Customer Reviews

Sony TCM-500DV Standard Cassette Voice Recorder

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought the 500DV about 3 years ago and have used it everywhere for everything. I made tapes. I listened to Books on Tape. I used it with headphones; I listened to the integrated speakers. I played it in hotel rooms, airplanes, the desert, the snow, on long drives, while doing carpentry, while changing my oil. It's been dropped, sprayed with water, subjected to sawdust, dirt, and hundreds (yes, hundreds) of public library cassettes. It finally gave up the ghost after being dropped for about the fifteenth time (snapped one of the wires going to the drive motor--it's actually repairable, with a teensy soldering iron).

Total maintenance performed: dabbed the playback head with isopropyl alcohol twice; blew on cassette bay to remove sawdust several dozen times. Dismantled once to put auto-reverse drive belt back on (it slipped off after I dropped the device onto a driveway, I think).

It's got a speed control knob on the back, which is big fun to play with but eventually gets a strip of electrical tape so it doesn't keep moving when it's in my tool belt. The speakers deliver crisp sound audible from across a room and give your ears a rest from that unpleasant sensation that can occur from wearing headphones all day. I listen to my 500DV about 40 hrs. a week (I am a carpenter) and have become spoiled with its surprising ruggedness, reliability, and steady delivery of clear sound.

Cons: Musical instruments sound tinny on playback, as the 500DV is designed for the human voice. It is a tad heavy when compared to its cheaper Walkman-like counterparts. It is more expensive than most voice recorders due to the external speakers, speed control knob, and overall ruggedness. The "PLAY" button kind of looks like the other buttons (dab some bright pink nail polish on it) and can be hard to find.

The only review of this recorder (Sony TCM-500DV) says that the recorder and appropriate adaptor "have been discontinued." According to Sony, neither is the case. The recorder is still available as is the appropriate Sony Worldwide AC Power Adaptor, their model number AC-E30A.

I used this voice recorder to record meetings, and lectures. It picks up the speakers' voices very clearly. I am extremely pleased with this product.

I bought this recorder because my 5 year old Sony TCS-100DV broke, and because it looks that nobody but Sony makes tape recorders with autoreverse.
On the plus side, this model uses AA batteries instead of AAA and it's a lot cheaper; on the minus, I miss the battery indicator.

This cassette recorder is good with Sony's clear voice recording. The speakers are OK except when you turn it pass "4" on the volume dial, you can feel the the speakers' vibration.

The adaptor was wrong for this cassette recorder...Amazon needs to add the right adaptor number that works with this recorder..

this is used to play back radio traffic in my area. It does the job well, the batteries last at least 16 hours during playback. good job with this product sony!

This recorder is very sensitive and you don't need to sit in front of the lecture hall in order to get good sound. Excellent voice quality. However, I am concerned about the $300 price here. I paid about $120 from Best Buy last year. Must be an error here, as Amazon's prices are usually very competitive.

I love this cassette recorder. I never record on it - only listen to recorded books, and it's perfect for that. The sound is excellent, battery life is good, and it has switch to change the tape direction. Wish I'd bought three.

I bought this voice recorder. Below on the page Amazon had listed the accessories that go with this product. The AC adapter listed on the Amazon site is WRONG. Furthermore, don't bother buying this because the adapter is almost impossible to find. Amazon should correct their error and mention that the product and the adapter have been discontinued. A lot of money to pay for a recorder that doesn't have any attainable accessories. I am really surprised at how Amazon has become very error-ridden of late. I will take my business elsewhere for all things not books.