PHILIPSDVT3500/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer with Telephone Pick-Up Microphone Voice Recorder

I use this as a field recorder for radio interviews. Two big plusses for that: the stereo mic is open in both directions, so you don't have to constantly flip the recorder around when talking to another person (I would sometimes miss words when doing that), and you can record WAV files with top sound quality. I need that WAV quality for the radio, but the MP3 recordings at SHQ level sound almost as good and don't eat up as much memory space.You have several recording-quality options.I like the on-off switch lock so it can't turn itself on while bouncing around in my bag (my Sony recorder used to do that). I also like that I can just drag and drop audio files onto a PC or Mac (my Sony wasn't compatable with Mac). I also like that it will turn itself off if you forget to do that, so you save battery life. Other plusses: it has rechargable batteries (you can also use disposible batteries if you like), it's very light and small enough to take anywhere.Just be careful when holding it while recording, because it's also easy to drop. I did that once, onto a tile floor, and I thought it would explode into a hundred pieces, but surprisingly it survived without a scratch.Philips seems to be the tech pioneer in sound recorders, and this Voice Tracer has some interesting features, like settings for "wind filter" and "noise reduction," with which I experimented. In both cases, the settings slightly reduced overall voice quality, and since that's my main objective for radio, I don't use them, even when recording interviews outdoors in wind. The "mic sensitivity" setting is a big plus, because it's a good quality mic, and if you set the sensitivity too high and hold the mic too close to the speaker's mouth, the sound files will be clipped (overmodulated). I use a "4" sensitivity level for close interviews and, in a quiet indoors setting, get near-studio-quality sound. I don't think you'd need a "9" setting unless the speaker was across the room.And here are other plusses that my Sony didn't have: you can see sound level bars as you record, so there's no mystery about what you're getting, and when the sound does peak or "clip," you get a message that tells you that as it's happening, and you can adjust instantly by moving the mic farther away from the sound source.All in all, you get a lot for your money with this recorder. Two fellow radio news reporters have larger and much more expensive Tascam recorders but don't seem to get any better audio.

Seems ok so far, though a little overly-complicated to use. I will say one thing, the batteries that come with these are HORRIBLE. Just replace them when you open it with something better. Every time I seemed to want to use it they needed to be recharged.

I bought this to try and save a message in my voicemail. First, the directions are just pictures of the buttons with no explanations, useless. After an hour of fumbling with it I had to just give up. Button in the center didn't function correctly, nor did the erase button. If I had ever figured out how to use it I'd have to use it everyday or start all over again a month or what ever later when I may have to use it again. I'm old school - and if this is the future of product directions I am in trouble. Second, All it came with was a couple headphones and one mini mic I guess you're supposed to hold up to whatever you're trying to record???? Not good, not what I expected at all. Item did arrive quickly though! PS: I'm a retired mechanic who had a second career in IT Tech Support so....if this thing stumped me......

This device has so many different functions it would take an extremely well-written set of instructions or even a well-written manual to understand and implement all of the features. It has neither. Instead it has a brief overview written in six languages. In an apparent effort to avoid the detail and expense of writing six sets in different languages, the actual instructions are a confusing set of pictographs. Its similar to trying to decipher prehistoric cave drawings. I regret the purchase and would not recommend this product.

The Seller, UBUYCHEAP, sent item promptly and well packaged. Item appeared to be in New and in working condition.Received premium service and product for a very fair price. Would order again from the same Seller.I really like this "tape" recorder. I already have a similar one.Thank you.

the unit came with dead batteries there was no instruction sheet in the recorder as state there was on -tried several times to call the company then finally they sent me pages on the unit that they thought was for this unit but it was not I dumped this in the trash

This is a great recorder, while not complicate to operate you should take 20 minutes to review the manual. After reading the manual I was able to pre-set my recording tastes and add an extra 16gb sd card and access it without any issues. The protective cover, good quality earphones, high quality rechargable batteries and phone pickup device makes this a great value. By the way it works excellent with Dragon Speech and Windows 7 64bit . Can't go wrong with this digital device.

