Current testing methodology is v1.2
May 3, 2018
$39.99
L157
2.22 oz
3.94 x 1.06 x 0.39 in
Some might say that voice dictation is dead, and that nobody is interested in carrying around a device where they can dictate notes, messages, documents, court arguments, or anything else.
A look on Amazon would tell you differently. There are a plethora of dictation devices available on Amazon, from affordable to incredibly expensive.
I was curious to know if I could write posts and keep a record of information using a voice recorder and whether it would save me a lot of time. I knew that I wanted something that was mobile and small that I could put in my pocket and carry around with me.
EVISTR 16GB Digital Voice Recorder Voice Activated Recorder with Playback
Simple & Powerful Recording Device: easy to figure out.
TL:DR;
The EVISTR Digital Voice recorder is a small, compact unit that is surprisingly well made and tough for all applications. The microphone is very sensitive making it perfect for personal use or meetings and interviews.
The battery life is stellar and the easy of getting files of the dictaphone is as easy as plugging it in and dragging the files over. A well priced and impressive unit.
The Specs
- Hardware Interface: Micro USB 2.0 Type B
- Microphone Form: Built-In
- Format: MP3 Audio, WAV, WMA
- Headphones Jack: 3.5 millimeters
- Number of Batteries: 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required.
- Item Dimensions (LxWxH): 3.94 x 1.06 x 0.39 inches
- Memory Storage Capacity: 16 GB
- Item Weight: 62.8 Grams
- Screen Size: 0.95 Inches
What’s in the Box?
- 1 x Voice Recorder
- 1 x earphone
- 1 x USB Cable securely wrapped with film
- 1 x Lithium Polymer battery
Stuff I like
- Affordable
- Compact
- Solid Hardware
- Brighter red light indication
- Good microphone
- Clear recordings
- Noise cancellation
- Manual features aren’t overly complicated
Stuff I like less
- Device would go to sleep after longer use
Product Files
Where to get it
Comparable products to consider
V618 is a 32GB digital audio recorder with 2020 upgraded omni-direction microphones with enhanced recording chip, record lecture, meeting, conversation and more in a clear 1536kbps quality. It can have up to 54 hours super long continuous recording time with full battery, store 2320 hours of recording files, or 10,000 songs. It is a great voice recording device to save your phone’s power by fulfilling all your recording needs. EVIDA has specialists to give friendly instructions over phones to make sure every customer is familiar with all the features in the device.
Easily record meetings, lectures and more in high-quality audio with this digital voice recorder featuring up to 57 hours of battery life and a built-in, direct USB connection for easy file transfer. Enjoy 4GB of built-in memory, Plus auto voice recording that reduces background noise so you can always hear what’s being said.
I didn’t want to spend a huge amount of money because I didn’t know if I would actually use the thing in the end. And I also wanted something that had enough storage space that if I forgot to delete files from the device that I can easily keep adding more over time.
A thorough search of Amazon and a complete review analysis on many different units resulted in me buying the EVISTR Digital Voice Recorder voice recording unit, based on the enormous number of reviews and its very affordable price tag.
I’ve now owned this unit for around six months, which is a good length of time to try something out and see if it’s any good.
I’ve also done a vs on a more recent Sony unit which you see here.
Where have I used this device?
To date, I’ve used this device mostly while driving in the car. There’s an enormous amount of traffic in my area, and sometimes, I’m stuck in the car for quite a long time with very little movement.
I would like to use this time more effectively and figure that a voice recorder would be a great solution where I can create content while sitting in the comfort of the driver’s seat.
Hardware
The field of the device is really quite solid. It has an almost metallic solid body field. I have a lot of confidence that I can throw it around in a bag with a car without too much harm coming to it.
And while the screen on it is quite small, it’s large enough to see and also reduces the risk of it being cracked should it come into contact with anything in the car or my bag while I’m traveling.
It has a micro USB charging port, buttons for recording, play and pause, stop, and menu.
On the right side, there is a rocker button, which can be used to navigate the menu, and another rocker button below that one on the right-hand side, which controls volume up and down, particularly useful for playback from the device.
