We reviewed the 10 Best Selling, Highest rated digital dictaphones with real customer reviews. Scroll down to read our reviews and compare products, OR Click Here to see over 70 quality dictaphones from the most reliable brands.
If you are looking for a Dictaphone as well as a voice recognition software this is a good buy. This bundle gives you these two things at a nicely discounted price than what you would have to pay to purchase them separately. The Olympus VN-5500PC is a beauty and with the additional voice recognition software you will be able to make recordings and easily transcribe them without much effort. Gone are the days of listening and writing or typing and rewinding and forwarding to get audio transcribed, this package does it all. With your purchase you get the digital Dictaphone, the Software DVD with an unlimited licence, batteries, USB cable and instruction manual.
Specifications
- Built in 512 MB memory: space for approximately 1000 files
- Integrated Loudspeaker
- Large LCD screen
- Large Central Button for ease of Operation
- Up to 221 recording hours
- 3 recording options; HQ/SP/LP
- Supports WMA format
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Software Package included
- 12 month manufacturer’s warranty in the UK with additional 2 year warranty if desired
Positive Reviews
Olympus VN-5500PC digital voice recorder is great for capturing lecturers. Consumers are saying the device doesn’t take up a lot of space and so it is very portable. It can easily be placed in a bag or pocket. It allows you to sub divide recordings into five different folders so you can stay organized. The recorder is said to provide top quality recordings in a number of settings and for one user the battery life exceeded 30 hours of recording before needing to be recharged. The voice to text component of the Dragon naturally speaking software works well and is great for transcribing your own voice. You won’t be able to transcribe lecture notes though as you would have to have your professor train his voice so the software can recognize it. For personal use it is very ideal though. The software is straight forward and you can have to two set up in no time whatsoever and training your voice is a breeze.
One consumer was glad to purchase these items together as the cost for the full version of the software alone was much higher than the cost of the two combined. When he saw this item he just had to get it and has never been happier with his decision. One consumer – a song writer loves how they both work together. Now she doesn’t have to stop what she is doing and get pen and paper to write down a line, instead she can just record it and later have the software transcribe it.
Negative Review
The drawback most mentioned by consumers is the fact that the software requires voice training and so it is hard for them to transcribe audio of someone else’s voice. Most of the people who stated this were college students who used the device for capturing lectures. If you are not a student and will be making audio files of your own voice then you can definitely do well with this Dictaphone and software package.
You can read more product reviews on our main dictaphone page
Olympus VN-8600PC Dictaphone – Review
This digital Dictaphone is ideal for recording high quality sound files in a number of different environments. You get five folders on the recorder on which you can store your files with each folder having the ability to store 200 messages. It is suitable for university students taking lectures, for professionals such as therapists, song writer’s recorders and for those of us who just want something to record our thoughts so we don’t forget them as well as everybody in between.
Specifications
- A Flash based recorder
- Supports WMA and MPS file formats
- Mono Sound Output
- LCD display screen of 1.61 inches
- Recording times of 134 for high quality, 264 hours for standard play and 843 hours for long play
- 2 GB Flash Memory
- 1 built in speaker
- 1 built in mono microphone
- Has a High Speed USB hub
- Has a Power output of 250 mW
- Uses 2 AAA batteries – included; rechargeable alkaline
- WxDxH – 10.8 x 1.7 x 3.9 cm
- Weighs 66g
Positive Reviews
Consumers and owners of the product are giving it high accolades. Mostly it is being purchased by university students who are in need of a digital voice recorder. It has been mentioned that the quality of sound that is recorded is impeccable with different settings to help the device filter out other noises. One student confesses to talking to a friend during the lecture but could hear the lecturer clearly upon playback above their own voices which were of course closer to the device as the professor was approximately 20 meters away. The USB cable also proves very useful for transferring audio to the computer where it can be transcribed easily either manually or with the help of software.
Other consumers who use the device say they not only use it as a Dictaphone but also as a MP3 player. This particular owner described the recorder as their best purchase to date saying the device can be described by no other word but perfect. You can transfer your files to the computer for editing as well as you can do some amount of editing on the device itself making it great for people on the go.
Other owners have used the device to record recitals, meetings, reminder notes, to do lists and while just playing around. They have all come to the same agreement that the product is in fact an excellent device that comes at an affordable price.
Best of all the recorder is small, lightweight and extremely portable. It has an efficient filing system so you can have all your files in their appropriate places where finding them for editing, transferring and transcribing can be done in a breeze.
Negative Review
One owner complained about a muffled sound when he recorded music in a small wooden room. He didn’t try it with a separate microphone though so that may do the trick. Anyway how many people record music in a small wooden room? If you need a Dictaphone for recording voice in a regular room this is definitely a good choice.
