Review on Enhance Your Recording Experience with the Sony ICD-PX312 Digital Flash Voice Recorder by Robert Sorrells

I have been using the Sony ICD-AX412 Digital Recorder for a number of years now. I used it every day for work, but also for personal activities and music recordings. I recorded business meetings, training, product demos, etc. I'm incredibly picky about my electronics as I'm on the road every day; Things fly around in my van and then the normal, normal wear and tear that comes with everyday use. The AX412 held up surprisingly well until finally the day I hit the RECORD button and nothing happened. The button seems to be stuck, and after much fiddling and fuss I couldn't get it to pick up. So I decided to order the highly recommended Sony ICD-PX312 to replace the AX412. To be honest the PX312 was a big disappointment. Although the PX312 looks almost identical to the AX412, it's actually quite different from the rest. First, the AX412 has stereo microphones; PX312 has only one microphone. If that's all you need for your needs, then I'm sure the 312 will do well for all of your needs. But be warned: I was still able to reproduce my old AX412 and compare the sound quality between it and the newer PX312. Conclusion: The AX412 has a much richer sound quality than the mono PX312, even when recording speech. Obviously that has to do with 412 stereo mics versus 312 mono mics. Another point, the AX412 has allowed me to easily set up different folders for the different purposes I use it for: I have a personal folder, a work folder, a folder Music, mileage folders (to keep track of my mileage costs for work), etc. It just didn't seem that easy on the new PX312 to set up the folder layout that works best for me. I just found the PX312 less intuitive than the AX412 when it mattered. However, other features of the PX312 are identical to those of the 412. Please understand that if you just want a good mono voice recorder, the ICD-PX312 is certainly a good choice. But for me the quality of the voice recordings was not that good. Also, let me say this: the AX412 recorder is not perfect; suffers from volume levels that are lower than desired. I am traveling in a very noisy van and playing the voice recording on the AX412 can be a hearing issue. However, since the PX312 has the same or even lower volume than the AX, this could pose an issue for others as well, especially if you're playing it in a noisy environment. Also, I'm hard of hearing, so for me too. Side note: one of the reasons I chose the PX312 as my replacement was because it was one of the recommended digital recorders for use with Dragon Naturally Speaking, which I also use. However, I have also successfully used the AX412 with DNS and had no trouble getting it to work with this program after "training" and profiling it for use with a Sony recorder only. I ended up returning the PX312 and re-ordering the AX412. The final irony is that the same day the new Sony AX412 arrived, my old AX412 was working again. Naturally. I think I'll stick with this new one anyway as there's still a good chance the record button will get stuck again and I'll be stuck without a very important work tool. Ultimately, I'm sure the PX312 is probably a good recorder, but it's more expensive than the AX412 and has fewer bells and whistles. If I miss something, it's not a deal. Instead I'm sticking with my trusty AX412 and if anyone asks me I'd prefer the AX412 to the PX312.