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Technical Details
- Includes Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice to print software
- Built-in 2 GB flash memory
- 2-Position Stereo Microphone
- Records in LPCM 44.1kHz 16 bit and MP3 (320 kbps-8 kbps)
- S-Microphone System
Product Details
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Product Description
Sony Digital Voice Recorder
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
92 of 96 people found the following review helpful
Awesome recorder for both speech and non-professional music recording, and THE BEST for Dragon NaturallySpeaking software!
April 20, 2011
Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
***** Very highly recommended with warm fuzzies!
I work in high tech and I am also a musician who plays guitars, harmonica, and world-beat/ethnic percussion. So I find portable digital recorders like this to be highly useful on a weekly basis for recording everything from personal dictation of thoughts and ideas, to in-person meetings, to telephone conferences, to jam sessions with my other musician friends, to recording impromptu music ideas and vocals.
Prior to purchasing this Sony ICD-SX712, I frequently used a Sony ICD-SX750 2 GB Flash Memory Digital Voice Recorder (Black). And before that, one of my main portable digital recorders was a Sony MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc Recorder with Car Kit with a Sony ECM-DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone for recording music ideas, jam sessions, and rehearsals. Sony's MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc recorder offered CD-quality digital recording with a full 20Hz-20,000Hz +/-3dB frequency range, along with an AM/FM/TV/Weather tuner. But for years, my one big complaint with Sony's Net MD MiniDisc recorder was that the device had no 'Line Out' or easy method to transfer my digital recordings off of its MiniDisc so that I could perform further editing on the computer.
Even though the "712" number in this ICD-SX712 model is numerically smaller than Sony's previous model of ICD-SX750, I see this model as a substantially improved direct replacement for their previous ICD-SX750 model, which was also priced very similarly. Since I have both the ICD-SX750 and ICD-SX712 recorders, some of this product review will compare the two models.
With the advent of affordable digital recorders that use onboard flash memory and/or Memory Stick Micro (M2) and microSD memory cards, I find myself using my Net MD recorder less and less now. Note that the Sony line of "ICD" recorders are NOT really professional digital audio recorders for recording full-spectrum music, but this ICD-SX712 can still produce a very good CD-quality stereo recording for most kinds of music. Using its best LPCM 44.1 kHz 16-bit recording mode, the ICD-SX712 records a frequency range of 40Hz-20kHz. Depending upon the music that you are wanting to record, this may or may not be sufficient since a dedicated digital audio recorder will go down to 20 Hz. If you really want a digital audio recorder for music applications, I would highly recommend either the Sony PCM-M10/R Portable Linear PCM Recorder, 96-kHz/24-bit, 4GB Memory & USB High-Speed Port, Glossy Red, the Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder, both of which will record a pristine 20Hz to 20,000+ Hz frequency range at 96-kHz/24-bit recording mode, or one of the Tascam portable digital recorders. Sony's "ICD" recorder line is more optimized for recording voice (dictation, interviews, meetings), but this ICD-SX712 also does a very good job of recording music. There is not much musical content that goes below the 40Hz sub-bass low end that this ICD-SX712 can record: the low fundamentals of a bass tuba, and the fundamentals of a contrabassoon, harp, double bass, pipe organ, piano.
What is in the box package?
o ICD-SX712 Voice Recorder
o Two AAA alkaline batteries
o "Ear bud" stereo headphones
o Mini-USB-to-USB cable to connect the recorder to your computer
o Sound Organizer software CD (for Windows 7/Vista/XP only, no Mac support)
o Dragon NaturallySpeaking software CD ("Voice to Print" version, also known as the "Recorder Edition"; for Windows only, no Mac support)
o Soft carrying pouch sleeve
o Stand, with tripod mount, for positioning the recorder's microphone
o Highly detailed 155-page all-English 'Operating Instructions' guide
The voice recorder itself has size dimensions of 1 1/4 inches wide by 5 3/8 inches long with a thickness of 5/8 inches, and it weighs 2.3 ounces without batteries and 3.1 ounces with batteries. So it is a quarter-inch longer than my ICD-SX750 and a half-ounce heavier.
