Sony PCM-A10 PCM recorder 16GB 3-way adjustable microphone

*** slight edit for clarity and transparency - I forgot to mention that the attached video was recorded with Clippy EM272’s into the Sony A10 (not the inbuilt microphones). As you can hear, the results are stunning in this configuration. If you want to hear the Sony A10 on action in field recording settings with just the inbuilt microphones you can search “ sony pcm a10 field recording” on YouTube and the top result is a video I did. I’ll likely be doing further videos with it too on more depth soon *** The build is pretty decent and the size is extremely handy. I actually like the internal battery and internal memory, it’s less to be messing around with out in the field. I can see why some people are apprehensive about it’s longevity with a built in, rechargeable battery, but most of what we have these days have inbuilt batteries (iPhones, laptops etc) and we seem to be doing ok with them. The inbuilt mics are really good quality. I think many fall into the trap of comparing this recorder and it’s microphones with the Sony PCM D100 (the holy grail of field recording). Of course, by comparison, the quality isn’t a patch on the d100’s capabilities, but as a standalone unit, if you respect it for what it is, the quality is really good. I use this for Field recording. When I want something portable and easy to use, this js my go to. It’s small and well built and easy to navigate around the menus. I have also coupled this with a pair of Clippy EM272’s which dramatically increases the audio quality over the inbuilt ones. However, it depends what I need on the day and it’s always good to have options. I wish Sony had explored implementing 32-bit recording with this device. I know this is something new and exciting and really would be something I would be considering if I was at Sony. I can only hope that they do so in the future. With 32-bit recording, this would be the absolute dream. Fundamentally, though, it would cost a lot more I’d imagine. Perhaps for future recorders, they could have a 32-bit and non 32-bit version at different price points so that people can plump for whatever best fits their application. My guess is that the 32-bit version would sell like hot cakes. Aside from not having 32-bit recording, this is the perfect device for me. Because of the size, it’s easy to capture stealthy recordings of general ambience without too much attention being drawn to you or the device. However, as it is able to provide plug in power, there are many more options available to you to integrate it into a more robust rig as the recording device. Something I did recently was experimented by feeding the audio via my clippys into a Roland Go mixer pro X directly into my iPhone while it was recording video. This was really exciting and makes recording videos with high quality sound much easier. Not an option for everybody of course, but it’s nice to play around with handheld recorders and their setup to see what can be achieved. Not that the video I have included with the review is with the Clippy EM272’s capturing that audio, not the inbuilt microphones. It’s still amazing to see what can be achieved though in this capacity. I’m really happy with this product and would be the first to recommend it to everybody I know. Things to consider are that an additional deadcat will be required for recording outdoors. The foam it came with is great for reducing plosives when speaking towards the inbuilt microphones, but not suitable as wind protection. I would also recommend mounting it on a tripod with a shock mount for best results. As with all handheld recorders, holding them in your hand can yield a lot of handling noise when using the built in mics. A mini tripod and shock mount helps greatly reduce this when out and about exploring and recording. Happy recording all.

Excellent product. High quality recordings. Playback is a bit low and you need to set the volume to maximum. App is nice but all it does is start and stop recordings.

I bought this Hi Res recorder to record soundtracks with my Nikon Z50. The first thing to hit you is it’s diminutive size. It’s absolutely tiny. I used to have a Sony DCM-D100 which is massive in comparison. Although probably not up to the quality of the D100 (my ears couldn’t tell the difference) the A10 is excellent producing crisp, clean recordings. The menu system is very easy to use and the buttons are all in the right places. I did a lot of homework before my purchase and one of the main concerns seemed to be the non-removable rechargeable battery. People seemed to be worried about not being able to drop in fresh batteries, well, no need to worry, this thing lasts for ages on one charge. I have never seen it drop more than one bar. The A10 has a standard usb connector that flicks out of the base at the push of a switch. This is used for charging and data transfer, handy as long as your usb socket is easily accessible. I have bought a male to female usb extension cable that allows a more flexible connection to your usb source. I have also uploaded all my music files to the A10 as it makes a rather cool music player.

