With podcasting becoming a revolution, better sound than dodgy Jaycar microphones and old PC sound cards can provide is becoming a requirement. We thought it was time to look at a professional recorder that is equally suited to podcasting as it is recording jam sessions, atmosphere tracks or anything else you can hear.

Despite looking like some kind of Dalek torture device, The PCM-D1 is actually very simple to use. The microphones use a strange x-y polar pattern that keeps the sound in a tight stereo perspective; angling inward to pick up more sound from the centre of the recorder. In addition to play, stop, record and such, the transport keys double as menu navigation. A high pass filter and a limiter are included to remove out of control bass and sudden loud moments from the track. Left and right channel rotary gain dials sit on the right of the recorder and a volume dial sits on the left.

Recordings are stored as PCM WAV files from 22 KHz to 96 KHz at either 16 or 24 bit resolution on either the 4GB of internal flash memory or a full size Memory Stick. Connect it to a computer via a USB cable and a removable drive will appear from which you can access your tracks. Rudimentary on-recorder editing functionality is included which reaches its apex with track trimming.

In practice, the recorder is best tuned for voice although we did record a concert and atmosphere tracks. The recorder can be tripod mounted, as the base contains the same size nut used on cameras. During our tests, vibrations through the body were not present in the recorded track.

Levels were easy to monitor too. Adequate signal is indicated by a green LED positioned behind the needles which will turn red when the signal peaks. Although you can judge the overall level by watching the meters, there’s no visual feedback for the middle ground between a strong signal and one that is peaking. It would have been a nice addition and would have made the device a little more versatile.

People involved in news gathering will appreciate it, as will sound recordists looking to record atmosphere tracks with minimal fuss and minimal external connectivity. Podcasters with a lot of money will like the simplicity and four hour record time from the 4 rechargeable AA batteries. It’s a good unit, however we don’t think it’s as good as it could have been.

We would have liked to have seen XLR jacks at the base of the unit. Although there’s nothing wrong with the provided 3.5mm input, we feel there is a lot more potential in the PCM-D1 that XLR inputs would have unlocked, such as a replacement for a portable DAT without timecode synchronisation features.

All in all it’s just a little too expensive for what it offers. The interface is extremely clean and it performs exceptionally well with vocals, but there are better alternatives out there.

They don’t look as pretty though.