More of the ICD-SX712's features are described and rated below:
***** Excellent 5-fuzzies feature ratings:
***** The recorded sound quality is excellent with crystal-clear sound clarity, both in its directional and stereo microphone positions. Stereo recordings have excellent three-dimensional spatial imaging. And when the recording level is set to "High" microphone sensitivity, the recorded speech of a distant speaker in a large auditorium is excellent. Sony claims that this recorder can pick up sounds from 25 meters (82 feet) away when using its highest-quality LPCM recording format, and I do not doubt that claim.
***** Compared to my older ICD-SX750, the ICD-SX712's microphones are noticeably more sensitive for recording even the slightest low-level sounds. My acoustic guitar fingerpicking gets recorded with the subtle sounds of my fingers working the strings, speech and vocals get recorded with the slight sounds of breathing, and the directional recording of a person speaking at the far end of a room or a stereo recording of both nearby and distant birds chirping in the trees all get recorded with great clarity. This new recorder introduces Sony's newly-developed 'S-Microphone System', and it combines advanced audio processing technology with a highly sensitive new microphone that captures even faint or distant subjects with extra clarity while reducing background hiss. A 'S-Master Digital Amplifier' produces great accuracy, clear separation of signals, and balanced sound reproduction using digital-to-digital processing, and the recorded signal is taken through the full-digital DSP stage without additional digital-to-analog conversion.
***** This voice recorder has lots of features with a great deal of usefulness! Do not feel apprehensive about feeling like you need to read all of this recorder's 155-page 'Operating Instructions' guide. You do not need to read all the pages to begin using this recorder effectively. For quick ease of use initially, you just need to read/skim the first 39 pages. This covers the basics of setup, recording, listening, and erasing. If you will mainly use the recorder for one, two, or three main purposes (e.g. dictation, group meetings, and music recording), you just need to familiarize yourself with a handful of the recorder's options for adjusting its recording parameters to suit each situation. For example, I mainly use my recorder for the following purposes: personal dictation with speech-to-text conversion using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11, recording work-related phone calls, recording a group meeting, and recording musical performances either by me with friends or by others in a music rehearsal setting.
Like the previous ICD-SX750 model, this voice recorder comes with a thorough 'Operating Instructions' guide. On Sony's Web site, I did notice that there is also a simple 'Quick Start Guide' PDF that you can download. I do not know why this 'Quick Start Guide' was not included in the package, but perhaps since this product was only released a month ago, they did not have a printed 'Quick Start Guide' available for packaging at the time?
***** Setup is pretty simple. The recorder comes with two AAA alkaline batteries. I can also use my own rechargeable AAA batteries. When used with rechargeable batteries, the batteries will recharge whenever I connect the recorder to my computer using the supplied Mini-USB-to-USB cable. Alternately, I can use the USB cord to connect the recorder to a separately-purchased AC adapter, e.g. Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger or Sony's own Sony AC U50AD - Power adapter. Rechargeable batteries take about 4 hours to fully recharge from an empty state. However, with the recorder connected via USB to a turned-on computer or to an AC adapter, I can charge the batteries while still using the recorder, which is very handy for very long recording sessions.
The ICD-SX712 can record in the following formats, listed with their approximate hours of recording time listed for using both fully-charged alkaline and rechargeable batteries, the maximum recording time that can be stored by the internal 2-GB flash memory, and the frequency range that is recorded:
LPCM 44.1kHz/16bit: 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 3 hours 0 minutes; 40-20,000 Hz
MP3 320kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 13 hours 20 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz
MP3 192kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 22 hours 20 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz
MP3 128kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 33 hours 30 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz
MP3 48kbps(MONO): 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 89 hours 25 minutes; 40-14,000 Hz
MP3 8kbps(MONO): 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 536 hours 0 minutes; 50-2,000 Hz
Note that this also means a fresh set of alkaline batteries will often provide significantly longer recording time than rechargeable batteries. This is especially true for rechargeable batteries that have been repeatedly recharged over a long period of time. Overall, this recorder has very good battery life. Read more ›
***** Very highly recommended with warm fuzzies!
I work in high tech and I am also a musician who plays guitars, harmonica, and world-beat/ethnic percussion. So I find portable digital recorders like this to be highly useful on a weekly basis for recording everything from personal dictation of thoughts and ideas, to in-person meetings, to telephone conferences, to jam sessions with my other musician friends, to recording impromptu music ideas and vocals.
