In the world of dictation and transcription, there is one name that is almost universally recognized… Dictaphone.

While there are plenty of other makers of dictation and transcription equipment like, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, and Philips; Dictaphones are often considered the best you can get.

Currently the company is owned by Nuance Communications, which also makes the top speech reconition software suite on the market, Dragon Naturally Speaking.

If you’re looking for one of their transcribers, I’ll give you my recommendations for each category.

Best Digital Transcriber

Dictaphone 0421 C-phone Connexions Station

Features

• 21 Programmable Keys / Macros
• LCD Display
• External Speaker
• Complete Thumb Control
• Also A Full Featured Phone

Best Standard Cassette Transcriber

Dictaphone 2752

Features

• Adjustable Automatic Backspace
• Built-in Speaker
• Tape Counter
• Speed Control
• Tone and Volume Controls

Best Micro Cassette Transcriber

Dictaphone 3752K

Features

• Last Word Locator
• Display Window

Best Mini Cassette Transcriber

Dictaphone 1742

Features

• Tape Counter
• Last Word Locator
• Alert / Warning Tones
• Fast Play
• Speed Controls
• Auto Backspace

If most of your dictating will be done from your desk, then a standard cassette transcriber may be sufficient for you needs.

In the old days before micro and mini cassette recorders were popular (or now digital), they did make portable dictation devices that used standard sized cassettes, however I haven’t seen one of those in years.   I had an old Dictaphone in my office for a while, but it was so big and bulky that it wasn’t going to go in my pocket.

If you’re going to be doing professional transcription, then you’ll probably want to keep a transcriber that will take standard cassettes even though most of your work will probably be done using micro cassettes and digital.

A good one for light duty work is the Panasonic RR-830.  It’s reasonably priced, but if you’re to be working with cassettes on a regular basis, something like a Sony BM-77T or a Dictaphone 2752 will serve you much better.

Dictaphone is going to be the most expensive of the bunch, but it’s also hands down the best.

One thing I really recommend avoiding is trying to transcribe from a tape player.  If it’s an emergency and that’s all you’ve got, ok, but otherwise get something with a foot pedal and a comfortable headset.

The foot pedal will allow you to keep your hands on the keyboard so you can type and the headset will allow you to hear words more accurately.

Dictators vs Transcribers

Deciding which device to get really depends on which end of the recording you’re going to be one.  If you’re the one making the recordings and doing the dictating, then you’ll want a dictator or voice recorder as their feature set is best suited for capturing audio.

If you’re going to be doing the transcribing, then get a transcriber.

Digital Transcription Software

Some programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking can to a servicable job of transcribing a recording without any human intervention provided there is only once voice on the recording.

However, anything that uses technical terms, names, jargon, meetings, or phone conversations will require the expertise of a human transcriptionist.

Manufacturers

While I almost exclusively recommend going with Dictaphones, here are some of the best manufacturers of transcribers and dictators:

• Dictaphone
• Sony
• Philips
• Panasonic
• Olympus

Recommended Transcribers:

• Dictaphone 2752
• Panasonic RR-930
• Sony M 2000

Budget Transcription Equipement

If you’re on a tight budget, get used gear.  You can get up to an 80% discount by buying older models of the high end equipment.

You’re far better off getting high quality used equipment than going for the cheapest item you can find that’s brand new.  eBay is a good place to start, but Amazon has a pretty good selection of used equipment as well.

The one exception I’d make is to make sure you get a new headset – maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather not use anything that’s spent a large portion of time in someone else’s ears.

Before I get into specifically what is the best microcassette recorder, let’s make sure you’re using it right to get the best audio quality.

If there’s a lot of noise or hissing on your tapes, it might not be a recorder quality issue at all but merely a matter of you not talking close or loudly enough into the recorder.

If your transcriptionist is hearing a lot of noise on the tape, it’s likely because they have to turn the volume up high to hear what you said.

Fortunately, it’s easy to fix.  If you’re using a portable recorder, just make sure you hold it close to your mouth and speak loudly and clearly.  This is not time to be shy and whisper.

If you’re going to be doing a lot of dictation all at once, consider getting a lapel mic or headset mic.

If you run into a particularly noisy recording, you could take the tape, digitize it, and then use filtering software to clean up the noise… just like in CSI.

Best Microcassette Recorder

As far as micro cassette recorders go, you’ve got two choices – portable or desktop.  The portable units are the ones you’ll stick in your pocket, the desktop ones have a lot more features and sit on your desktop.

As far as best brands go, in the portable market Sony and Olympus make good ones and in the Desktop market, Dictaphone is far and away the best, with Panasonic making respectable recorders as well.

For portables, if you need the highest quality, go with the Sony BM-575.  If you’re on a budget, get the Olympus Pearlcorder S701.

In the desktop market, the Dictaphone DTP-3751 is an excellent, albeit pricey, dictation machine.  The Panasonic RR930 is a more budget friendly, but still a high quality unit.

Dictating Without A Recorder…

Need a voice recorder in a pinch?  Just about every phone on the planet has a built in voice recorder these days.  All smartphones have them (or in the case of an Android phone, can download and install one in about two minutes).  Even standard phones, however, have them and can come in handy if you don’t have your standalone recorder with you.

Just as with every other form of electronic communication, the world of dictation and transcription is going digital.

It has several advantages over the old method of using tapes for dictation.

One that your transcriptionists are sure to appreciate is how much easier it to clean up noise.  In just a minute or two, a noisy and hard to transcribe recording can be cleaned up and be relatively easy transcribe.  If you’re using tapes, the process is unwieldy and cumbersome.

Another consideration is backup and archival.  If you need to go back and get the original recording off a tape, it can take some time to locate it and find it.

On the other hand, a 1TB hard drive (costs about $100) can store nearly 25,000 hours of audio.

Computer Software

There are a few software suites on the market so you can do all your dictation on the computer and then immediately send it to your transcriptionist whether she be down the hall or across the country (and recordings can be encrypted).

Also, you no longer have to wait for your tape to be full – just do your dictating and send it off to be transcribed as soon as your done.

There are two very good software suites worth considering – Quikscribe and Winscribe.

Best Brands

If you’d rather stick to standalone units (many still do), you’ll find the top brands in digital dictation are Dictaphone, Philips, and Sony.

Recommendations

If you need the best of the best, Dictaphone is the head of the class and the 0421 C-phone is an amazing piece of equipment.  It’s not cheap, but I’ve never head anyone complain about them.  If buying new isn’t quite in the budget, just head on over to eBay, you can pick up a used model at an excellent discount.

Two others worth considering are the Philips Desktop 9750 and the Sony M2020A.

Have anything you’d like or anything you feel I left out in the world of digital dictation equipment… let me hear it by posting in the comments below.