Review on 🎙️ Capture Crisp Audio with the Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder by Nick Howard

This Sony device is an excellent voice recorder with only a few negative points (hence 1 star deduction). Not only is this a very high quality product, but it also has a lot of nice advanced features and options. So here are the most positive aspects of the device, the official Sony specs and at the very end of this review, the negatives. ULTRA THIN AND LIGHT: There is nothing on the market today that even comes close to such a thin body. For that reason ONLY, this could be a good reason to buy this recorder (if you can afford the premium price). It fits perfectly in a shirt pocket or attaches to a laptop (all without the bulk and added weight of other voice recorders). *See my 2 photos above for a "side by side" comparison of my 2 year old Sony ICD-PX820 voice recorder to this ultra slim voice recorder. RECORDING FORMATS: WAV (CD Quality) 95Hz - 20,000Hz, 44.1kHz/16bit, (stereo).MP3 192kbps, 95Hz - 18,000Hz (stereo).MP3 128kbps, 95Hz - 16,000Hz (stereo ). MP3 48kbps, 95Hz - 14,000Hz (Mono) 128kbps is considered 50% of CD quality. Кроме того, формат "WAV" (качество компакт-диска) записывает со скоростью ровно 1411 кбит/с, поэтому качество звука настолько превосходно).ВРЕМЯ ЗАПИСИ: 4 ГБ внутренней памяти устройства хватит.WAV = 6 часов.192 кбит/с = 44 Watch. 128 kbps = 67 hours. 48 kbps = 178 hours. (The Micro SD/SDHC card slot accommodates up to 32GB of additional storage.) The "recording time" on a single charge is 18 to 24 hours. The "playing time" over the internal speaker is 10 to 11 hours. Playtime in headphones varies from 19 to 26 hours (which largely depends on the size of the headphones). Equalizer: No EQ, but there are 7 additional "EQ presets" that you can listen to while playing, namely: Clear Voice-1, Clear Voice-2, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Bass-1, Bass -2. MIC: Has 3 microphone sensitivity settings: LOW (for dictation/loud noise), MEDIUM (for meetings/interviews in small rooms), HIGH (for very large rooms/long distances). TRACK MARK side button: Pressing this button ANYTIME during recording or playback will "bookmark” the track for easy recall later. You also have the option to instantly "split” ALL track markers in a recording into separate files. OTHER FEATURES: ** Has "Low Power Mode” and "Standby Mode” options. **DPC option (allows you to play slower or faster without changing the "pitch" of the voice). ** Side cue/review buttons (allow listening to "sound bits" while fast forwarding or rewinding). ** Customizable "Easy Seek" (allows you to set the duration of "time transitions" when you press the fast forward or rewind button and this time can be set between 5 seconds and 10 minutes). ** Allows you to turn off any device sounds and/or LED indicators for your secret recordings. **LCS option (special noise filter that reduces low-frequency background noise in recording mode, such as air conditioning, "rustling" of a shirt in a pocket, outside wind, etc.). **VOR option (automatically pauses recording after a short period of silence, and the device's "recording buffer" allows the device to capture "almost" 100% of the very first spoken word after the pause. Set correctly). ** Has convenient drag-n-drop features for moving recorded files. **The device can play almost ANY pre-recorded audio format including: MP3 from 32kbps to 320kbps, VBR, WAV, AAC and WMA. (I don't know how good it sounds as an MP3 music player with 7 equalizer presets). **The device can be used as a USB storage device for photos, videos, documents, etc. BATTERY: The fact is that the battery in this device is NOT replaceable and Li-Ion batteries have a limited lifespan. So when the battery reaches the end of its life cycle, this recorder becomes a $120 PAPER. Therefore, I would like to talk about extending the life of this very expensive voice recorder, i.e. its battery. Battery, that's 300-500 "discharge life cycles". This means that if you let it fully discharge before each charge, after 300-500 charges the battery will reach its final limit and will no longer charge. makes this Sony recorder unusable. So how do you extend the life of your recorder? Well, the respected National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the following findings from its extensive studies on lithium-ion battery life. Charging a lithium-ion battery after 100% discharge. (dead) = 300-500 cycles lifespan (when it becomes 100% unusable). 