Prior to purchasing this Sony ICD-SX712, I frequently used a Sony ICD-SX750 2 GB Flash Memory Digital Voice Recorder (Black). And before that, one of my main portable digital recorders was a Sony MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc Recorder with Car Kit with a Sony ECM-DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone for recording music ideas, jam sessions, and rehearsals. Sony's MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc recorder offered CD-quality digital recording with a full 20Hz-20,000Hz +/-3dB frequency range, along with an AM/FM/TV/Weather tuner. But for years, my one big complaint with Sony's Net MD MiniDisc recorder was that the device had no 'Line Out' or easy method to transfer my digital recordings off of its MiniDisc so that I could perform further editing on the computer.
Even though the "712" number in this ICD-SX712 model is numerically smaller than Sony's previous model of ICD-SX750, I see this model as a substantially improved direct replacement for their previous ICD-SX750 model, which was also priced very similarly. Since I have both the ICD-SX750 and ICD-SX712 recorders, some of this product review will compare the two models.
With the advent of affordable digital recorders that use onboard flash memory and/or Memory Stick Micro (M2) and microSD memory cards, I find myself using my Net MD recorder less and less now. Note that the Sony line of "ICD" recorders are NOT really professional digital audio recorders for recording full-spectrum music, but this ICD-SX712 can still produce a very good CD-quality stereo recording for most kinds of music. Using its best LPCM 44.1 kHz 16-bit recording mode, the ICD-SX712 records a frequency range of 40Hz-20kHz. Depending upon the music that you are wanting to record, this may or may not be sufficient since a dedicated digital audio recorder will go down to 20 Hz. If you really want a digital audio recorder for music applications, I would highly recommend either the Sony PCM-M10/R Portable Linear PCM Recorder, 96-kHz/24-bit, 4GB Memory & USB High-Speed Port, Glossy Red, the Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder, both of which will record a pristine 20Hz to 20,000+ Hz frequency range at 96-kHz/24-bit recording mode, or one of the Tascam portable digital recorders. Sony's "ICD" recorder line is more optimized for recording voice (dictation, interviews, meetings), but this ICD-SX712 also does a very good job of recording music. There is not much musical content that goes below the 40Hz sub-bass low end that this ICD-SX712 can record: the low fundamentals of a bass tuba, and the fundamentals of a contrabassoon, harp, double bass, pipe organ, piano.
What is in the box package?
o ICD-SX712 Voice Recorder
o Two AAA alkaline batteries
o "Ear bud" stereo headphones
o Mini-USB-to-USB cable to connect the recorder to your computer
o Sound Organizer software CD (for Windows 7/Vista/XP only, no Mac support)
o Dragon NaturallySpeaking software CD ("Voice to Print" version, also known as the "Recorder Edition"; for Windows only, no Mac support)
o Soft carrying pouch sleeve
o Stand, with tripod mount, for positioning the recorder's microphone
o Highly detailed 155-page all-English 'Operating Instructions' guide
The voice recorder itself has size dimensions of 1 1/4 inches wide by 5 3/8 inches long with a thickness of 5/8 inches, and it weighs 2.3 ounces without batteries and 3.1 ounces with batteries. So it is a quarter-inch longer than my ICD-SX750 and a half-ounce heavier.
