Customer Reviews

Sony ECM-DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I recommend the Sony ECM-DS70P stereo microphone.

This mic is great to use with the Sony Mini disc recorders such as MZ-N707 and up. Although it is referred as uni directional, I have found the stereo separation very good.

As you are recording yourself with other singers for example you distinctly hear the vocal separation or instrument separation on playback so, then you can get an interesting separated sound by adjusting the mike direction.

So, even though the L and R mics are close together they must be facing in different directions to get that quality of separation.

There probably are better mikes, and I am sure they cost more money. I am critical of what sound goes in my ears, and this is excellent for my needs, which is self recording, recording voice lessons, live performances etc.

I hope this review was helpful.

I bought this mic for two reasons:

1. It is stereo not mono
2. I just bought a Kodak Zi8 Digital Camcorder

Although the sound is surprisingly good on the Zi8, it has an external Stereo mic jack. The Sony ECM-DS70P is highly regarded and works perfectly with the Zi8. There is a notable difference in the sound when I use the Sony mic. You can clearly hear the stereo sound difference when recording in a 360 degree environment (like outside in a playground or other event). I have also used it for voice recording and it does a nice job there as well.

This unit is not as compatible as compared to others. But, what it loses in compatibility it makes up for in features. It's wonderfully small and works great with Sony MD recorders. True, it isn't as versitile as the battery models, but it's a lot smaller too. If you just want to do MD recording, this is the unit for you.

The sound quality is sufficiently clear when recording, but is not sensitive enough to satisfy the most demanding users such as musicians or professional reporters. You need a relatively strong source.

Here's one MD player recorder that I know has the microphone jack and works great with this microphone:
'Sony MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc Recorder with Car Kit'

However, don't be fooled. Not every MD player has the appropriate Mic Jack. Double Check the technical documentation to make sure. Units that definitely do not have it are:
'Sony MZ-NE410 High Speed Net MD Walkman Recorder'

Notice the deceptive "Recorder" moniker in the product name. Don't be fooled! Very few MD "recorders" actually record with a microphone!

Not sure about these:
'Sony MZ-NF610 High Speed Net MD Walkman Recorder'
'Sony MZ-N510CK NetMD Walkman/Recorder with Car Kit'
'Sony MZ-N505 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder'

Do your research before purchasing any MD player. All in all, this is a good value and the ideal microphone for those wanting to record onto a Sony MD.

Contrary to earlier review, this microphone works GREAT with devices other than Sony; just make sure that your recording device provides plug power. I use this microphone with my iRiver iHP-120 20GB MP3 Jukebox --- records great stereo sound directly into MP3s. Fantastic for recording my kids' concerts. Highly, highly recommended.

I am a musician and own my own studio in Nashville, TN. I have thousands of dollars worth of microphones. This product is what it is and for the money is a brilliant little microphone. Even though I have a 250 track digital recording studio, sometimes I want to record without doing a major "studio" setup. I bought a Boss Micro BR and this mic to go with it. This is a fantastic combination. The sound is definitely studio quality. I did a location recording of a simple trumpet and piano. Rather than drag my whole set up I took the Micro BR and this mic and made a very fine sounding recording. I got a pair of windscreens that were made for a telephone headset. I put one over each side of this mic and never take them off. This mic does have its limitations and does not sound as good as my $650 studio vocal mic for sure, but that's not what it is intended for. This is for portability with clear crisp sound. With a Micro BR it's a phenomenal combination. I almost didn't buy the Micro BR because it only has a mono on board mic, but I ordered this mic to go with it and I'm so glad I did. This magic combo is a serious upgrade from a Zoom H2 or H4 and for less money - go figure. Sony - well done.

In a move that is very unlike me, I bought this microphone to make stereo recordings of some piano pieces I had to perform while away from home (and my recording equipment). I have to admit, for Sony, this product is pretty bang-on! The microphone is responsive across a broad spectrum of dynamics and acoustically accurate, although I typically stereo microphones with an X or Y arrangement for good presence. With careful positioning (and a rubber cushioning pad), this microphone achieved some almost studio-quality recordings (bearing in mind that I was playing on a meticulously maintained $150,000 piano...)!
The ONLY thing keeping me from giving this microphone 5 stars is that it's not powered, and there was no way to enable it to work with my MacBook Pro without buying extra hardware. Not to worry though: It wasn't terribly costly. I bought a Griffin iMic ($39.99) and used it in conjunction with Audacity without a hitch! The recordings I made were so good that my friends and family were unable to tell which recordings were made in a studio (with professional-quality equipment) or with the iMic/Sony mic combination when put on a mixed CD.

Bottom Line: This microphone was able to capture the most diminutive harmonics and loudest fortissimo's without any problems at either end of the spectrum, and I would recommend this to ANY amateur/intermediate performer wishing to capture a high-quality recording of their work!

