Sony Cassette recorder

I always wanted a dictaphone as a child. Largely, I admit, for slightly dubious reasons (i.e. I wanted to plant it in my big sister's bedroom and find out if she was talking about me.) Many years on, as a student, I finally received one as a birthday gift so that I could record important lectures. This certainly did come in handy during those classes that, however hard I tried to stay alert, had me head down and drooling on the desk within minutes. The Sony TCM-200DV Cassette-Corder (or 'dictaphone' to you and me) is a fairly basic model compared to some products on the market - but it does ... more

I paid about £35 for this cassette recorder, which may be better described as a dictating machine. The machine is attractively packaged, having a black and silver case and weighs about 275g. It measures approx 11cm by 4cm by 9cm, taking a standard cassette size, as opposed to the micro ones. This should mean that the overall quality is better but you pay for the size and bulk of the thing. It's as heavy, and the same size, as your average Walkman. The voice operated recording (VOR) works fine and the sliding switch on the front to vary the recording time gives 'Normal' and 'Double' ... more

Not everyone needs a walkman nowadays. It’s true that cassettes are completely out of date. CD’s, mini discs, and MP3 players have taken over as the most modern media type. Hence one may ask why you would want to buy this supposedly out of date hardware. Well the answer is simple, it offers enhanced detail recording for brilliant recording quality. There are not many mini-disc or MP3 players that offer the same amount of recording quality. I as a student find this very helpful indeed. I can record my college lectures to listen and make notes later on. Good quality playback is essential for ... more