More of the ICD-SX712's features are described and rated below:
***** Excellent 5-fuzzies feature ratings:
***** The recorded sound quality is excellent with crystal-clear sound clarity, both in its directional and stereo microphone positions. Stereo recordings have excellent three-dimensional spatial imaging. And when the recording level is set to "High" microphone sensitivity, the recorded speech of a distant speaker in a large auditorium is excellent. Sony claims that this recorder can pick up sounds from 25 meters (82 feet) away when using its highest-quality LPCM recording format, and I do not doubt that claim.
***** Compared to my older ICD-SX750, the ICD-SX712's microphones are noticeably more sensitive for recording even the slightest low-level sounds. My acoustic guitar fingerpicking gets recorded with the subtle sounds of my fingers working the strings, speech and vocals get recorded with the slight sounds of breathing, and the directional recording of a person speaking at the far end of a room or a stereo recording of both nearby and distant birds chirping in the trees all get recorded with great clarity. This new recorder introduces Sony's newly-developed 'S-Microphone System', and it combines advanced audio processing technology with a highly sensitive new microphone that captures even faint or distant subjects with extra clarity while reducing background hiss. A 'S-Master Digital Amplifier' produces great accuracy, clear separation of signals, and balanced sound reproduction using digital-to-digital processing, and the recorded signal is taken through the full-digital DSP stage without additional digital-to-analog conversion.
***** This voice recorder has lots of features with a great deal of usefulness! Do not feel apprehensive about feeling like you need to read all of this recorder's 155-page 'Operating Instructions' guide. You do not need to read all the pages to begin using this recorder effectively. For quick ease of use initially, you just need to read/skim the first 39 pages. This covers the basics of setup, recording, listening, and erasing. If you will mainly use the recorder for one, two, or three main purposes (e.g. dictation, group meetings, and music recording), you just need to familiarize yourself with a handful of the recorder's options for adjusting its recording parameters to suit each situation. For example, I mainly use my recorder for the following purposes: personal dictation with speech-to-text conversion using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11, recording work-related phone calls, recording a group meeting, and recording musical performances either by me with friends or by others in a music rehearsal setting.
Like the previous ICD-SX750 model, this voice recorder comes with a thorough 'Operating Instructions' guide. On Sony's Web site, I did notice that there is also a simple 'Quick Start Guide' PDF that you can download. I do not know why this 'Quick Start Guide' was not included in the package, but perhaps since this product was only released a month ago, they did not have a printed 'Quick Start Guide' available for packaging at the time?
***** Setup is pretty simple. The recorder comes with two AAA alkaline batteries. I can also use my own rechargeable AAA batteries. When used with rechargeable batteries, the batteries will recharge whenever I connect the recorder to my computer using the supplied Mini-USB-to-USB cable. Alternately, I can use the USB cord to connect the recorder to a separately-purchased AC adapter, e.g. Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger or Sony's own Sony AC U50AD - Power adapter. Rechargeable batteries take about 4 hours to fully recharge from an empty state. However, with the recorder connected via USB to a turned-on computer or to an AC adapter, I can charge the batteries while still using the recorder, which is very handy for very long recording sessions.
The ICD-SX712 can record in the following formats, listed with their approximate hours of recording time listed for using both fully-charged alkaline and rechargeable batteries, the maximum recording time that can be stored by the internal 2-GB flash memory, and the frequency range that is recorded:
LPCM 44.1kHz/16bit: 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 3 hours 0 minutes; 40-20,000 Hz
MP3 320kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 13 hours 20 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz
MP3 192kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 22 hours 20 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz
MP3 128kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 33 hours 30 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz
MP3 48kbps(MONO): 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 89 hours 25 minutes; 40-14,000 Hz
MP3 8kbps(MONO): 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 536 hours 0 minutes; 50-2,000 Hz
Note that this also means a fresh set of alkaline batteries will often provide significantly longer recording time than rechargeable batteries. This is especially true for rechargeable batteries that have been repeatedly recharged over a long period of time. Overall, this recorder has very good battery life. Read more ›
59 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
The recorder works fine, and the recording quality is very good, although the internal speakers do not give an accurate indication of the recording level. Once you put the recordings on the computer, they are much louder than you'd think. The controls are not especially difficult to master.