You can read more product reviews on our main dictaphone page
Our digital dictaphone review countinues with the Sony ICD-UX200 series. Yet another top quality product from Sony . This gadget has been around since December 2009. Looking at the positive reviews it received over the last year or so, it has proved itself to be a great product. Our research shows that 73% of all viewers will actually by this item which is great as it proves that they are happy with the features and the price as well. At the time of writing it will cost around £57.99 on Amazon. It comes in various colours such as black, silver, pink, red which is yet another cool thing that makes this digital voice recorder stand out of the rest. You can check out all of these sets HERE.
Before we go into the customer reviews let’s take a look at the features/benefits taken from the merchant’s site:
- Flash based Digital Dictaphone
- Enclosure Colour: Black, Red, Silver, Pink…
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 3.7 cm x 1.5 cm x 9.9 cm
- Weight: 58 g
- Supported Digital Audio Standards: WMA, AAC, MP3
- Built-in LCD DisplayBuilt-in clock/timer
- Built in speaker 90 mW
- Flash Memory: 2 GB
- Binual stereo headphones
- Built in microphonePC Interface Supported: USB
- Rechargable Nickel Metal Hydride Battery
Positive Reviews: The number of positive reviews is very encouraging. One buyer explains how out of 4 different digital dictaphones he owns this item is the best and the most useful. While other voice recorders have their own disadvantages he found this gismo flawless. Another buyer mentions how great the USB port is, with quick data transfer facility that is also a power supply. Many other buyers praise the sound quality, ease of use, long battery life and huge memory. All in all based on the huge number of positive reviews we have found this digital dictaphone has to be one of the greatest products available today.
Negative review: One customer mentions how it would be useful if the LCD display would display “time elapsed” and “time left to play” at the same time, as it is either one or the other option. Another buyer explains that you can not use the recording function whilst charging the batteries, however most buyer will charge it at home and use it elsewhere so we believe this is not really an issue.
We highly recommend you check out the Amazon’s site HERE if you want to get even more information about Sony ICD-UX200 dictaphones.
Our next digital dictaphone review is this Philips LFH0622/00 recorder. It is currently availabe at Amazon for just under £50 at a discount of 18%. It has been on the market since September 2008 so it is one of the “older” models that has proved itself on the market. Just over 60% of all viewers will actually buy this voice recorder and many will leave positive feedback about their experience with it. You can quickly download your recordings using a USB cable. In 4 different folders you can record up to 4 times 99 tracks that you can organize the way you want. The display will allow you to view all your files quickly and easily. The microphone-earphone combination is supplied with tie clip, allowing you to talk while you walk. Overall it looks a very promising digital dictaphone.
- Records instantly with one touch
- 2GB USB mass storage
- Records in MP3 format
- Voice-activated recording
- Digital Dictaphone dimensions: 22.1 x 14 x 3 cm ; 59 g
- Product Weight: 331 g
- 2GB storage
Positive Reviews:
We have found many positive encouraging reviews of this product. One happy buyer describes how easy it is to record with one button without getting other files deleted by accident. He praises the fast speed of data upload to his PC and overall he gave a big “thumbs up” for the product, that he highly recommends. Another customer is really happy with the huge 2GB storage which lets him record many interviews. He also describes how great the battery is as it still shows full power after using it for hours. He mentions brilliant sound quality. Overall professional design, good sound quality sizable storage keeps coming up throughout the positive reviews.
Negative Reviews:
We are a bit confused with this. We found 1 negative review of this digital dictaphone but for us it seems that the purchaser made a mistake as he was looking to buy a video recorder and got this. We do not really consider this as a negative review however he compares this product to a Sony item in his review.
Our Verdict:
Again the positive reviews outweigh the one confusing negative comment tenfold. We feel that although this is as we said earlier an older product it is professional and it does its job very well. Still you might want to have a look at newer products if that is what you want. If you want to read more about this digital dictaphone you can do it HERE.
The product on the left is one of the many popular digital dictaphones from Olympus, the Olympus WS 550M. It comes in either blue or silver. Both of them looks really cool in our opinion. It surely has many features and benefits which makes this item just a little bit more pricy than the average voice recorder. Prices start from around £85. It has been around since the beginning of summer 2009, and it has been selling well, with many positive reviews. Our research shows that just over 50% all viewers will actually buy this item which reassures us that they like what they see. Let’s take a look at all the features/benefits taken from Amazon’s website
- Flash based digital dictaphone
- Blue or Silver Enclosure
- 3.8 cm x 1.1 cm x 9.5 cm
- Weight: 46 g
- Sound Output: Stereo
- Equaliser Presets: Custom, Rock, Jazz, Pop
- Supported Digital Audio Standards: WAV, WMA, MP3, protected WMA
- Digital Recording Time: 32695 min – LP (Long Play), 16450 min – SP (Standard Play), 8365 min – HQ (High Quality), 8365 min – STSP (Stereo Standard Play), 4180 min – STHQ (Stereo High Quality)
- 108 x 84 LCD Display
- Built-in clock
- 2 GB Flash Memory
- 1 built in speaker
- Binaural Stereo Headphones
- Built-in Stereo Microphone
- Hi-Speed USB
- Nickel Metal Hydride Rechargeable battery
Positive reviews: One gentleman who purchased this voice recorder uses this kit to record live music, and he is very happy with the quality of the recordings. He mentions how everything about this digital dictaphone works as described by the manufacturer. Another customer was very happy with the available storage and the USB connection that also charges the battery. Yet another buyer explains how small and discrete the product is and that the fully charged battery will power the dictaphone for a long long time. All the above indicates that this is indeed a professional, good quality dictaphone.
