Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony ECM-DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone

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.

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 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.

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!