I've done "research" before I bought this and read the reviews and video's on it, though the tests people did with this recorder (PCM-A10) did not do justice by using its built-in microphones and they even test its quality by adding external microphone and other tests were done on youtube were that they did not mention that youtube does its own compression, meaning the intended sounds they want us to listen to are compressed (i.e. lossy)... So, to come to its recording quality, I think it's really good. I usually record with my phone and used to record with an old Sony recorder, PCM-A10 recording quality is very clear. I don't do music nor do musical recordings but do audio record lectures and speeches, given the functionalities it has, test which suits you and what sounds best for you the input you can give to it. The lectures I record, I put PCM-A10 with a tripod on the middle of table where the speaker sits in his/her chair, then I enable medium range sensitivity thing on instead of manually controlling its mic sensitivity, in this way, the sound quality is very clear and I don't need to do any post-editing with the sound. Another thing with this audio recorder, it's that recording with mp3 (128), it's very clear (i.e. with medium range mic sensitivity set on in the settings) without adding wind protector thing.

The good: Everything except the not so good. The not so good: 1: The output of the device is quite quiet, except for volume over bluetooth, which is way more better. Why the headphones output is quiet, is beyond me. 2: The scenes (except the music scenes they are 44.1-16bit waves) default to recording in MP3 @ 192kbps, and sound noisy compared to the higher bitrates this device can output. 3: The stereo width is not that wide even when the mics are pointed outwards. To my ear it lacks the separation expected. 4: When recording at higher levels the noise floor is noticeable. 5: You cannot monitor or playback your recordings with the companion app. Otherwise the size, bitrates and build quality make it good.

I was very disappointed by this device. I work as a journalist and I want a small, pocket size recorder. But the sound quality on this machine is below standard. The audio I recorded had no depth and sounded tinny. I tried to hook up an external mic and just got a buzz on the recording.

Perfect

Bonjour, je partais il y a quelques mois pour acheter un modèle SX-2000, mais j'ai vue que celui-ci avait une review : Le PCM-A10. J'ai eu la chance de l'avoir en promotion pour seulement 187€. Depuis je peux dire que j'en suis entièrement satisfait. En effet, le micro est arrivé rapidement, dans une boîte parfaite où j'ai pu trouver deux accessoires : une pochette de protection et une bonnette "anti-pop" avec enfin le fameux micro. Le design est irréprochable dans les moindres détails, c'est du haut de gamme Sony. Concernant les fonctionnalités, le micro est complet avec de nombreux boutons de réglages et surtout un écran qui vous permet de paramétrer vos enregistrements dans les moindres détails. Mais ce que j'ai réellement apprécié c'est l'application qui passe par bluetooth et qui permet une bien meilleur ergonomie des menus que ce soit sur smartphone ou tablette. Concernant la qualité d'enregistrement on est sur du haut de gamme avec trois modes directionnels pour diverses situations. Personnellement je m'en sert pour réaliser des courts-métrages que ce soit pour le son d'ambiance, comme enregistreur pour autres micro et surtout comme micro cravate. Et c'est ce que je regrette c'est qu'il n'y ai pas un système d'accroche comme micro cravate mais dans l'ensemble il me semble parfait de A à Z. Je ne vous listerai pas la liste complète des caractéristiques que vous pouvez retrouver sur le site de Sony, mais si vous êtes amateur ou professionnel et désirez pouvoir effectuer des enregistrements simplement dans toute situation, allez y les yeux fermé lorsqu'il est en promo car le prix actuel (250€) me semble un peu trop, à 200€ pour moi c'est un excellent achat. J'espère que ce commentaire vous aura été utile et regardez les quelques photos que je met en complément.

Easy for use, intuitive, lightweight, gives you opportunity for modular microphone positioning, ... Value for money 8/10 Build quality 10/10 Overall experience 9/10

Tanta qualità e flessibilità di utilizzo in un apparecchio piccolo e leggero. Batteria di lunga durata. Pienamente soddiafatto.

meets my expectations

très bon enregistreur !