I specialize in tech reviews and as a professional photographer and filmmaker have a good understanding of value vs. quality when it comes to recording devices. The two best in class for roughly $100 or less are the Zoom H1N vs. Sony ICD-UX570. Which is better? Read on:
The better question really is “Which is best FOR YOU?” I own both and highly recommend each excellent values yet there are key differences. Let’s compare to help your decision process:
SIZE AND STOWABILITY:
In person each is likely quite a bit smaller than you may be expecting. The Sony is the smallest—quite tiny. This advantage is also a potential small disadvantage when standing up the recorder for interviews. While it is not likely to tip over you don’t a loud bang in the middle of an important speech. Thus, I found a great little Arae cell phone stand that weighs nearly nothing yet ensures the Sony’s not going to tip. The Zoom is bigger and bulbous around the top to protect its mics. Even though it has more size to its best it is still tipable, If you want to secure it, there is a plastic tripod thread on its sid. I use a great little mini tripod like the Manfrotto Pixi for various audio needs including holding the Zoom recorder.
SOUND QUALITY AND VERSATILITY:
Both superb. The Sony defaults to a darn near perfect setting for almost all uses: MP3 at 192KBPS. It’s broadcast quality yet makes for very small file sizes. If you don’t mind slightly bigger files, the Zoom has slightly higher quality MP3 setting giving the option to use 320 KBPS. If you don’t mind huge files, the absolute highest quality setting for the Sony is uncompressed LCPM. The Zoom has several WAV choices including 96KHZ/24 bit.
Speaking of sound quality, when using meters to set optimal levels, Zoom makes it easy with a gain control dial right in front. However, that advantage can also be a job killer as the dial can easily be turned without you knowing it. I prefer to lock it out by most often selecting the Auto Level button also on the front of the recorder.
In terms of sheer versatility, the Zoom does more but that makes it more complex to use. Its controls can be aggravating and are not particularly user friendly. Although the Sony selection menus are not the easiest to navigate, compared with the Zoom the selections are far more user friendly and easily tested to achieve excellence for any given situation.
RECORDING TIME AND FLEXIBILITY:
Sony wins due to several factors. It has a long lasting built in battery that is easily charged via its built in USB connector. Zoom takes two AAA batteries—no big deal but so its batteries don’t run out in the middle of a job I prefer to change to new ones each time I record. The Sony has 4GB of recording space built in. The Zoom has none. Lastly, the Sony can take a 64GB Mini SDXC cardwhile the Zoom will not formatny SDHC card bigger than 32GB.
BUILT QUALITY:
The Sony is solidly build and impressive. I was surprised by the Zoom’s cheap, plasticky feeling. Mine came with a defective headphone jack although in the unlikely event that should also happen to you, I’m sure Amazon will make it right.
CONCLUSION:
Both are fine recorders and it is hard to nitpick among two best in class machines. For anyone other than a pro, I suggest the Sony. I strongly prefer it for ease of use and build quality, too. It costs quite a bit less than the Zoom although both recorders are excellent values. If you have more time to tinker, you may love the Zoom. With either, although the built in mics are quite good, I prefer to use easy-to-plug-in 3.5mm mics whenever possible. It’s worth having two basic types in your kit. As you may already know consider getting a wired ominidirectional lavalier such as the terrific ones from Rode and Sennheiser starting at $50. For the best interview sound quality, it is great to have a small directional cardioid mic such as the near identical ones from Boya and Movo for $35 or less. I mount the mic on a mini tripod. Small cartioid mics like these also double as a great solution for mirrorless cameras and DSLRs.
Hope this too long review has been of some small help. Best of luck in your searc and keep on recording the good stuff!
Sony ICD-UX570 Digital Voice Recorder, ICDUX570BLK, usb
4.5 | 3,285 ratings
Price: 79.09
Last update: 09-05-2024
About this item
Enhanced sound quality
Newly updated slimmer design
Built-in stereo microphone and voice operated recording
Three recording options: wide/stereo, narrow/focus and normal
Quick charge; up to 1-hour recording time, with 3-minute charge
Newly updated slimmer design
Built-in stereo microphone and voice operated recording
Three recording options: wide/stereo, narrow/focus and normal
Quick charge; up to 1-hour recording time, with 3-minute charge
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 1.43 x 4.31 x 6.13 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.76 ounces |
| ASIN | B082QL6KLG |
| Item model number | ICDUX570BLK |
| Batteries | 1 C batteries required. (included) |
| Customer Reviews |
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars
3,285 ratings
4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,124 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #6 in Digital Voice Recorders |
| Date First Available | December 16, 2019 |
| Manufacturer | Sony |
Top reviews from the United States
Johnny
Sony ICD-UX570 vs. Zoom HN1: Which is best?
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022
1world4us2share
It works very well, the screen is moody.
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021
1world4us2share
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021
[The display won't come on. It worked for awhile now it's all dark although it does record and play. The Talley lamp quit to for awhile
The display and Talley lamp started working again. ]
The power on has to be held to avoid accidents, I like that. Pushing the power switch up HOLDS it in state it's in already, like a keyboard lock & the screen says HOLD. It has nice safety. The input is definitely stereo. The recording has a high / low pass or OFF filter. The playback has a few channel equalizer. Yhe playback speed can be changed from -25% to 3x . The Talley light is nice. The audio is really good. The internal mics work rather well. It'll get crickets pretty well.
The VIDEO is made with the audio recording @ 192kbps MP3 recorded on ICD UX-570. At the beginning you can here the beep from the camera, also page turning @8:17. I used both internal and external mics at different points in the video.>
The input Mic/line is in stereo :)
Thx Sony it's nice, a few shortfalls, but it is a nice tool. I truly like it. If the display acts up I'll update.
Update about a year later: I love this thing. As it stands it uoerates very naturally with the minds processes. The menu is well formed and the tools get more useful the longer you use it. The screen and leds are good most of the time, but seem to have rare off "moods" (on occasion the screen won't come back on after it times out, then a forced long power on cycle usually fixes it) Its very durable. Of course it's not meant to be water resistant, but be cautious if it rains, only a few drops can be goofy (just turn it off n let it dry for ~ an hr) overall it is really nice. You can rename folders to a factor set list of things or rename them on the conputer. When renaming in tge device it uses the preset with a number in case you have used it more than once, i.e.: music01, musuc02, music03 ... There are multiple "Scenes" 2 are designed to be customized and one "Off" I believe removers it's settings. These scenes can be searched for on the device. I personally use the "Scenes" for distinguishing subject matter. If you select a specific scene it shows on the display; when you change the settings after choosing a scene it will display a "*" (asteris) by the scene name on the screen; thus allows me to choose a scene and adjust the setting to my environment while still being able to search for that scene type in my recordings.
Images in this review
