• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Which Tiny Recorder? (1 Viewer)

NorthernHarrier

Well-known member
I was going to buy a Tascam DR-07X, but I've decided I need to start with something more pocketable. I am trying to choose between the Olympus LS-P4, which is mentioned a lot on these threads, and the Sony ICD-UX570, which is not. Does anyone have experience that would help me make my choice?

The Olympus costs $70 more in USD, has 8GB onboard memory, and takes up to a 32GB memory card. The Sony has only 4GB onboard memory, but takes much larger cards - the largest SDXC cards will work with it, according to reviews and Sony. Both products can reportedly zoom in on a subject somewhat, favoring sound to the front and center, even at a slight distance - which is an important feature I'm seeking.

The Sony records uncompressed PCM files only at 16bit quality, and MP3 up to 192kbps. The Olympus can record in 24bit FLAC format or 16bit PCM or 320kbps MP3. The Olympus seems better for recording quality on paper, but I’ve seen reviews raving about the recording quality of the sound on the Sony.

One other quibble: adjusting the recording level in the Sony requires stopping the recording process and changing settings. With the Olympus, recording level can be adjusted during recording or before recording, using the arrow buttons. That seems like a significant advantage of the Olympus product.

I'm not thrilled with the built-in USB port on both products, but will live with it. I feel the same way about the proprietary lithium battery in the Sony product. I'd rather have replaceable AAA or AA cells powering a recorder, but I will live with the lack of that feature.

Thanks for your help!
 
Last edited:
Sony appear to be selling the ICD-UX570 into the office equipment market place, this can mean that the frequency response may be optimised for normal voice frequencies and other optimisations for office voice use. It is also clearly meant to be foolproof in operation.

Sony also produce excellent, but expensive recorders for the music market place with really low noise pre-amps, etc.

I used voice recorders before music recorders became commonplace and survived, however, one would expect more flexibility and more ultimate quality from a music recorder.

However without carrying out a side by side comparison no one can truly determine their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Comparing the manuals online, the Sony is a very simple device to operate, you get far more flexibility with e Olympus, whether you need that flexibility is another matter.

At the end of the day the Olympus and the Sony are designed for two very different sets of users, the Sony has a simple optimised music setting which may be useful.

I would tend to go for the Olympus as I use this model for a whole load of different audio recording purposes, I do own an excellent but far more expensive Sony as well as various Olympi, Tascam and Zoom recorders so have nothing against Sony other than their prices, but I need the flexibility of the Olympus which will be closer to the Tascam in flexibility than the Sony. My guess and it is a guess, is that the Oly will outperform the Sony for many uses, but until someone tries both and can definitively come up with a measured comparison, we have nothing to go on than guess work.

Not a lot of help I am afraid, and I don't like the sliding USB connector either, that said mine still work after a fair amount of use, so they are not as fragile as they look.

Best of luck, but if you havn't already, go on the manufacturers web sites and download or read the manuals.

J
 
Last edited:
Sony appear to be selling the ICD-UX570 into the office equipment market place, this can mean that the frequency response may be optimised for normal voice frequencies and other optimisations for office voice use. It is also clearly meant to be foolproof in operation.

Sony also produce excellent, but expensive recorders for the music market place with really low noise pre-amps, etc.

I used voice recorders before music recorders became commonplace and survived, however, one would expect more flexibility and more ultimate quality from a music recorder.

However without carrying out a side by side comparison no one can truly determine their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Comparing the manuals online, the Sony is a very simple device to operate, you get far more flexibility with e Olympus, whether you need that flexibility is another matter.

At the end of the day the Olympus and the Sony are designed for two very different sets of users, the Sony has a simple optimised music setting which may be useful.

I would tend to go for the Olympus as I use this model for a whole load of different audio recording purposes, I do own an excellent but far more expensive Sony as well as various Olympi, Tascam and Zoom recorders so have nothing against Sony other than their prices, but I need the flexibility of the Olympus which will be closer to the Tascam in flexibility than the Sony. My guess and it is a guess, is that the Oly will outperform the Sony for many uses, but until someone tries both and can definitively come up with a measured comparison, we have nothing to go on than guess work.

Not a lot of help I am afraid, and I don't like the sliding USB connector either, that said mine still work after a fair amount of use, so they are not as fragile as they look.

Best of luck, but if you havn't already, go on the manufacturers web sites and download or read the manuals.

J

Thank you very much for responding to my question! I suspect that the internal mic's on a Tascam DR-07X might be a tad more sensitive for recording birds than the internal mic's on the Olympus, but I feel that the Tascam (and maybe a used ME 66/K6 mic) would be a possible future purchase - after I get something I can truly carry on my commute (with my arthritic body) without a weight penalty.

My situation is that my physical limitations rule out the hiking I used to do in order to find birds in rural, quiet settings. I need a recorder I can have with me when I run into an opportune moment and find a bird singing close to me, on my daily work commute or weekend errands. I know the internal mics on a small recorder will not provide quality recordings of distant birds, but I want to try to see what I can do with the local, tame mockingbirds, cardinals, jays, etc. There is a house wren that raises a family at a nearby bus stop every spring - I'd like to record him, as he gives warning calls when I come by, as well as his regular territorial song.

I think you hit the nail directly on the head - the Olympus is probably better suited to what I wish to do. The ability to quickly adjust the recording level is a key advantage over the Sony, and I know I can at least somewhat focus the mic pickup to the center using the "zoom" feature on the LS-P4. In addition, I know from reading these threads that quite a few people use the LS-P4 to record birds in a pinch, with decent results, given its limitations.

I think I'll go with the Olympus, which will work very well also for recording interesting shortwave and amateur radio broadcasts. Thanks, again, for your thoughtful response to my inquiry.

Jeff
 
There are many factors that have an effect on the ability to record and the quality of the final recording. These range from the noise from external factors, such as wind, handling and the general environmemtal noise; the quality and design of the various components used in recorder, primarily the pre-amps, but other design considerations have an effect including the quality of the microphones used.

You mention the possibility of purchasing a used ME 66/K6 in the future, this is connected to the Olympus in exactly the same way as you would connect it to the Tascam DR-07x and you would see a bigger gain in performance in this than say, replacing the Oly with the Tascam. In addition, the smaller Oly can easily be attached to a big shotgun by velcro, elastic bands or whatever, making the whole assembly easier to carry.

What I would suggest for any new owner of the LS-P4, or any other lightweight audio recorder, is to get a cheap zip up case to carry it in, there are many for sale from places like Amazon, that will fit it like a glove, and secondly get a hairy windscreen to minimise wind noise.

If you are worried about wear on the built in usb connector, you can always get a short usb extension lead that will put less load onto the connector when attaching it to a computer.

The final piece of your starter kit, assuming that you have some sort of computer is to arm yourself with Audacity software, it is free and will allow you to improve your recordings no matter what you are using in terms of hardware.

Whatever you do, you will need to practice to get the best out your equipment.

Good luck.

J
 
There are many factors that have an effect on the ability to record and the quality of the final recording. These range from the noise from external factors, such as wind, handling and the general environmemtal noise; the quality and design of the various components used in recorder, primarily the pre-amps, but other design considerations have an effect including the quality of the microphones used.

You mention the possibility of purchasing a used ME 66/K6 in the future, this is connected to the Olympus in exactly the same way as you would connect it to the Tascam DR-07x and you would see a bigger gain in performance in this than say, replacing the Oly with the Tascam. In addition, the smaller Oly can easily be attached to a big shotgun by velcro, elastic bands or whatever, making the whole assembly easier to carry.

What I would suggest for any new owner of the LS-P4, or any other lightweight audio recorder, is to get a cheap zip up case to carry it in, there are many for sale from places like Amazon, that will fit it like a glove, and secondly get a hairy windscreen to minimise wind noise.

If you are worried about wear on the built in usb connector, you can always get a short usb extension lead that will put less load onto the connector when attaching it to a computer.

The final piece of your starter kit, assuming that you have some sort of computer is to arm yourself with Audacity software, it is free and will allow you to improve your recordings no matter what you are using in terms of hardware.

Whatever you do, you will need to practice to get the best out your equipment.

Good luck.

J

Earlier today I ordered the LS-P4, a fur/foam set of windscreens, and a small hard case. Based on your comments, I’ve got a good start. A few days ago, I downloaded Audacity. I’m very much looking forward to using the software on my first recordings.

I did not think of the USB extension - that’s a good idea. I also appreciate your comment on the effects of upgrading to an external mic relative to choosing a different recorder. It’s impossible for me to discern that without having the opportunity to try the different recording devices - so your comment on that is helpful, as well.

Reading the posts in the sound recordings sub-forum has been quite an education. Your comments in response to my original post in this thread have been especially helpful. I know I’m on the right track.

Thanks again,
Jeff
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top