Will any of these recorders last that long? Or will I need to keep extra batteries on hand? Also, I’d like avoid any noises that may interrupt the lecture such as beeping (possibly to warn for a low battery), do any of these devices make such sounds?

    Thanks!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Hey Samantha, thanks for getting in touch.
      Yes, the 3 recorders I recommend last more than 20 hours with standard batteries. For the Sony ux560, the internal battery lasts 27 hours!
      Do they make noises, yes they do. But this is an option that you can easily turn off. For instance, on the Sony ux560, you can turn off the beeping sounds by going to Settings > Common Settings > Beep. You can also turn off the blinking LED light by setting the LED setting to OFF. The Olympus 853 and 852 have similar settings. Here is a more detailed review of the Sony ux560. And here’s a detailed review of the 853. I plan to pen detailed reviews the Olympus 853 and 852 in the near future…

      All the best.

  11. shalini Avatar
    shalini

    thank you for the information . i like to transcribe through recorded stuff dose it work if the device is placed inside the bag in the time of lecture . if keeping the device in the bag while recording affects the clarity of lecture then for maximum benefit and clarity which device out of 3 mentioned by u above should i go for please guide .

    1. Isaac Avatar

      You should get the Sony. It’s a wonderful recorder.
      Will placing the recorder in a bag affect clarity? Yes. How much depends on so many factors. Mainly proximity to the lecturer and obstruction.
      Recorders record sound energy as it travels through air – if you impede that flow of sound energy, you’ll not get optimal results.

      Hope that helps.

  12. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    Hello,
    I want to record my teaching classes every day. I was wondering if there was a computer software that can be used to record, say, from 7:30am to 2:30pm every day?

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Tom, Audacity can accomplish that for you. Open Audacity, Shift + T is the shortcut key to set it up. I believe it’s under the transport menu – if you don’t want to use the shortcut key. I’d recommend you attach and use an external microphone…
      All the best.

  13. Krutel Avatar
    Krutel

    Do you have a particular external mic you would recommend?

    1. Isaac Avatar

      For lectures, no. It’s unlikely you will get better audio using an external mic.
      If you are a lecturer, I’d recommend clip on mics…they work really well.
      Here are the voice recorder microphones I recommend.
      Not sure I answered your question…

  14. Todd Avatar
    Todd

    Hey there! I have a SONY ICD-PX333. It has worked well, but im wondering if I should upgrade to the ICD-UX560 now that I am in nursing school, and it is more important to me. Or if it would even be worth my money? Thanks so much!!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Todd, yes I’d upgrade. Believe me, the built in battery is worth it.
      I didn’t realize it, but I no longer have to worry about batteries.
      On a recent field trip, I even forgot to carry batteries for my Zoom – I’ve been using the ux560 so much that batteries are no longer on my checklist.
      On the PX333, do you use the speaker to listen to the lectures or transfer them to you computer etc?

  15. meenu Avatar
    meenu

    Hi. Great article.

    Can I ask your advice on how to turn the LPCM format recordings with the Sony ICD-UX560 into text, hopefully for free?

    I need a device I can record conference sessions and transcribe content into a written report.

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Meenu, try this . If you find that it’s not accurate enough for your needs, you’ll need to hire a transcriber …
      All the best.

  16. Ji Avatar
    Ji

    Hi! Great post! I’m looking to buy a recorder for my classes for ease and I was wondering what would be the big difference between the Sony ICDUX560 and Sony ICDPX470. I noticed the PX470 was cheaper ($45) and it was an amazon choice. What mic would you recommend the most? My classes are huge over 100 student with a good echo from the teacher using the mic and I usually prefer sitting in the middle. Any response and recommendation would be much appreciated. Thank you!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      I’d say the big difference between the PX470 and the ux560 is batteries. The PX470 uses 2 AAA batteries, and if you get rechargeable batteries, you cannot recharge them using PX470. However, the ux560 has a inbuilt battery and it’s very easy to recharge. Personally, I like the convenience of an inbuilt battery. But, as you pointed out, the PX470 is cheaper than the ux560. Ux560 or the PX470 will serve you well.
      In most instances, an external microphone will not get you a better recording of the lecture. And that’s because the mics on these recorders are very good. If you prefer sitting in the middle of the lecture hall, I’d recommend you place the recorder at the front/nearer the lecturer. Since you have echoes in the halls, my guess is they don’t have great acoustics so it’s going to be difficult to get a good recording of the lecture if the recorder is placed in the middle of the hall.
      Now, I find that most universities have a PA system in their large lecture halls. If that’s the case, you don’t need to place the recorder at the front, just look for a spot near a speaker and you’re all set.
      All the best,
      Isaac

  17. Bobby S. Avatar
    Bobby S.

    Your review says the Sony 560 is good for recording lectures, but then you told me it’s only good up to 30 feet. Most lectures halls I’ve been in are bigger than that. I have to reach back much more farther back than that. Any suggestions?

