Sony ICD-ux570 Accessories

Date: May 21, 2020 Author: Isaac Comments: Leave a reply

USB PC/Charging Cable It’s possible to charge/connect your Sony ux570 recorder to your PC/Mac without a cable, but the built in USB is the weakest part on this recorder. If breaks off, you are left with a very light paperweight. Now, the cable you should get depends on your PC/Mac. If you own an older computer (PC/Mac) that comes with the full size USB port, get this Female to Male USB-A cable (Amazon link). If you own a newer computer (PC or Mac) with a USB Type C port, get this Female to Male USB A to USB-C cable (Amazon link). If you are on a Mac computer that has a lightening port, get this Female to Male USB A to lightening cable (Amazon link). Carrying Case A carrying case is a great accessory that protects your Sony ux570 from scratches, falls, bumps etc. The ux570 is relatively small, so most hard cases are… Continue reading…

Best Voice Recorder for Interviews (Updated 2020)

Date: May 19, 2020 Author: Isaac Comments: 99 Replies

There’s a myriad of ways to record your research interviews. You could use your phone, laptop, or even a camcorder. However, I strongly recommend using a digital voice recorder. Handheld digital voice recorders are compact, affordable and enable you to easily manage the audio recordings, which makes the process of getting your dissertation interview transcripts easy and cost effective.

Summary: Best Recorder for Interviews
Sony ICD-ux570: lightweight and low profile; powers up instantly; amazing sound Continue reading…

Best Audio Recorder for Focus Groups (updated 2020)

Author: Isaac Comments: 16 Replies

Recording focus group discussion is not easy. Focus groups are notoriously hard to control and manage. But crucially, you’ll have to record sound from different sources and directions. That’s not easy. Luckily for you, there’s recording equipment that make recording focus group discussion easier. And that’s my intention, to share with you the best focus group recording devices.
In a previous post, I shared a general outline of how to record a focus group discussion Continue reading…

Sony ICD-ux560 vs Sony ICD-ux570

Date: May 18, 2020 Author: Isaac Comments: 2 Replies

Sony ICD-ux570 compared to Sony ICD-ux560

If you are looking to make a buying decision between the ux560 and the ux570, here’s my advice. Head over to Amazon (I’ve found Amazon offers the lowest prices) and compare the price of the ux560 and ux570. Whichever is cheaper, buy it. There’s very little that differentiates the ux560 from the ux570. Continue reading…

Sony ICD-ux570 Review

Author: Isaac Comments: 4 Replies

The ux570 is a wonderful voice recorder. It’s compact, easily portable and can easily fit in your pocket or bag. Records good audio using the 44.1kHz/16bit audio format and the right setting and allows you to monitor your recording. The LCF and NCF filters are powerful and help reduce noise when recording in a noisy location. And the ux570 provides plugin power through it’s 3.5mm TRS mic input.
The USB connector is poorly designed and can lead to a lot of mishaps, I recommend you buy a male to female USB-A cable and use it connect the ux570 to your computer. Without any reservations, I recommend the Sony ICD-ux570 for recording interviews, lectures, focus group discussions and meetings.
Continue reading…

Sony ICD-ux560 and External Microphones

Date: January 13, 2020 Author: Isaac Comments: Leave a reply

Been getting a lot of questions about the Sony ICD-ux560 and external microphones. Which made me realize that we don’t have a comprehensive post on using external microphones on the Sony ICD-ux560. However, we do have a post on when you should consider using an external microphone and 3 external microphone recommendations. And we have another post on choosing a clip on microphone for interviews. Irrespective of those 2 posts, we don’t recommend using external microphone for recording your research interviews. That’s because, in most cases, using external microphones will not get you significantly better audio than using a good voice recorder. Obviously, there are caveats to that statement: if you are recording focus groups or group interviews, meetings, or recording interviews in noisy locations. For 1-on-1 research interviews in quiet locations, a good voice recorder (see our recommendations here) is more than sufficient. If you want to get studio quality audio recordings of… Continue reading…

Sony ICD-ux560 Accessories

Date: October 3, 2019 Author: Isaac Comments: Leave a reply

USB PC/Charging Cable As I outlined in this post on how to take care of your Sony ICD-ux560, I consider this cable a must have accessory. It’s possible to charge and connect your Sony recorder to your PC/Mac without a cable, but the built in USB is the weakest part on this recorder. And if breaks off, you are left with a very light paperweight. Now, the cable you get will depend on your PC/Mac. If you own an older computer (PC/Mac) that comes with the full size USB port, get this Female to Male USB A cable (Amazon link). If you own a newer computer (PC or Mac) with a USB Type C port, get this Female to Male USB A to USB-C cable (Amazon link). If you are on a Mac computer that has a lightening port, get this Female to Male USB A to lightening cable (Amazon link). Micro-SD Cards You… Continue reading…

Sony ICD-ux560 Carrying Case

Date: September 30, 2019 Author: Isaac Comments: 2 Replies

If you’ve read our blog (or skimmed through it), you’ll have realized that the Sony ICD-ux560 is my go-to voice recorder. It’s compact, easy to use, and records great sound. Now, I’ve found the best clip on microphones, MicroSD cards, and USB cable for my ux560. But, I’ve yet to find a good carrying case for the ux560: until now. When I bought my ux560, I did realize it was important to protect it using a carrying case. So I go the AGPTEK carrying case that Amazon recommends. What a disappointment. The AGPTEK case is too big! When you place the recorder inside the AGPTEK case, it flops around. It’s not a tight fit and does not hold the ux560 in place. My workaround was to stuff the case with my clip-on microphones, splitter cable, and USB cable. But all my ux560 accessories to don’t fit into this case. When I realized this I did… Continue reading…

Zoom H1n vs Tascam DR-05x

Date: July 26, 2019 Author: Isaac Comments: 8 Replies

In the last 18 months Zoom and Tascam have released new versions of their popular Zoom H1 and Tascam DR-05 digital recorders. The Zoom H1n was released in early 2018, and the Tascam DR-05x became available in early 2019. In this post we are going to compare the Zoom H1n to the Tascam DR-05x. Now, I’m usually hesitant about these kinds of comparisons. That’s because when it comes to voice recorders, it’s very hard to find two recorders that are similar. Yes, you can find different versions of recorders that are alike, but they’re usually from the same manufacture – who are doing some hokey pokey price differentiation. A few examples, Sony BX140 and Sony PX240, Olympus WS-852 and Olympus WS-853 and so forth. And buying the higher priced model gives you additional features. So most voice recorders have very little in common, for instance the Sony ux560 and the Zoom H1n –the 2 models… Continue reading…