Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony ICD-MX20VTP Digital Voice Recorder

I bought this software with the hopes of figuring out a way to use the Dragon voice-to-print software work for transcribing interviews. I knew it couldn't transcribe two voices, but I had read about a workaround where you re-dictate the entire interview in your own voice and then use the voice-to-print software to transcribe it. That turned out to be a pipe dream, at least for me. Even with training the Dragon software is not accurate enough for me to make it worth the time. I will probably find other uses for this software, however.

I am still happy with my purchase. The included sound editing software allows for easy manual transcription because the transcription keys allow you to stop and start the tape (it automatically goes back a few seconds when you restart it) without ever taking your fingers off the keyboard. I am a doctoral student working on my dissertation, so I appreciate the fact that the sound quality of this recorder is so good, and that transcription is (relatively) painless. The fact that the recorder capacity is expandable with standard memory sticks is also helpful. I think that the advantages of this recorder make it worth the difference in price from the lower-end models. I would recommend taking your time to compare the features of each recorder and its included software before making a decision to purchase a cheaper model, especially if you plan to use this for interviews and focus groups and not just as a voice memo pad.

If you are sure that you would never use the Dragon voice-to-print software, you can save a little money and purchase the Sony ICD-MX20, which is identical to this recorder but does not include the Dragon software.

I bought this device to record daily notes which it does very well. No problems with recording quality and the supplied Sony Digital Editor Software works fine. Problems I ran into initally was getting used to manipulating the small buttons,they're just too small. It says you can hit the stop button and if you don't change folders, resume in the same message. This is not true, and you must hit pause to continue. The provided Dragon software is not current as Version 9 is out. Transcription from a microphone is very good after training, from the recorder its awful. Overall I am pleased with this product. I recommend a memory stick upgrade and upgrading to Dragon version 9. By the way if you have problems using Dragon, Sony will tell you to call Nuance, and Nuance will tell you to call Sony. Once you put your mind to it you can figure it out without them.

I like the recorder and particularly the voice recognition software packaged with this model. But, I was surprised by its small size and the fact that it doesn't have an on/off switch (not mentioned anywhere I checked before buying the recorder). So, you have to remove the batteries if you don't want to wear them down between uses.

This digital voice recorder is very good and is easily carried because of its size. I am using it to record interviews. I put it about a yard away from the interviewee's mouth and it picks up their voices very clearly. At the same time, it is a few yards away from me and pointed away from me and yet when it plays back the conversation I can still hear the questions I ask (it is a little soft, but still easily enough heard). Because it can store recordings in different folders, I can keep my interviews separated until I can copy them onto my computer.

I wish it had an on/off switch to save battery life. I wish it came with the current voice recognition software (v. 9), which is supposed to be better than the one that came with the recorder (v. 8). Once trained, the software works well; it makes some mistakes, but not a lot. Because the interviews I am doing are about one hour long, it is not worth it to train the software for each person's voice. So, I copy the recording onto my computer and play it back from there. This allows me to listen to the interview and repeat it into the recorder. Once it is recorded in my voice, the software can make the transcript. A significant amount of clean up is needed after this, but it gets the vast majority of the words correct. This method is relatively fast and much less expensive than hiring somebody to transcribe the recording.

I got this product for my mom to use in her private counseling practice to make CD's for her clients. Figuring out how to convert the file to a format that will play on a CD took a little while but once you figure out that it needs to be a .wav file it's very easy to actually convert the file and burn it to a CD. The button to navigate the menu is kind of small and not necessarily intuitive. Overall however the product has good sound and recording quality is generally easy to use and I am confident that my mom will be able to use it with ease.