What's the best MP3 "Voice Recorder"? Or maybe a P

[nowstime]

Searching for the best voice recorder to record class lectures.

I previously had an iriver u10 512MB but unfortunately lost it. Tried the Samsung YJ...512MB but the quality was so poor compared to the iriver u10.

I prefer a MP3 player rather than a Voice only recorder. Just curious...which PDA has the best integrated voice recorder?

Best wishes,

Jack

[pianowizard]

The integrated microphone on your X41 should do a good job making MP3 recordings. I use my laptops to record my own piano performances all the time, with surprisingly high quality.

[nowstime]

What kind of program did you use to record? Doesn't the Window recorder have a time limit?
Can you recommend any freeware voice recording programs?

BTW, when I tried the X41 mic, the sound quality was pretty poor.

[Dead1nside]

iRiver H1xx series (discontinued, available on eBay)

The only MP3 player to have optical port.

Using open-source firmware Rockbox, you can make great recordings. The same goes for the stock firmware.

[ramian]

I can only think of the H1xx. I haven't seen/heard of any other MP3 player which offers the recording capability (or playback sound quality) as my H120. There are ofcourse better dedicated recording devices which offer sophisticated recording features, but most I've seen/read about don't offer much storage space, or battery life, both of which the H1xx series provide plentifully.

[pianowizard]

What kind of program did you use to record? Doesn't the Window recorder have a time limit?
Can you recommend any freeware voice recording programs?

BTW, when I tried the X41 mic, the sound quality was pretty poor.

Since 2000, I have been using the freeware MusicMatch 6, which is no longer available. I tried MusicMatch 7 and 9 but the free version didn't allow you to record from mic in. Not sure about the latest version, MusicMatch 10.

I have the setup file for MusicMatch 6, which I can email to you if you want. I doubt you can get it anywhere else.

With MusicMatch 6, I can record for as long as I want. And if the sound is acceptable for piano music, it has to be good enough for voice. You need to go to Windows' Recording Control and adjust the microphone input level.

[kstuart]

I recently did a lot of customer review reading in the area of inexpensive voice recorders and ended up getting an Olympus VN480PC. Olympus already has expertise in small devices with LCD screens that record to memory chips - i.e. digital cameras - and so the only new aspects were small microphones and audio digitizers. The unit in question can be found for as low as US$30, the 960PC has twice as much storage, and the 240PC half as much. The PC suffix means that it has capability to transfer the files to PC by USB. The recording is not MP3 format, by the way.

Generally, the unit is as well designed and easy to operate as Olympus' digital cameras.