Audio Recorders

I've had a few people asking for advice on mp3 audio recorders. Do you have any great success stories, terrible experiences? Please post them here!

I'd love to hear advice on choosing an MP3 audio recorder too. I just need a simple one for note-taking... but if it's not *too* much more to get one that records well enough to use in multimedia stories, I'd certainly go in that direction.

Can I get one that also records phone calls?

Here are a few recorders that you can use for your phone calls. In my research, I found that almost everyone who sells such devices also links to a rundown of the laws related to recording a phone call. Be sure to look those over!

I'll look up some reviews on more basic recorders, but I hope some readers will post their experiences and reviews!

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Sony ICD-MS515 digital voice recorder

Specs: Memory Stick cards from 8 MB (included, for 171 minutes of recording time) to 256 MB can be used; 2 5/8 oz.; 1 3/8" x 4 1/8" x 23/32"

Price: $150

Overview: "We've seen tremendous productivity gains in our research from switching people from analog recorders to digital voice recorders," Northrup says. "Digital recorders are so much better not only for the quality of what they pick up, but you can also use audio software (not included) the same way you use Photoshop for pictures. You can take a piece of digital audio and clean it up." Another handy element for journalists in the field: You can instantly access the portion of an interview that you want to transcribe or upload to the Web.

The MS515 comes with Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition software for converting voice to text. New York Times tech columnist David Pogue swears by it. I've used it as well, and while it learned to recognize my dictations relatively well, it was a complete bust when I tried to use it to automatically transcribe remarks recorded at a meeting or in an interview setting. Northrup concurs: "Voice recognition is still several years away from achieving that. It works best when you've trained the software to a particular voice. In fact, I'm working with an organization in Washington whose job it is to put transcripts of the president's speeches out onto the wires seconds after he talks. When the president's not speaking from prepared remarks, they use a voice recorder like this model that's trained to the reporter's own voice, and as the president says something, the reporter repeats it into the recorder and the device is able to convert it to text."

Gear for the Multimedia Newsroom

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What reporting gadgets do you use?

Todd Bishop, 30, business reporter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"I have an Olympus DS-330 digital voice recorder. This is one of those that you can put in the dock and transfer the files over the computer with. I use it for in-person interviews. I use it on phone interviews sometimes if it's a particularly important thing, if I want to catch every single thing."

What reporting gagets do you use?

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Based on the avalanche of e-mail I’ve received, my digital voice recorder reviews have echoed around the world. The #1 reader question is “Which one should I buy?”, to which I essentially respond, “Read this.”

(Mark Nelson, who’s in the middle of reviewing his third high-quality portable recorder for us, has an even terser answer.)

But because most people ask politely — and have intriguing applications in mind for these cool little gadgets — I usually end up adding more detail. (Favorite opener: "I am looking for a digital voice recorder for my son for his 20th birthday and came across your name in an Amazon review, which led to your website, which led me to purchase your book. I think he’ll really like it." Now that’s the way to grab a writer’s attention! ;-)

Your Top Voice Recorder Questions - O'Reilly Digital Media

Thank you for all the advice/great sites to help me in my research!

Last month I purchased a Sony DS30 at Best Buy. I have really loved it. The noise reduction is very good. It has different microphone settings for dictation, conferences, and lectures. I've used this while walking around Sac State during the noisy noon lunch hours and been pleased with the sound quality of my interviews. The battery life seems to be strong and it's very portable.

There's another version of the same recorder that has a remote-controlled, removable mic that seems like it would be good for someone who is covering events all the time.

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John Kroll is the news impact editor at The Plain Dealer (cleveland.com) in Cleveland, Ohio, and he was kind enough to allow me to share his opinion about the Zoom H2 recorder, which I’ve been dying to try out (but I have no money for these right now).

Read the rest and gets pics, specs