Negative reviews: We found a few negative comments on various sites about this product. One buyer complains that the item is too light which makes her handle the product with extra care. We have found a few people who are complaining about the size of the buttons being very small.
Our Verdict: After reading both positive and negative reviews we still believe that this item can be a good buy for people who can live with smallish buttons. As funny as it sounds if you have big hands and you think £80-90 for a digital dictaphone is too much then we suggest you look for something else. If however you need the ample storage and all other benefits this gadget provides than you can read more about it HERE.
The Olympus VN-7800PC digital dictaphone has to be our next subject of review as we have recieved some really positive reviews about this little gadget. The Olympus VN-7800-PC has been on the market from the summer of 2009 and has been selling really well. More then 60% of all viewers actually buy and some who don’t buy usually go for the newer Olympus model. This product comes with USB port, 3 recording qualities, LCD Screen, Voice activated recording, Skip Function, additional microphone, carry case, earphones 2xAAA Batteries and 1 Year Warranty. Now that seems like an endless list.
Positive Reviews:
We found some really happy customers whilst researching. Reading their reviews has been very reassuring. One buyer explains how easy it is to handle this little machine and how good it is even for long distance sound recording. Yet another customer explains how he spent ages researching all available digital dictaphones and how happy he now is that he chose this one. According to him the price can not be beaten especially when we consider all the extra things buyers get with this product. Light weight, small size, huge memory, and added extras are the benefits we have found coming up in most positive reviews.
Negative Reviews:
Whilst the vast majority of reviews were positive it would not be fair to avoid mentioning one negative comment of this particular digital dictaphone. One buyer complains about the fact that the USB cable will not power this product, only allowing data transfer when connected to a PC, and for some reason he wasn’t entirely happy with the LCD screen. We have not come across these issues in any other reviews.
Our Verdict:
Overall we really like this machine and the number of positive reviews far outweighs the one negative comment. It is currently £51.15 at Amazon, which is a huge discount from previous prices. You can read more about this product HERE.
This is a very handy digital dictaphone from Sony that has been selling like hotcakes on Amazon since about March 2010.
Lets take a look at its features that we have found on the merchant’s site:
- MP3 recording – crystal clear audio recording with added Super High Quality mode
- 21-step speed control that allows you to control playback speeds, eliminating distortion
- 2GB flash memory – 500 hours of recording time, with 2GB built-in memory
- Noise Cut technology – Enhances human speech
- Advanced recording – Voice Operated Recording with Hi/Lo mic sensitivity
- Item Weight: 68 g
Based on the product specifications and product description this digital dictaphone can be a really good buy. Nothing we can say can replace the real customers reviews though so lets take a look at what our review researcher has found. Overall this product is selling well really well on Amazon. It is interesting to mention that over 60% of people who look take a look at this product will end up actually buyin it.
Positive Reviews:
We have found many really positive and encouraging reviews of this digital dictaphone. One customer has bought this item to record classroom lectures. He found this product very easy to handle, with good sound quality and long battery life. Another customer explains how he can record huge amounts of lectures as this model has 2GB memory. We found someone who praised how affordable this digial dictaphone is compared to other models and how happy he was with the speed of delivery. Yet another student explains how amongst all available voice recorders this gives the best value for money. Overall when you look at the price tag which at the time of writing is £23.99 at Amazon this IS probably the best value dictaphone around.
Negative Reviews:
Some customers complain about the fact that this item does not have a USB port which means you can not connect it to a PC or Laptop. USB port can be important if someone needs to store the recorded materials long term, however for others this will not be an issue. One customer complained about beeping when he switches to the next recorded data and he doesn’t like that.
Overall we like this particular digital dictaphone so we suggest you take a look at the merchant’s page HERE to read more about it.
Digital Dictaphone is a very popular products amongst a wide variety of people.
Recording any conversation, in any situation could not be easier using one of the latest Digital Dictaphones. They are all small, smart little gadgets, usually with huge digital memory making it easy to record even 100s of hours of conversation with a push of a button.
Digital dictaphone (s) although popular most people only looking for reliable big brands such as Sony, Olympus or Phillips Digital Dictaphones.
Currently the most popular series is SONY’s ICD series.








