Voice recorders for Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Question:
Help! I am technologically challenged when it comes to tech devices. However, I need some of these new gadgets. The first one I need is a digital voice recorder. I just started business school and I want to buy a DVR [digital voice recorder] to tape classes, and field projects. I want to load it to my PC with ease and maybe get the Dragon software to transcribe it for me. I need the sound to be excellent. I was told the new Sony ICD- U60 would be great because of the hours it records, and it includes the USB on the unit. But limited reviews say the sound quality is horrible. I don’t want to spend more than $100 to $120 max. Whose product should I buy? You mention the Sony ICD-P520 but I don’t know when you did that review. There has not been a current rating and review of DVR. Can you do an updated rating/review? Or just tell me one that would meet my needs? I also heard Olympus has good products. If you can let me know your recommendation by the end of the month that would be great. Thanks.
Answer:
Since you mentioned using a voice recorder to transcribe with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, let’s start there. First I’d look at the listing of devices that are supported by DNS. Next, look at the ratings. They’ll tell you what the best voice recorders are for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Get this info here:
http://support.scansoft.com/compatibility/default.asp
Go through the list of the higher-rated voice recorders, and look at each. You’ll be able to find quality recorders with the statistics you specify. For example, I see that the ICD-P520 is indeed on the list, rated 3 out of 6. But many of the listed voice recorders are better than the 520. At the time of this writing, the best recorder on the list for Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition is the Sony ICD-MX20, though at $200 is slightly above your range.
Check out the detailed writeups for each recorder – you’ll find information like “For optimal performance please use ST recording quality, set the sensitivity to LO and set the directionality switch to ON”. Very helpful when setting it up with DNS.
Finally, be sure to look for units with a USB interface – These will give you easy access to transfer recordings to your PC.
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