Clear recordings and easy to use

I tried several other dictation devices and I keep coming back to this one. I'm an attorney and I use microcasette recorders daily for dictation and this is a great little unit if you can get it for a reasonable price.

Features:
- External earpiece input
- External mic input
- Voice-Operated-Recording
- Slide Button Mechanism
- 2 Tape Speeds
- Windproof Mic
- Dictation or Conference Mode
- Fast Playback
- All metal construction
- Tape counter
- Battery Indicator

PROS:

Slide Button
This is an absolute MUST for dictation devices. When you are speaking into the unit, you simply slide it upwards to record and slide it back to the middle position to stop. You can do this back and forth pretty effortlessly. If you mess up, you can simply slide it completely downwards briefly to rewind it a bit and record over the previous part. The mechanical action is smooth and makes sense. When in the dictation mode, it locks into place unless you bring it back to stop. This is great for when you are recording room conversations or if you get lazy and want to rest it on the table. The rewind mode is spring-loaded so it pops back into place if you let go.

If you've ever tried a dictation device that has separate buttons for play, record, rewind and fast forward, you'd understand just how frustrating it is to sit there and hit buttons all day. With the slide button, you do everything with your thumb.

Fast Forward/Cue
This button is placed adjacent the slide button so you don't accidentally fast forward when you mean to rewind. This also makes sense because you will rarely be fast forwrading. You mess up far more often than you need to skip past stuff.

Microphone
The microphone is very clear and unmuffled. The windguard works wonderfully and doesn't pick up much breath noise unless you're the type who likes to almost kiss it. In that case, you need help.. because your assistant won't be pleased. Anyways, granted that you're not trying to devour the unit, from a reasonable distance, it records excellent voice quality. When I compare this with others, namely those made by Sharp and Olympus, the voice quality is much better on this Sony.

Another big advantage here is that if you mess up frequently and have to re-record over parts or start/stop frequently, there transitions between these are not so noticeable. In other recorders, you get loud pops and clicks when you dub in and out. Sometimes you also get sound fading in and out at the transition points. This is because the heads on those inferior units don't activate quick enough. This unit's heads activate very quickly and have very little of that. Even if you'll never notice it, the person taking the dictation will thank you for this feature.

All metal construction
Sounds silly but the all metal construction makes a difference. It's a lot more durable than plastic and holds up after you drop it a few times. And, another thing you'd think is silly but it's Made in Japan and in my experience, Sony products made in Japan tend to be superior in craftsmanship.

CONS:
Voice Operated Recording
I have yet to come across a dictation device that does this right and the Sony is no exception. The VOR works, but it doesn't start the recording quick enough to pick up the beginning of your speech.

Price
In office catalogs, this unit is one of the pricier unit costing well over $100.