I bought this mic for a Kodak Zi8 to do interviews. Although it comes with a cord & clip, the microphone itself plugs right into the side of the Zi8 which is really sweet. Mounted on the camera, the microphone swivels so the sound inputs can be separated front and back, making it great for interviews. I highly recommend this mic to go with the Zi8.

I bought this microphone mainly to record class lectures, and when I first tried it with my Alienware laptop it was very noisy and quiet. Apparently my laptop's microphone port didn't provide enough power for it to function properly, since it does say that one of the requirements is that the recording device provide "plug-in power". I tried it on another laptop (a dell inspiron) and it worked amazingly, when listening to the playback on headphones it was hard to tell the difference of what was on the recording and what was going on around you. The stereo separation adds a lot to the recordings.

I was still determined to make it work with my alienware so I did a little research and found the Griffin imic usb audio input device. I was very happy to find that this microphone worked with the griffin imic, MEANING THAT THIS IF YOU PAIR THIS MICROPHONE WITH THE GRIFFIN IMIC, IT WILL WORK WITH ANY COMPUTER THAT HAS A USB PORT!!

As for the quality of recordings, this microphone is very sensitive which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. It picks up someone lecturing in front of a class of about 70 very clearly, but it also picks up every person coughing or shuffling paper in the room. Ive recorded my sister playing flute and my friend playing guitar and it sounds very good. The stereo separation is very good and makes recordings sound very realistic. Overall I'm very pleased with this mic. I'm sure there are nicer better microphones but for the money it would be hard to beat this one. It looks really cool too.

I was using a fairly cheap desktop mic for recording podcasts, and the cheap mic introduced a low frequency hum into the recording. I could filter it out using Audacity, but that also took some of the nice bass tones from the recorded voices. I hate extra steps anyway.

I took a low risk chance and tried the Sony ECM-DS70P. I have a usb audio adapter that I use to bypass my notebook's sound card. My notebook does not have a mic-in jack anyway, only a line-in. The USB adapter has mic-in, line-in, and surround out (front/center/rear) ports. All are 3.5mm connections. Also, the USB adapter provides power to the mic.

With the Sony mic, I use a 3' extension cable. Get one at any Radio Shack for a few bucks. I attached the mic to my homemade pop screen and stand. This eliminates the harsh "P" and "T" sounds in a recording. The pop screen blocks the air coming from my mouth so the mic does not get hit with a blast of air resulting in a troublesome spike in the recording. It really works!

I was going to buy a much more expensive usb mic (Samson C03U), but the clarity of this mic is so good, I don't need it. It has met all my requirements. Outstanding clarity/sensitivity, low noise, good price.

It's also a great mic for field recording, but the mic in port must be powered. It even works with my miniDV video recorder (which has a plug-in power mic jack).

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Update
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The Sony mic is great for recording podcasts. It handles the voice range well with very little noise. It's a nice mic for recording speakers at conferences. With a stereo extension cord, you can place the mic exactly where you want it even if your recording device is a little bit away from the ideal spot. This way you can monitor the recording with your recording device while the mic is in place on a table or near a speaker. No noise will be introduced to the recording when you handle the recording device.

I've since switched to the Zoom H2 as my desktop mic. The quality is superior and it has a direct usb connection to my computer. Crystal clear recordings.

If you are doing field recordings, and you want to conduct an interview between yourself and another person, the Sony mic is OK, but you have to be right next to the other person. There is a better solution. Get a mic set from Giant Squid Audio Labs [...].

They are about sixty bucks. They are hand crafted by a guru and are very robust. The sound quality is unbeatable. A set consists on one 3.5mm male jack that can plug into almost any 3.5mm powered mic port, such as a Zoom H2 or a Kodak Zi8 HD video recorder. Then the set splits into 2 mono mics. Each mono mic is on its own cable (about 4 feet each if I recall), and they come with a nice lapel clip. Clip one to yourself and one to the other person, and you are good to go. Excellent quality recordings. You can have your system record each person in a separate channel, which makes editing more flexible.

I recently recorded 19 video interviews at a trade show using the Kodak Zi8 and the Giant Squid mic. Excellent combo. The interviewer could stand behind the camera while the interviewee sat in a chair at a trade show booth. Very elegant solution.

This microphone is so tiny, you'd think it wouldn't record anything... well, quite the opposite!! It's a very good microphone. You can just put it on a table and record something in a different room, and it will.
Very good purchase, very good sound. Plus, it's really small, I can put it in my minidisc case and take it anywhere I want, it's very handy. I use it to record piano playing mostly, and also for language purposes (to improve accents in a foreign language) and it's very useful.