Sony ICDUX70 Digital Voice Recorder MP3 Stereo Recording and Playback | 
| Brand: Sony
List Price: $99.95
Buy New: $76.25
You Save: $23.70 (24%)
New (30) Used (5) from $70.33
Rating:  13 reviews
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 0.5 x 1.4 x 3.8
MPN: ICDUX70
Model: ICDUX70
UPC: 027242723870
EAN: 0027242723870
ASIN: B00142VMMS
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | USB Direct Connection | | • | 1GB Built-in Flash Memory | | • | Up to 290 Hours3 of Recording Time in LP Mode | | • | Drag & Drop File Transfer | | • | Windows/MAC Compatible |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This designer digital voice recorder features convenient direct USB connection and up to 290 hours of crystal clear recording on built-in memory. Plug the ICD-UX70 directly into your compatible PC and enjoy easy, drag and drop file transfers. Its built-in 1GB Flash memory lets you record up to 290 hours of lectures, personal notes and more. You can even play back your favorite MP3 audio files and listen on the included stereo headphones. This compact and attractive digital voice recorder features five recording modes, Windows and Macintosh compatibility. Voice Operated Recording (VOR) stops the recording during silent pauses, saving valuable recording time, then begins recording again without missing a single syllable because of the digital buffer. Digital Pitch Control and A-B Repeat allows recordings to be heard at slower than normal speeds without distortion to facilitate transcribing and editing, or at faster than normal speeds to move quickly to a desired portion. Selectable Microphone Sensitivity (Hi/Lo) lets you record different situations, from group meetings to individuals, more effectively. PC Data Storage No PC application software required Windows/MAC compatible Stereo Headphones supplied U5 Recording Modes - LP/SP/STLP/STSP/ST Unit Dimensions (Approx.) - 1.35 x 3.8 x 0.52 (34.4w x 99.0h x 13.4d mm); Weight (Approx.) - 1.7oz (48g) (incl. 1 AAA battery)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Sony has listened - Great product April 4, 2008
R. Samsel (Beverly Farms, MA USA)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
I have had been using the Sony MZM200 Professional Portable Hi MD Recorder for the past year for digital recording of meetings and lectures. I have had good luck with it but I could never just hand it off to someone else to use. So I began to look at flash based recorders. The model I kept coming back to was the ICD-U70 but I was concerned by the proprietary file format and the difficulty that I had heard about converting it to a more standard format.
Well, with the ICD-UX70 & UX80 this major concern was addressed as the file format used is MP3. Now I can just load it directly to my computer and then to the website for podcasting with no transfer or conversion. I usually do some cleaning or normalizing using Nero but - oh how easy this has become. With the ease of this unit, I can imagine that I might not be using my MD recorder nearly as much.
I have used the unit connected to a sound board, an external microphone (Sony ECM-CS10 Tie-Clip-Style and Sony ECMMS907 Digital Recording Microphone) and by itself, and I have been very impressed with the quality of the recording.
The only thing with which you need to check and be comfortable is the internal mic sensitivity. Do some tests to see how the recording level and background noise comes out. Once you become familiar with the abilities of this unit, I think you will be happy with the recordings.
I think the size is great; if it was any smaller (thumb-drive sized) the buttons would either be too small or too close together for my fingers to operate. Sometimes small is too small - this unit is not too small.
Be careful about your expectations of the internal speaker - you can only get so much sound out of a teeny speaker. It is good to check playback but I would use headphones or play through another powered device if you really need to hear the recording. You can get battery powered speakers for cheap if you really need it.
The only thing that could improve this device is removable memory but for the price, you can buy 2 or 3 UX80s (2gb) for the price of a recorder that uses removable memory. So, this is a minor issue.
Thank you to all of you who complained about the U70 and got Sony to wake-up. I appreciate it.
 Excellent combination of functions April 5, 2008
L. Anderson (California United States)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I purchased the ICDUX70 last week. Unfortunately, I wanted it fast and paid $99 at Fry's. (By comparison, the ICDUX80 was $149 (for 2GB) and I thought I could live without the extra Gb of memory).