I purchased this recorder for paranormal investigations as I needed to be able to adjust the microphone's sensitivity. The DVT3500 also has 360 degree pickup and is quite sensitive so even the faintest EVPs get captured very clearly. I can't find any fault with this product (some reviews complained about the on/off switch but it doesn't bother me). In all, I'm very pleased with my choice and would buy another in a heartbeat should this one ever need replacing.

Had this dictaphone for two months now and cannot recommend it enough. The recording quality is second to none (I have used it in very windy and noisy conditions and playback is perfect). The telephone recorder, which was partly the reason I bought it, is brilliant. A 45-minute phone call from a busy coffee shop sounds like a conversation in an empty room when listening back. The battery life is also very good and charging is simple.

Took rather long to arrive due to being out of stock, but company returned express delivery charge which was good. The machines are very satisfactory, work perfectly well and pick up everything we need them to.

cannot at the moment get my head round it

Ich habe dieses Produkt für die Verwendung zum lernen von Englisch Vokabeln angeschafft. Klar, man muss ich erst mit dem Produkt etwas auseinander setzen aber im Prinzip ist es gut zu bedienen und beinhaltet viele Funktionen. Es reagiert sehr empfindlich auf Hintergrundgeräusche -kein Problem- man kann diese anhand von manuellen Einstellungen einschränken damit man nicht das kleinste Geräusch bei der Wiedergabe der Tonaufnahmen hört. Wer also eine Tonaufnahme machen will, sollte sich vergewissern das es auch in einer ruhigen Umgebung geschieht. Selbst mein Freund musst sich in unserer Wohnung leise verhalten trotzdem hat man danach jedes noch so kleine tippen an der Tastatur oder klicken eines Feuerzeuges auf dem Gerät gehabt (natürlich hab ich es erst im Nachhinein bei meiner "Erstaufnahme", bemerkt wie empfindlich die Mikrofonqualität eigentlich erst ist).Ich kann das Gerät nur weiterempfehlen. Ebenso positiv ist die Laufzeit der Akkus die im Paket mit enthalten sind. Ich empfehle euch/Ihnen auch, sich die Produktvideos dazu anzusehen, wer sich nicht ganz einig sein sollte, da ich auch erst mit mir gehadert habe, was den Preis anbelangt bevor ich es bestellt habe aber ich bin endlos zufrieden.

Ich habe mir das Gerät gekauft, um Interviews und Gespräche zum späteren Abtippen aufzuzeichnen.Positives:- verschiedene Qualitäten einstellbar, dann verschieden lange Aufnahmedauer möglich- Lange Akkulaufzeit- guter Kopfhörerausgang mit Standardstecker- ein Micro kann extra angebracht werden, ebenfalls Standardstecker- für verschiedene Anlässe können die Dateien in unterschiedlichen Ordnern abgelegt werden, das erleichtert die Arbeit sehr, wenn man zum Beispiel unterwegs direkt vom Gerät transkribiert- durch eine SD-Card ist der Speicherplatz erweiterbar- Micro-USB/USB- Anschluss zum übertragen der Dateien auf den Rechner. Übersichtlicher Zugriff auf die Ordnerstruktur und die Dateien. Copy+Paste- Dateien werden mit Datum und Uhrzeit gespeichert, und auch als Dateiname so abgelegt.- Funktioniert also ohne teure Transkriptions-Software.Negativ:- Es fängt immer eine neue Datei an, wenn man die Aufnahme unterbricht, Als Diktiergerät zum Korrigieren und Einfügen also nicht geeignet.Keine Einfügefunktion! Aber ich verwende es dafür auch nicht- Wiedergabe sollte man entweder mit guten Kopfhörern machen oder über den PC.Insgesamt für meine Verwendung als verbales Notizbuch und für Gespräche und Interviews wunderbar geeignet, sofern man nicht in einer allzu lauten Umgebung hantiert.Hätte es noch die Einfügefunktion, wäre dieses Gerät 5 Sterne wert und ein Allrounder. Ansonsten: Gutes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis!