Sony ICD-UX570 Digital Voice Recorder, ICDUX570BLK, usb

Sony never lets me down. Top of the line. Good quality. Very clear recordings. Easy to use. Pause button works quickly. Stylish. Light weight, and small. What in not a fan of is that I have to charge it on my laptop. USB. I bought a cute little case for it.

I was looking for something that could kill two birds with one stone: 1) allow me to create an audio journal which I could easily import to my MacBook and burn onto CD; and 2) play MP3s. The audio journal thing is admittedly a quirky little project of mine, as I would have given anything if my grandfather had left behind a shoebox of cassettes with his voice and thoughts, etc., and I'm arrogant enough to hope that someone will one day wish the same of me. The MP3 capabilities are also excellent with the use of the onboard software EQ.The interface might not be the most intuitive, but it doesn't take long to learn your way around within the menus. And with one of the menu items being the ability to reset the features to default, don't be afraid to experiment thinking you might somehow lock yourself into a setting you can't undo.For simple voice recording of one's thoughts, poems, dreams, and chronicling of life-events and oddities (one person, one MIC), I find that turning every setting/filter off and setting the MIC Sensitivity to LOW works best for an updated, modern version of talking into a microcassette recorder (no need to even set the range to FOCUS). For setting the device on a table and recording a gathering of friends or whatnot, turn all settings and filters off, set the range to WIDE and the MIC Sensitivity to medium and voila! You can even save these two settings (or any other custom recording settings) under MyScene1 and MyScene2. I actually advise against using the "AUTO" settings as this tends to record hot and loud at first and drop off in volume after a few seconds of recording due to the unit attempting to self-correct it's recording levels. For excellent, crisp playback of either of these scenarios through headphones, set the five Custom EQ sliders to the following (from left to right): +2, -1, +1, +1, +3. This is also the setting I use for 99.9% of my music MP3 playback.Another neat (and HANDY!) feature is that, if you are unsure of your MIC Sensitivity, before you actually begin recording, you can press and hold the record button rather than just pressing it. This puts the recording into pause mode right out of the gate but still displays the L and R level monitors. This is how..... well, maybe I'll get a ding against me for even bringing this up, but I'm about to be REAL with ya: You know how YouTube music doesn't allow you to export your downloads as MP3s? Well, by running an aux cable from my phone or MacBook headphone port into the MIC jack of this Sony unit, you can play a few seconds of a song with the above method to see what volume level to set your phone or computer at, pause the song and back it up to the beginning, hit Record on the Sony and Play on the player. Moral gray area? Probably, but the laws of physics as pertains to electronics says it CAN be done.Something I've seen often mentioned in reviews for this and other Sony recorder units is this supposed inability to rename a folder or file anything other than the broad and boring names Sony has pre-destined. While this may be true on the unit itself, it is NOT the case once you plug the device into a computer. Just right-click on the folder or file and give it any name you want... even "Crispy Bellowing Wobble-Mallows" if you're so inclined. Back over on the unit, even longer titles will slow-scroll across the screen (once, then you have to re-highlight it to see it do this nifty little trick again).Voice-activated recording is also present and accounted for, so if you want to know if you're talking in your sleep, have at it (and with 22-hour battery life at even the highest sound-quality settings, no worries!).Startup from off to recording is negligible... if you've used the unit within 4 hours, just slide the power switch down and press Record. If it's been OVER 4 hours since the last time, well... you're just going to have to wait 1.2 entire seconds. And if your screen cuts off (which it will after 30 seconds [and this amount of time is menu-adjustable]) don't panic about messing up your recording session by pressing a button to re-light the screen... just press "BACK" and your screen reappears with the current function uninterrupted.Unfortunately, it's true what others have said about not being able to adjust the screen brightness, so if you're using this in the pitch-black of a moonless night, you're gonna blind yourself... no way around it. The good news is you have a makeshift flashlight for just such a pitch-dark moonless night... BONUS! What you CAN do, however, is switch off the unit's use of its red/green indicator light (so if you want to lie and assure someone they're NOT being recorded, this gives you a leg up in that endeavor, you mischievous miscreant!).The 4gb of onboard memory should be plenty for most, granting 5 hours of the top-tier quality recording and 40 hours of the highest MP3 quality.. Just add a memory card for extra space (64gb or higher allows for 7.3 million years of recording time... which is just ungodly and, really, WHY?). When you plug the unit into a computer via USB, you will see two separate drives for the onboard memory and the memory card. And now you can open the REC_FILE folder of either drive, pic a folder and drag-and-drop your MP3s (or move things around from folder to folder if you don't want to take the time to do it on-unit). This also starts the charging process (and 3 minutes of charging grants 1 hour of recording battery time... 3 hours to charge from bone-dry to full).I haven't tested the "record a live band or rehearsal" capabilities, so I would be making it all up if I tried to review that particular aspect of this thing. I have no reason to believe that this device would fail at that endeavor though, given the sheer number of tweakable MIC and filter settings at your disposal.As for carrying the thing around.... I understand (from YouTube reviewers) that this gadget once came packaged with a nifty little neoprene sleeve. At the time of this review, new units are no longer shipping with such. As for me, I just slip it down into a leather pouch (felt-lined) made to hold three fountain pens (I think Pelikan made this pouch, and I just folded the two dividers backwards, and, with their tendency to want to move back forward, this just added to the snugness), and there she sits, all snug as a bug and felt-protected, and I stash it in a back pocket or jacket pocket (please do not sit on the Sony ICD-UX570... please just don't! I haven't yet but I highly advise against it).So anyway, that's my review of the Sony iPod Modern Tapeless Microcassette Recorder. I've had my say...... now buy this thing and have yours!

Overall Impression:The Sony ICD-UX570 is a compact, reliable digital voice recorder that excels at capturing high-quality voice memos, making it a valuable tool for transcription and note-taking. While it performs well for short to medium recordings, extended sessions revealed some limitations when paired with AI transcription services.Initial Expectations vs. Reality:I purchased the ICD-UX570 primarily for voice memos, intending to transcribe them using AI tools. For this purpose, it performed exceptionally well. However, during attempts to record 8-hour work sessions for meeting notes, transcription quality dropped significantly, often producing incoherent results. This seems to stem from either audio degradation over long recordings or potential limitations in microphone sensitivity for extended durations.Design and Build Quality:The ICD-UX570 is lightweight, pocket-friendly, and has an intuitive interface. The screen is bright and easy to navigate, and the device feels durable despite its compact size. Its built-in storage is adequate for basic use, but I recommend purchasing a microSD card to expand capacity—essential for long recording sessions.Performance and Usability:For shorter memos or brief interviews, the recorder delivers clear, crisp audio that transcribes accurately with AI services. Recording in MP3 or LPCM formats allows for flexible use cases, and playback through the built-in speaker is surprisingly good for its size. However, for long-duration recordings, the audio clarity diminishes slightly, leading to unreliable AI transcriptions. This might not be an issue for those manually reviewing recordings but can hinder fully automated workflows.Pros:Excellent audio quality for short to medium-length recordings.Compact and portable – ideal for on-the-go use.Expandable storage with microSD card slot.Intuitive interface – easy to operate, even for beginners.Fast charging and long battery life for general use.Cons:Inconsistent transcription results for long-duration recordings (8+ hours).Limited onboard storage without additional memory.Microphone sensitivity could be improved for large room or distant audio capture.Who Would Benefit Most:This recorder is perfect for students, journalists, or professionals who need a reliable tool for capturing meetings, interviews, and memos. It’s particularly useful for AI-assisted transcription workflows if recordings are kept under a few hours. For those needing to capture day-long conversations or lectures, pairing it with a high-capacity microSD card is essential, but expect some manual review for accurate transcriptions.Final Thoughts:The Sony ICD-UX570 is a fantastic investment for everyday voice recording and transcription, but it isn’t a perfect solution for ultra-long sessions without some compromises. Highly recommended for voice memos and shorter recordings, with the caveat to invest in extra storage and consider manual transcription checks for lengthy files.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:It's a good recorder. Very small but a bit hard to understand how to use when you want to skip around it to find certain recordings already made. There's a slot for a SIM card that I'm not using. Holds a charge adequately.