My initial purchase excuse was to record voice conversations and classroom lectures as well as listen to prerecorded audio recordings, but after reading the documentation it looks equally well suited for dictation or music when used with an external (higher quality) mic or other audio input with excellent audio (see one possibility below). Is reportedly compatible with, but does not include, Dragon Naturally Speaking (I have not tested however).
The use of (the nearly universal) MP3 format is a huge plus (although an open source codec such as Ogg Vorbis might have been nice in some ways). The ICDUX70 records directly to the internal memory which can be easily read and written to by any computer that has USB just like a flash card (Sony only advertises compatibility with Windows and Mac, but my brief test with Ubuntu Linux showed that I was able to transfer (legally purchased) MP3 files to it and listen to them.
Reading the short manual is helpful for some features. The functionality is better than I expected. Included is user adjustable DPC (Digital Pitch Control) which allows play back at slower or faster speeds without distortion or pitch change, and after brief testing of the DPC feature I was quite impressed with the quality of playback.
MiniDisk recorders have in the past been a secret weapon of videographers or sound people for their own projects to capture sound that would other wise be missed. My Sony MiniDisk cost $300 but only had analog out. I normally would avoid compressed formates, but compared to analog audio, I can see how high quality could work well. For example, the UCDUX70 might make an excellent auxiliary audio recording source for event videographers (put in a fresh AAA battery, set record quality to highest (48khz, 192 kbps) hook it up to a good lapel mike, begin recording, activate the 'hold' slider to prevent accidental shutoff, stick the ICDUX70 in the groom's pocket) then sync it up with the DV video later to ensure you catch the "I do's" (much cheaper and more compact (1 3/4 oz) than a wireless setup).
It's hard to think of anything to improve on with this recorder, but if I had to (and for which I gave only 4 stars) I would suggest for the next model:
1) Need to add SD card compatibility for expandability and easier load/unload of data.
2) Higher quality construction - this is not quite IPod fit-and-finish. I'm a bit worried about the multifunction thumb control. Quality of chassis construction is about that of a Sony digital video camera, but appears somewhat cruder due to the small overall size.
3) Perhaps a bit more control of the playback file order (up to 3 levels of folders are allowed which is plenty, but it labels them starting over from 1 within each folder, no matter what the file name). This makes it awkward to listen to my Teaching Company course which has 36 lectures (I put them into 6 different folders which show up renumbered in the folders so I have to calculate which lecture number is which). There is a way to use the wheel to find the actual name of the file, I'm just getting used to it.
4) Built in Mic sensitivity mentioned above is yet to be thoroughly tested. I used it to record a classroom lecture, and it think it did about as well as could be expected given the distance from the professor and the additional room noise. Very audible, but not good enough to do voice recognition automated transcription from. Quality is quite excellent, and volume was acceptable.
5) The included headphones are a bit cheap looking but sound pretty good (I would have preferred the occlusive rubber kind rather than the open type, but open buds have their advantages - safety for one).
6) Side navigation buttons (record, pause, fast forward, fast reverse, next, previous, etc) are a bit small to easily press one at a time for my fingers.
7) It's not clear to me what role USB power plays in powering the device when connected to a computer (i.e. is a battery still needed - haven't checked that yet). I know there are several optional accessories, including an AC adaptor that converts wall current to USB power for the unit. (Otherwise long recordings will be interrupted to change batteries, but only after about 8 hours per documents).
On the good side, I really like
1) Ease of use (Standard MP3, USB plug and play, multi-platform OS)
2) Small physical size
3) Generous recording time
4) Excellent fidelity (from my testing so far)
5) Unlike the MiniDisk recorders, user has direct access to the digital files (not just Analog out). They're MP3 compressed, but digital.
I also bought AAA rechargeable batteries (8-18 hours may be a long life for a battery used in a recording device, but too short time between having to buy and send to the hazardous waste recycler).
After accidentally nearly forgetting my recorder in a classroom, I attached a lanyard to mine (there is a lanyard loop but no lanyard is included).
Overall I am quite happy with it, would recommend it to others, and am trying to think of an excuse to buy another one. Maybe my MiniDisk recorder will show up on Amazon auctions sometime soon.