On the left side in addition to the micro USB charging port, there is a sliding power on, power off button, which is probably no less likely to be activated if it was rolling around in your bag, but this certainly hasn’t happened to me yet. I have a lot of confidence that it would not accidentally turn on.
Now, at the top, there is the microphone array, and just below that, there is a red LED light. The red LED light stays solid when you’re in pause mode, not recording, and it will begin flashing when you start recording.
It might seem strange, but I would like this to be a little brighter, especially when I’m driving so that I don’t need to look so closely at the unit to see if it is recording. If it was brighter, and you’re using this for interviews, that might not be a very popular choice.
Microphone quality
The microphone quality is good. It is very sensitive. You can place this quite away from you, and it will definitely pick up all of the audio around you. When I’m driving, it actually picks up sounds that I can’t personally hear, which is actually quite impressive.
If I was interviewing someone in a very noisy environment, I’m not sure of its ability to filter out background noise. It seems to take everything in all at once. But as I seem to do most of my voice recording and dictation in the privacy of my car, in my own company, that has not been a problem for me so far.
The transcription service that I use, Speechpad, which I will link to below, seems to have managed to transcribe all of my voice recordings without too much difficulty, and their accuracy is incredible.
I feel sorry for them that there are times when the car indicator is going or that there might be a lot of road noise when I’m driving faster, but they do a great job. I can’t recommend them enough.
Playback quality is fine, definitely suitable for listening back to the recording, and you can adjust the volume of it if it is too loud and a little bit staticky. I actually find the playback to be perfectly fine. And it’s pretty rare that I will listen back to a recording on the device anyway.
Manual features aren’t overly complicated. You can have push-button activation for recording. You can also have a voice-activated recording.
You can choose the brightness of the display, the sleep time, a couple of other things, and also the audio quality recording levels. I don’t really have much need for changing a lot of the settings but there was one setting that I changed that was, for me, a very important one.
My only complaint on the unit is when I was recording, if I was speaking for a long time, the device screen would go to sleep. To pause recording, I would have to press the pause button once to wake it up and then once again to ensure that it had either paused or started recording again.
When I’m driving, this is particularly annoying because I’m not really sure when I pressed the button if I’m starting recording or ending recording, so I had to look down often or look at the device to see if the light was flashing as it was recording or if it was solid.
This was huge frustration and nearly made me consider upgrading to another device. My solution for this was simple. I entered the menu settings, set the display to always-on, and now, the unit doesn’t go to sleep as it did.
On the screen, as you’re recording, there is a level indicator for both left and right channels. And so, it’s very easy for you to see whether you’re getting a good signal all the way up from minus 30 to 0dB, just to ensure that wherever you are, you’re getting a clear signal so that your transcription service or you yourself can hear back what you need to know.
It also shows you what you’re recording. So, for example, at the moment I’m recording a WAV file, 1,536 kilobits of quality.
There’s also a battery indicator, a timer that shows what your current recording time is, and a total recording time on the device. It also shows the volume level on the right-hand side, although that probably wouldn’t need.
Overall, I’m very happy with this device. I’ve recorded countless hours of dictation, which I’ve sent to Speechpad for transcription. And as I say, they do a great job, and I certainly can’t recommend them enough. They’re certainly very affordable, as long as you don’t leave too much space in, as they do charge by the minute.
There is a headphone port on the side, which I failed to mention in the hardware above. And I would like to look at getting a headset with a push-button mic and trying it out on this unit to see if I can have the device, not in my hand but still be able to use it effectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, for the price, this is an excellent voice recorder unit for anybody that just wants to take notes on the fly, do some interviews, and really anything else you can think of using a device for.
If you need the highest quality audio, there are probably better units out there with higher quality microphones. Still, for my use, which is really just to record content and have it transcribed, this is suitable.
In terms of value for money, definitely give it a five out of five. In terms of reliability, also give it a five out of five. In terms of price, I’d give it a five out of five. In terms of the quality of what I need, I give it a four.
Any questions, ask in the comments below. I look forward to getting into it with you.
EVISTR L157 Voice Recorder
Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.
Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.
This post was last updated on 2024-11-13 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.