Speaker 1: Alright so today I wanted to talk about one of my favorite discrete audio recorders that in many cases is sort of my best kept secret for getting great audio quickly and that in a lot of instances you might not even notice someone is using or in fact that I'm using right now. So specifically I'm talking about the Sony TX660 or the ICD-TX660 audio recorder and I'm going to talk about why this might be something you'll want to consider to add to your general audio toolkit. So just to kick things off, what is the TX660? This is a compact audio recorder that is around a little over 4 inches tall by .8 inches wide and .3 inches deep. You have a number of different effects and features that you can use to tailor the microphone on this recorder, everything from noise cuts to different room and microphone profiles to just overall volume level of the subject that you're recording. It has 16 gigabytes of built-in internal storage and a non-removable lithium-ion battery to power the unit. So this unit has a maximum recording time of around 21.3 hours if you're recording in its highest quality 44.1 kilohertz wave-based format. So it can actually record up to around 636 hours of its MP3 based recording format in a lower quality variant. So this will definitely give you a fair amount of recording time depending on what your audio codec and quality selection is. And if you're wondering what you get at a battery life with this unit, it can get you anywhere from 12 hours at its highest quality wave-based format to 17 hours at its lower quality MP3 formats. You also have a built-in backlit LCD display that shows you all the different menu settings, pictures, shows you when it's recording, and of course will help you when you want to play back your audio. The unit has a USB Type-C port that allows you to connect this to your computer for transferring files off of it and as well as charging the device. And apart from manuals, which you could find online anyway, this unit comes with a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable to connect it to your computer or to charge it and comes with a nice small leather pouch to hold the recorder. So first and foremost, when you're talking about any type of audio device, you're probably wondering what it sounds like. And before we actually even get into that, you might have noticed the fact that I have not one, but two of these units attached to me. So let me explain that. So while I've owned the TX-660 for a bit now, I've also owned the TX-650 or ICD-TX-650 that Sony made as its predecessor unit for a number of years and have used this on a number of occasions as well. So while this little review is mostly focused on the TX-660, I figured I would also include the TX-650 in this since I haven't talked about it up to this point and just point out some of the key differences between them. Now in terms of what this unit sounds like, in most of my videos, what I will often do is use my Rode VideoMic NTG as the shotgun microphone and my main source of audio for recording these talking heads. In fact, this is what I'm doing right now. It is just actually boomed above me slightly out of frame from what you're seeing. But if I were to switch my audio now to the Sony TX-660, you may or may not hear a noticeable difference in the audio quality that I'm able to get out of this recorder, which in and of itself is also going to be slightly different than the audio quality that you're going to hear out of the TX-650, which you're now hearing. And yes, among some of the notable differences, the audio quality is something that's going to differ a bit between the TX-650 and the TX-660, so I do want to talk about just some of the key differences here if you're thinking of picking one of these up. And yes, for those of you that are curious, this is what the TX-660 sounds like when held up pretty close directly to my mouth. And just for good measure, this is what the TX-650 sounds like when held up closely directly to my mouth. Do you notice a difference? Maybe? Maybe not? So holding these two recorders up next to each other, you're going to notice that they appear to be very similar, and that's because they are. Now the TX-660 does have a larger LCD display, as you're probably seeing now, that can also get slightly brighter. One other notable difference here is the record lights on the unit, which you'll notice is also a bit brighter on the TX-660, which makes the unit a bit easier to see. Now technically, the controls on the unit are going to be very similar to each other, and I'll see if I can convey that on screen here. So really not a ton of difference in terms of making your way around the unit or being able to sort of access its different features and functions. And yes, they both do have an ability to hook up a 3.5mm set of headphones if you want to monitor or playback whatever you've recorded, but also include a small built-in speaker that you can use to playback your audio externally as well. That said, one area you'll notice where this differs is that on the TX-660, you have a USB Type-C port to allow connecting the device to charge or to your computer, which is just kind of directly open in the unit. Now this is counter to the TX-650, which has basically a micro USB port that is sort of hidden by a little rubber flap here. That said, you also use this port to charge and connect the unit to your computer just as you would the TX-660. And yes, there are some minute differences in specs in terms of the available battery life or some of the smaller features in terms of the effects and other ways you can process the audio in here, but by and large, these are very similar units and the TX-660 is sort of a moderate or slight enhancement based on the TX-650. Now at this point, both units tend to retail for around anywhere from $130 to $160 US. Given the increase in audio quality and some of the nice quality of life improvements in the 660, I see really no reason at this point someone would want to specifically get the 650 over the 660, but you can generally still find both out there on the market if you wanted to pick either of them up. So let's ask the question, why would you want or even need a recorder like this? I think the TX-660 is going to be really valuable for someone who wants to capture really good quality audio while being able to do so very quickly with as little setup time as possible. Yes, I have a bunch of different audio accessories at this point, many of which I've talked about on this channel, from my Rode Videomic NTG shotgun microphone to my Tascam DR-10L lav microphones to my Zoom H6 external recorder. All of these are excellent audio tools that each serve their purpose. So where the TX-660 comes into play is when I want to grab audio off of someone for a specific purpose and perhaps I don't have typically enough time to set up a lav microphone on them. Maybe I'm in a scenario where I want to take one of these and actually just kind of slip it in a mic sleeve around a microphone, say at a wedding reception, to be able to capture an additional point and have another option in terms of reception audio in case a DJ's feed doesn't work out. There's really a bunch of options you could use something like the TX-664. And as you might have seen before, this unit has a nice little clip on the back that allows you to easily attach it to almost any piece of clothing. So just to demonstrate this again really quickly, if I wanted to attach this to my shirt quickly, I could basically just open the clip right up, slip it on there, and I am good to go. This obviously is going to be a lot quicker sometimes than if you need to lav someone up properly and run the cable or if you're trying to conceal the mic under them. Obviously this is a bit more visible than other audio devices you might be setting someone up with to record, but the clip and the way that the unit is designed is discreet enough to wear, say, if it's attached to a suit jacket, on a groom as he's reading his vows or getting interviewed for the wedding film. As you're now seeing in this example on screen, you still in many cases might not even notice that it's there.

