Customer Reviews

Sony TCM-200DV Standard Cassette Voice Recorder

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I use this for class to record lectures. I sit in the front and I pick up adequate amplification. However, if someone in the 4th through 6th row asks a question, it is a difficult to hear. During playback, I have to turn up the volume on those sections.

A few things I wish I had were
* a LED light signalling that I was recording. I have accidently forgotten to press the record button and just hit play. So, I have dead air.
*Auto shutoff when I am recording and get to the end of the tape. It doesn't shut off and it makes this screeching (but not too loud) noise when it hits the end of the tape. Which is kind of embarrasing. i have to pay attention to where the tape is at, which you can see through the window.
* It doesn't have a counter on it, so if I am taking notes, I can't write down the position I am at during the note taking.

Yet, for the price, I got what I paid for. It is a decent recorder. I have no complaints, only suggestions I want to get when I upgrade to another recorder.

Wouldn't you think a product whose title reads "with Dual Power Source" would actually include the AC adapter? Not in this case, although I can order one separately.

If you in fact want the AC adapter to arrive in the same package as your cassette recorder, be sure you order the Sony TCM-210DV, which I now understand is the model I should have ordered. The TCM-210DV appears to be identical to the TCM-200DV but includes the AC adapter.

Although I don't have the AC adapter I wanted as insurance for the occasions on which I record on tape, the recorder performs just fine on battery. I use it primarily to play audiobooks from the public library, because a Walkman or other play-only motor is not powerful enough for old, worn cassettes.

This is a nice little recorder and the price is right. I got it for my folks because they wanted to be able to record my niece and nephew and because the new digital technology was a little overwhelming. This is a very sturdy little player/recorder, easy to use, and great if you still have cassettes lying around.

I got this recorder to tape rehearsals with my band. Unfortunately, it's not well suited to that purpose--both settings on the microphone are too sensitive to record such loud sounds as drums and amplified guitar. For lecture recording and other similar purposes, though, it seems like this would work really well. It's a good recorder, just not what I was looking for.

I am in charge of fixing the horrible distortions
that happen in converting low-sample-rate recordings of poetry
readings from a camera to MP3 (terrible kazoo buzzing noise).

I discovered that good old analog tape, via an attenuating patchcord (-60db), convert very smoothly, and the PCM/16-bit 11khz audio format even rolls off tape hiss and keeps a beautiful natural tone. Using an electret microphone outboard also gets rid of the tape machine motor noise.

Anyway, I got this TCM-200DV at Target on sale for $25 to
back up the garage-sale recorder I was using. The first
wonderful surprise was that you can plug a common
external-powered PC condenser mic straight in! Sony
says they supply the bias, and they aren't fooling.
The level is quite sensitive too; excellent for poetry
at 1-2 ft distance, so 'pops' are avoided. The sound is
brilliant, even at the half-speed. I would have gladly
traded that for a tape counter. I am worried about
how all the switches dealing with the tape speed will age,
but I'll keep the thing in a bag to avoid dust.
The 25-hr batt life is cool.
Analog recordings of speaking events are very important at this
time, since the true 24-bit//96khz PCM recorders needed to
avoid conversion distortions are still very expensive. This
recorder does a super job for voice, and is a great feed
to the PC for digital recording. If I had to make it
perfect (albeit for a little more money), I would
drop the mutlispeed, add a counter, and add a
pop-up microphone wand with mechanical isolation from
vibrations (a PC mic on folded fleece suffices now).
A side-monitor (2 earphone plugs) would be nice too.

Thanks for saving my poetry group from hellacious distant
camera audio recordings, Sony!

As a test, to make sure of the range, for recording a meetng, I did the following. The recorder failed completely. I turned the T.V. to a normal level. At eight feet away, the only playback was static. The recorders did not pick up the sound until I was six feet away. The only way it might be used in a meeting is if you only wanted to record one person and you placed the recorder immediately next to that speaker. Also, it does not automatically stop at the end of rewind.

I've used this recorder for nearly a year now, and I love it. It is sensitive enough to record voices at 50 yards away. And, it is still clear and crisp enough at close ranges.

It'll hold up in the toughest conditions and strains. For some of my recordings, I've had to be out in the woods or open fields during freezing weather or burning heat. The tapes always come out clear, clean, and enjoyable. (Nature recordings, outdoor events, races, etc.)

As a reporter, I used it for interviews. As a student, I used it for lectures, discussions, and notes. The 2X recording time is worth the price alone. Not only that, but if you have to listen to the full three hours that is possible on tape, but you don't want to drain the battery, there's a 3V adapter plugin at the bottom.

The tape deck has remained secure despite some drops. The deck heads are still smooth, and the gears haven't started squeaking, which is something that other recorders have done in the past.

Overall, if you need a tough, durable cassette recorder, this is the one to buy. I wouldn't buy any other now that I have this one. Sure, you get longer recording times with MP3 and MD recorders, but this is a bargain for what it is.

Oh, and it's great for paranormal investigations... but, that's at your own discretion.

I bought this model on clearance a month or so ago. Its nice, and I like the mic in port which allows me to capture audio from a TV, Palm Pilot, or other source. Or even it allows me to copy tapes from my micro cassette recorder.

Although the unit is a bit bulky and clunky and definitely not one of the newer digital recorders, its a good starter unit, and has its advantages.

I am involved in a legal matter at this time, and I used this recorder to copy a micro cassette tape and have sent that tape to the DFEH to aid the investigation.

The problems with digitals is that when the battery dies, so does your audio files. Not so with tape.


John

This was a gift for my nephew.He wanted a small cassette recorder to tape music off of websites of radio stations not in our area.He said the quality is great.You can slow down the music or make it faster according to how you want to listen to it.It was a good deal for the money.Highly recommend!

So far I have no reason to think this is not the high Sony quality we are used to. And the price was very reasonable.

The 15/16ths IPS speed has gotten hard to find; Radio Shack no longer stocks them, so the quick local in-person pickup of a recorder that does half speed is gone; on-line seems to be the way to go. This recorder has it. When my clients sent me half-speed tapes and my old recorder that had this capability failed, I had to hustle to find this one.

The machine's failure to have a head-adjustment hole in the case is one shortcoming, hence my four rather than five rating. Many other makes and models do have this; others I have to modify with a small saw to give me this adjustment ability, which can make a large difference in playback quality (typically when the machine a tape was recorded on is slightly differently aligned than the playback machine).

The "dual power source" capability being highlighted I find "curious," because it seems to me that DC (battery) or AC (AC-to-DC adapter) capability is a standard feature. It may be becoming less standard than we have gotten used to, though, particularly in the very small digital recorders, which are the wave of the future (and present), which I assume is why Radio Shack's (as a "for instance") line of cassette recorders is dwindling, as their line of digital recorders grows.

So, on-line shopping and buying is the way to go. And maybe buy an extra item or two to put "into inventory" for when the machine you're using fails and you don't want a one or two-day delay in your work schedule while you wait for the UPS or FedEx truck to arrive.