    1. Isaac Avatar

      And most large lecture halls have a public address (PA) system, or awesome acoustics – otherwise the lecturers would be hoarse from shouting. I do advise students to place the recorder as close to the lecturer as possible.
      If you want to capture someone really far away, in a group setting, you’ll have to mic them.
      You might want to look into a PA system with wireless microphones…

      Hope that helps.

  18. Emma-Elizabeth Avatar
    Emma-Elizabeth

    Hi, just wanted to say that this independent review was interesting and will be of great use this autumn, when I begin university, so thank you! It was very kind of you to share this with us. Thanks again!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Great, all the best.

  19. Mateus Avatar
    Mateus

    which is better to record in the classroom: Usb Go Mic Samson or Sony ICD-PX470 ?? and which one is best for transcribing audio to text ???

    1. Isaac Avatar

      The Go Mic is a USB microphone, so you will need to connect it to a computer/laptop to record the lecture. Research suggests that it’s better not to take your laptop to your lectures…most of your time will be spent doing not academic stuff. The PX470 is a standalone voice recorder, and it’s portable. Voice recorders are always a better option to microphones.
      Now, both don’t have the capability to transcribe the audio to text, you’ll need to look for a solution for your transcription needs. You’ll have a choice of machine transcription (AI) or human transcription. There are a lot of providers of both services.

      1. Mateus Avatar
        Mateus

        Thank you very much for answering me. I wanted a specific microphone or recorder for the function of automatically transcribing audio to text, preferably using the Google Docs transcription tool. Do you know any good microphone or recorder for this function?

        1. Isaac Avatar

          Are you planning to use Google Docs for dictation or first record the files and then get them transcribed? Because, if it’s the later, I don’t think you can accomplish that with Google Docs transcription…

          1. Mateus Avatar
            Mateus

            so I wanted to buy this sanson go mic microphone to try to transcribe the audio while the teacher speaks because transcribing manually is too much work and I don’t have time for that. I already tried to transcribe using the notebook’s internal microphone, but it didn’t work. I believe it didn’t work because the quality of the notebook’s internal microphone and cell phones were terrible. so I was wondering if buying a better microphone or recorder could solve this google docs auto transcription issue

          2. Isaac Avatar

            Okay, got you. You have a couple of issues that make it hard to accomplish your goal. It’s difficult to capture high quality recording of lectures (easiest way to achieve this would be to mic the lecturer). Student recording of lectures are usually okay, good enough to listen to. So that’s the first issue. The other issue is that Google’s AI transcription is not great. It’s okay, again good enough for certain applications. And that’s if you have great quality audio (think broadcast or dictation).
            So you are inputting medium quality audio (at best) into a transcription AI that is mediocre (at best), the result will not be great. Would getting the Go microphone enable you to transcribe the lecture using Google Docs? Probably. But don’t expect too much.

  20. Sean-Lee Duncan Avatar
    Sean-Lee Duncan

    Great article. How does the Sony ICD-ux560 compare to the Sony ICD-tx650? Thanks!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      Sean, I don’t own the tx650, but have heard good things about it. It does come with 16GB internal memory and you’ll need 1 AAA battery to run it. Not sure it’s much better than ux560 or newer ux570. For lectures, I’d stick with the ux570.

  21. Phyllis Avatar
    Phyllis

    This was great thank you .

  22. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    Hi! How is the sound quality (ICD-UX570 and ICD-PX470) through wired headphones? Is there any noise in the pauses between tracks? Thank you!

    1. Isaac Avatar

      I’d say there is little to no difference in the headphone out sound quality of the UX570 vs PX470. The PX470 does come with a slightly larger speaker, so it is louder when you are using the built in speaker, but using headphones there is no difference. The noise between pauses is a result of ambient noise while recording. Both recorders come with a clear sound function that enhances human voice during playback.

      1. Alex Avatar
        Alex

        Thank you! One more question. How is the sound quality ICD-UX570 compared to smartphones through wired headphones? I want to use this voice recorder as mp3 player and the quality of music playback is important to me.

        1. Isaac Avatar

          I’d say probably the same. Never directly compared the UX570 to a phone.
          Keep in mind that this is a voice recorder, not an mp3 player. The usability is not that great. It doesn’t come with a lot of memory and not sure it supports all mp3 files.
          Personally, I prefer my phone for music playback, I can use apps – Sportify, compatible with multiple file format, and has lots of other features for playback that the UX570 does not.

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