Speaker 2: So Anne and I met in high school, well, I don't think she really knew who I was, but I knew who she was. I always had a crush on her. The one day I said to her, like, hey, the next week, like, let's go, let's go down and have a picnic. I'll bring drinks, do whatever. And, you know, we sat there for a few minutes and I, um, I popped a question as we're sitting next to the river.

Speaker 1: And again, in some cases you just might want a more redundant audio source to have, say, if you have a shotgun microphone or you have a lav on someone, but you still want an additional option just in case something goes wrong.

Speaker 3: Why? Because real recognize real.

Speaker 1: Or again, time is sort of of the essence and you just want to quickly throw something on someone to grab audio, pull it off right instantly, and then kind of move on with whatever you're shooting. And as noted, of course, this comes just right off as easily. So we're good to go. So let's talk TX660 settings. So one thing people are mostly curious about with units like this is how to set them up to get great quality audio. And there aren't too many unique settings that I use for this, but there are some key settings I would recommend that I've been using myself both in the 650 and now in the 660 that can get you consistently good audio, whether you're indoors, outdoors in a small or large room and so on. So in terms of the recording settings of this unit for the scene select, I have this set to off, though you do have a number of specific options you can try tailoring the unit to if you're recording a specific type of audio, though I generally find off is the most universal and works fine. Record mode, I do keep at its 16 bit 44.1 kilohertz recording format and wave, which is the highest quality option that you have. Mic sensitivity I leave at the medium level, which is also very similar to how I set my lab microphones up. So basically having a nice middle of the road option that should get you decent level without too much risk of having any peaking or clipping going on. Audio emphasis I do have off, though I do employ a noise cut in the recording filter option. Anything else in the recording settings I didn't touch, I leave as is. The playback settings I pretty much leave in their default mode, so whatever is there is fine in terms of just being able to monitor and play back your audio. For common settings, I leave the screen off timer at 30 seconds just to extend the battery life as much as possible. I leave the beep on as an audible indicator as I move around the unit and change its settings or start recording, but you can of course turn this off. I leave the speaker output on so I can hear and play back any audio I recorded if I so choose to. I have the sleep timer in the unit set to off, but the auto power off timer in the unit is set to 10 minutes, which is its lowest setting, so you are still preserving battery life if you're not using the unit. And that pretty much covers the settings that I use with the TX660, so there's not too much to actually really dig into and set up with a unit like this, and you can pretty much get going in just a few minutes. Now I would also say with a unit like the TX660, or even the TX650 for that matter, you don't have too many drawbacks to worry about, other than maybe the obvious like the microphone array in this unit and its quality being of course limited by the device and its size. The fact that it does have internal storage and an internal battery, both of which that are non-replaceable or upgradable, does perhaps limit this unit in terms of its overall lifespan or expandability, but that's pretty much what you would expect with any small pocket-sized recorder like this. I would say if there is one distinct disadvantage, it is the fact that this does not have a 48 kHz recording option for WAV or really any of the audio codecs, therefore meaning you're going to have to take your audio files and bring them into some program like Audition and re-save them and export them as 48 kHz just to ensure that the audio matches up with whatever you record in your camera. This is a minor nuisance, but something I hope they would change and upgrade from the TX650 to the TX660 that they didn't. That said, anyone accustomed to doing this across different audio devices and having to sync things up or understand how these drifts and other things occur will not find this to be too much of an issue to change. So all in all, would I recommend something like the TX660? Well, yes. There's a reason that I own one and why I think it's beneficial for others to maybe consider one. Definitely, if you have an audio kit, you're going to want to rely on the more tried-and-true options for being able to capture good audio. Shotgun microphones, lavalier microphones, external recorders, these are all valuable assets that are going to each pretty much provide the best option for those different types of audio capture situations. But sometimes you just want a tiny unit that you can easily start recording with in seconds or just something you can frankly give to someone quickly to hold in their hand while they're speaking. In all honesty, something like the ICD-TX660 probably will never be the best audio that you could capture in any situation, but it might honestly be the most convenient and it will certainly be a better option than anything your built-in camera microphone could ever provide you. I know this unit in certain markets like the UK has sort of developed a cult-like following in terms of wedding filmmakers and others that have come to really rely on this. So for a lot of folks out there in the North American market, this may or may not be something you've even heard of before or knew existed, hence why this has been sort of my best-kept secret for getting quick audio. But now that that's no longer a secret, I would definitely encourage you to give the TX660 a try. So those are my thoughts on the Sony TX660 audio recorder. Hopefully this video has been of some help to you. Feel free to leave a like and subscribe if it has. Definitely feel free to check out some of my existing reviews on audio gear on my channel which I will link to below. For now, that is all I have to say, so thanks for watching.

Speaker 3: People ask me, why would Dominic Brown, former outfielder, and Philly's... That was me in your head, dude. Former Philly's outfielder. I was trying to do it without looking, but I thought I had it.