Voice recorders

[genesis]

Hi

 

Want to buy some Voice recorders for English department. Our budget is between £50- £100 . Please suggest some voice recorders.

Thanks

[mavhc]

Not used any, but there's lots of brand named models to pick from here Voice Recorders with Type: digital voice recorder | Skinflint Price Comparison UK

[Geoff]

Given the budget I'm not hopeful you'll find something suitable (our dictation machines here cost ~£200 each). Something we are doing as well that might work for you is to use apps on smart phones.

[CyberNerd]

For English speaking exams we use something like these:

Spy 8GB USB Dictaphone Memory Stick Digital Voice Recorder Aluminium Black Color | eBay

 

despite the low cost they worked well last year

[woody]

We got 5 of these with a multi charger but you can buy individually. They are meant for primary as you can tell from how they look but we wanted something that would be straight forward, no bells and whistles and our MFL teacher loves them!

 

https://www.primaryict.co.uk/tts-easi-speak-mp3-microphone-usb-sound-voice-recorder-yellow_ettmicy-el00455_2013.htm

[3s-gtech]

We use Olympus VN-732PCs which are very decent and pretty cheap. Integrated storage with SD card expansion, mic port, playback.

[pslater]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoom-Recorder-Accessories-Tripod-Filter/dp/B004GUC8GY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1456840720&sr=8-2&keywords=zoom+h1+handy Top end of your budget but the quality is good for the price and the accessories are handy too. It will auto-level for you so anyone can use it.

[mavhc]

I'd pick ICDPX240.CE7 Sony ICD-PX240 dictaphone (VOICE REC.4GB - SIMPLE-PC LINK DIGITAL IN) and a good battery charger, like http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013SD1T5U/ref=pe_385721_37986871_TE_item which will measure battery capacity and dis/recharge it to restore capacity.

[dhicks]

They are meant for primary as you can tell from how they look

 

TTS do a non-bright-yellow "pro" version:

 

https://www.primaryict.co.uk/easi-speak+and+easi-speak+pro_c72_p1.htm

 

I've used these in several diffrent classes / schools now and they really are very useful, versatile devices, although as pointed out not really up to the quality you need for voice recognition (not quite sure why, the actual recording generally sounds clear enough - sample rate?). If you're holding them in your hand they do tend to pick up every little rustle and movement you make, but you get the hang of using them after a couple of quick tries. The fact they plug straight into a PC as a USB storage device is rather handy, too.

[jtotheb]

I've always found Philips Voice Tracers fairly easy to use. Save as MP3, hook straight into the PC as a USB storage device, most use standard AA/AAA batteries. They have a huge range from basic ones at ~£30, ones bundled with Dragon ~£70, to ones with multiple microphones ~£90.

[VeryPC_Anthony_L]

Having used a few different recorders I would recommend either the Zoom H1n or the Tascam DR05. Both of these are great recorders for the money and have a better pick-up range than dictator type devices.

[mavhc]

Are they 3 times better than the £25 ones though?

[jmak]

TTS do a non-bright-yellow "pro" version:

 

https://www.primaryict.co.uk/easi-speak+and+easi-speak+pro_c72_p1.htm

 

I've used these in several diffrent classes / schools now and they really are very useful, versatile devices, although as pointed out not really up to the quality you need for voice recognition (not quite sure why, the actual recording generally sounds clear enough - sample rate?). If you're holding them in your hand they do tend to pick up every little rustle and movement you make, but you get the hang of using them after a couple of quick tries. The fact they plug straight into a PC as a USB storage device is rather handy, too.

Like everything TTS, the product idea deserves better execution. We've had quite a few of these and they're great to use - but if they're mission critical, buy some spares. We've had quite a few that stopped working.

[mikkydoos]

Theres some good Panasonic ones with a integrated USB interface that are quite cheap.