 Terrible Voice Recorder April 17, 2008
Mr M in Honolulu (Hawaii)
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
I received the sony icd-ux70 today with great expectations. I currently have a cheapo olympus voice recorder which I like, but its missing a rewind/backspace/review feature I really needed. I use the recorder primarily to do dictation, todo lists, brainstorming, auxillary brain storage, and record meetings. My short term memory has never been that good, so this thing has become part of my life. After reading the reviews here and shopping around, this sony fit the bill. Firstly, let me say that I read the entire manual online before I received this unit, so I knew exactly what it was capable of. I'm really disappointed in this product.
Cons:
1. As another commenter said, the internal speaker is lousy. I'll go one step further to say its totally unusable. It barely squeaks at max volume. You need the earphones.
2. Its a terrible voice recorder for dictation. The microphone cant filter out noise. Even my nose breathing was louder than my voice (at low or high mike sensitity). And if you rub the unit, that's even louder than my voice. I tried the different sensitivity settings (low and high) and tried adjusting how I spoke into the mike. No luck. After 50 recordings, I could not take it any more. I think I gave this unit the benefit of the doubt. I really wanted to make it work. So unless you use an external mike and headphones, this unit is useless for recording voice in a dictation manner.
3. To delete files, you have to use the menu. I prefer a "trash" key to quickly delete files I've already processed or transcribe.
Pros:
It looks and feels great. The specs are cool. Functionally (other than the delete function), it's superbly designed. And you'll even get use to the conrol that some folks complained as flimsy (unless you have a big thumb then you might as well forget it). If you put the unit down and record music or a meeting, it's probably fantastic although you cant hear it.
Anyway, I just want to warn folks that if you do dictation, this unit is not for you. Come on Sony, this is the first product of yours I have ever returned.
 Terrible Speaker Sound-Not Recommended April 13, 2008
David Bowles (San Diego, CA)
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I purchased the Sony ICDUX70 today from Fry's at an excellent sale price of $69.00 (no months-long rebates, that was the price at the register). I was all excited to find such an apparently great product for this price. However when I got home and started the device, there was one huge glaring problem: the sound playback through the small rear speaker was AWFUL, almost inaudible even at the highest volume setting, with the highest MIC sensitivity setting and in a quiet room for recording and playback with the device close to my face. I have no idea whether this is a single unit aberation but don't intend to go back and forward to Fry's to find out: this thing is making a one way trip back. My Sprint Sanyo mobile phone has a far far better recording/playback experience for note-taking using a speaker which looks similar in size to the UX70 but which gives me high volume and deeper sound. I was amazed at the poor quality of this Sony device, and I do not wish to put headphones on each time to hear what I have dictated.
Very very disappointed and it ruins what would otherwise be a fantastic bargain with high end features. If others have a different experience with the speaker and can convince me this was a one-shot QA issue, I would be grateful if you would please by all means say so here and I will re-visit this item.
Poor recording quality May 29, 2008
Kam (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this to record my piano classes at school, and the recordings I get are unlistenable. Whether I have the recorder sitting one or twelve feet away from the piano, every time that a note is hit with anything other than a pianissimo, it oversaturates the microphones on the recorder, causing static/distortion.
On top of that, the fact that the speakers are situated precisely on the left/right of the device means that you need to have it centered in relation to the source of sound, or one of the channels will be silent or annoyingly quiet.
The sensitive mic mode picks up more noise than anything. If I set this in a quiet room and try to record a normal conversation, the general static/ambient sound drowns out the voices. And the "dictation" mode is no good for anything other than speaking half an inch away from the mics. One extreme or the other; there's no in-between setting.
It's also ridiculous that the device takes about 10-15 seconds to boot up. Waiting a couple seconds when you hit Record is fine, but if you need to record something in a rush, you'll probably miss it by the time this thing turns on.
The main reason I bought this was because it recorded in MP3 format. I borrowed an Olympus WS-311M a short time ago, which recorded in WMA, and the results I got with it were amazing (for anything from lectures to live music shows), so I figured I'd get something comparable (or better) from a Sony recorder. Not even close.
Perhaps the device would work fine hooked up to an external mic. But then that's an additional thing to carry around and worry about setting up, and detracts from the ease of use. A $100 recorder should record perfectly with whatever components it brings out of the box.
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