50% discharge = 1200-1500 cycles lifespan. 25% discharge = lifespan of 2000-2500 cycles. 10% discharge = 3700-4700 cycles lifespan. As you can see, discharging less before charging can significantly increase battery life, i.e. its relative length of a "full" cycle. In other words, less discharging before charging results in "extra" full cycles. A good rule of thumb might be to try to recharge the device after it has drained by 25%, which Sony specs equates to every 4.5 to 6 hours of actual recording time (depending on the recording format used). Of course it doesn't have to be "always", let's say "usually". But above all, it is very important not to let the lithium ions die off completely. There really is no quicker way to shorten the life of lithium-ion batteries than by allowing them to be fully discharged before each charge. Since lithium-ion has NO "memory effect" (unlike e.g. NiCad batteries, memory effect), it is perfectly normal to charge this device at ANY battery level. However, it's also not good for Li-Ion batteries to ALWAYS leave it plugged in and charging when not in use. Lithium Ion Electrons like to "move" a bit and don't like being 100% charged. This creates a kind of "overload" of the battery, or official "voltage stress". (That's why all Apple iPads come with protection that automatically stops charging once they reach 100% and only starts charging again when it's down to around 98%). Incidentally, all of these tips apply to ALL lithium-ion batteries, including the lithium-ion batteries in your smartphone and laptop. However, many smartphones/laptops will enter a safe "trickle charge" mode after reaching 100% and then accept a charge current equal to the natural discharge rate when not in use (thus safely holding the charge). connected). Therefore, it is not necessarily a general recommendation to turn off a Li-Ion device when it is 100% charged. Only for this recorder. Various other factors also contribute to shortened lithium-ion battery life, such as: B. "Charging current" (how many volts/mA/Watts are being drawn from the USB socket or power adapter) and at elevated temperatures (anything above 30 degrees Fahrenheit). However, the charging current for lithium-ion batteries is not as important as protection against extreme heat, such as e.g. B. If the device is left in a parked car on a hot summer day. And finally, whenever you decide to charge your device, always turn it off. Leaving it on introduces what is known as "parasitic loading" and confuses the charging process. A parasitic load is when the device charges and discharges at the same time. Nothing critical here, just a recommendation to keep in mind. 3 NEGATIVES (1 star deducted): Well, I agree with other reviewers that the tiny side buttons are pretty hard to read, find, and press. The thumbs may have to resort to the tips of their nails to push the buttons "when" you find the right button to push. Moving the 3 most commonly used side buttons (FF, PLAY, REW) to the FRONT of the device (where the Stop & Record buttons are currently located) would be MUCH BETTER. Or at least make the side buttons easier to "see and distinguish" a color other than black. (* See above 2 photos of all side buttons). The second disadvantage is that after 10 minutes of inactivity, the device turns off automatically in "Stop" mode and it is IMPOSSIBLE to change this. This is a battery saver feature but really should be an 'option' for people who want to use the recorder a lot during the workday. Having to turn the device back on every 10 minutes can easily become a major inconvenience. And why they're forcing you to do this when the device comes with an incredibly long 24-hour battery makes very little sense. Also, there is no "physical" paper manual, just an English digital manual on CD. You can certainly print a massive 120-page manual on your own printer, but that's a whopping 120 pages of your ink! However, I found the digital 120-page English manual to be very detailed and very easy to understand. However, as one reviewer rightly pointed out, finding some of the features in this lengthy guide can take a while. Well I hope all this information helps! Yes, it has a few downsides, but overall it's a very nice, high-tech, high-quality voice recorder with lots of great features and options. With proper battery care, this Sony device will last you for many, many years and there is absolutely no need to upgrade to a newer model. Bill from Denver