The real problem here was the software. The only reason that I bought this one over the cheaper model was the included dragon software. The dragon software is NOT mac-compatible, even though there's nothing about that in the product description. Also, the software, like all dragon software must be trained to your voice. So if you're using it for transcription, and you can learn the dragon language of punctuation, etc., it might work, but it wasn't especially good at transcribing me, even after I trained it. But don't even think about using it to try to transcribe a conversation or interview.
I am returning this product, and buying the cheaper version.
The real problem here was the software. The only reason that I bought this one over the cheaper model was the included dragon software. The dragon software is NOT mac-compatible, even though there's nothing about that in the product description. Also, the software, like all dragon software must be trained to your voice. So if you're using it for transcription, and you can learn the dragon language of punctuation, etc., it might work, but it wasn't especially good at transcribing me, even after I trained it. But don't even think about using it to try to transcribe a conversation or interview.
I am returning this product, and buying the cheaper version.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
There are a lot of competing products out there in the voice recorder market, including the ability to do many of these functions on smartphones like Google and Apple, but Sony's Digital Flash Voice Recorder in my mind is the as good as you may need. The lack of a full function set of software that can work with the Mac is the reason for the lack of five stars. This decision on Sony's part to only support Windows seems to continue a long running feud between Sony and Apple, though understandably it could also be argued that the size of the Apple market might not make the effort worth the cost. You can use this with Apple, and the MP3 files are easy enough to read by any system. None the less, the specs are presented elsewhere here, and what I would add is that the unit is industrial, very high design for form vs. function, if you are using Windows the unit does what it says it does and is simple to use. The unit has very long battery life, swivel mics, and ability to plug in outboard mic to get better sound quality, headphones and a micro SD slot.
The base unit has a USB connector to the computer, but the recorder also has a standard smaller USB jack, which can plug in without the base unit.
Software from Nuance, a specific version of Dragon, allows you to train the unit to your voice and have your dictation transcribed, though I have not used this function and can't evaluate how well it works. Menu system on the Sony is very simple and functional. Solid and well placed buttons allow you to quickly change scenes for settings of the mic for the appropriate recording venue.
Quality of the sound was excellent under all situations that I recorded to. While not specifically aimed at the music market, it is a good choice for a balance between the spoken word and music, though for high quality music recordings, choose a higher end product targeted for that, which Sony also makes.
All in all, I am extremely pleased with this rugged unit that can be thrown in a bag and not worry about the battery going dead over a couple of days on a shoot. It does use standard AAA batteries. It is a good addition to anyone doing interviews. I also have a number of higher end recorders, but rarely just have them with me. I carry the Sony SX712D with me in my backpack where ever I go. It's as light as a couple of pens.
The base unit has a USB connector to the computer, but the recorder also has a standard smaller USB jack, which can plug in without the base unit.
Software from Nuance, a specific version of Dragon, allows you to train the unit to your voice and have your dictation transcribed, though I have not used this function and can't evaluate how well it works. Menu system on the Sony is very simple and functional. Solid and well placed buttons allow you to quickly change scenes for settings of the mic for the appropriate recording venue.
Quality of the sound was excellent under all situations that I recorded to. While not specifically aimed at the music market, it is a good choice for a balance between the spoken word and music, though for high quality music recordings, choose a higher end product targeted for that, which Sony also makes.
All in all, I am extremely pleased with this rugged unit that can be thrown in a bag and not worry about the battery going dead over a couple of days on a shoot. It does use standard AAA batteries. It is a good addition to anyone doing interviews. I also have a number of higher end recorders, but rarely just have them with me. I carry the Sony SX712D with me in my backpack where ever I go. It's as light as a couple of pens.
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I use this to record minutes of meetings and have never been disappointed with its operation, except I find that the Nuance software is useless to me. Read more
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The two rechargeable batteries were not includeded in my package. I mentioned the problem with Amazon.com but have not recieved any response.
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