Get the Sony PCM D10 from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3bmK3MR.

I’ve had the Sony PCM D10 handheld recorder for a little over a year. I initially thought this was the long-awaited D100 replacement with additional features like XLR input and USB-C connectivity. This wasn’t really the case and I went into more detail in my original review and comparison which you can read at https://mindful-audio.com/blog/handheld-recorder-review.

In a nutshell, the D10 is noisy both when recording with the on-board mics (which are lower quality than the ones on the D100) and when using the XLR inputs (which I compared to admittedly higher quality preamps like the ones on the Sound Devices Mixpre recorders). It’s unexpectedly large but quite light, about the same weight as the D100. What I did like about it initially is that it sounds pretty good when recording with PIP mics plugged in via the 3.5mm jack.

I was almost going to abandon the D10 after my initial tests and review. Fortunately I had some space in my luggage on last year’s Amazon trip and decided to throw it in there as a last resort backup. In the Amazon rainforest I ended up replacing the M10 with the D10 because of the extended battery life and the M10’s 32GB microSD card limit.

I have to mention that I used the D10 exclusively as drop rig recorder in a dry bag with Lom mikroUsi mics and Bubblebee Windbubbles. I haven’t used its on-board mics nor the XLR inputs. I never handhold it and I never monitor what I record with it since the whole rig is left out for many hours or even days in the wilderness. Check out the video below if you want to learn more about my drop rig technique:

I took the Sony PCM D10 with me on subsequent trips to Romania, Ethiopia, Borneo and other places. In the process I discovered several cool features I wasn’t aware of:

• while it can record for up to 51 hours on 4 AA batteries (either with on-board mics or with PIP mics like the MikroUsis; much lower when you use phantom-powered mics via the XLR inputs) it also takes power via USB-C and can record at the same time. This theoretically means you can record for way longer periods which is perfect for my purposes

• it is quite sturdy even if it’s made of plastic; I’ve had mine on many long-haul flights, I’ve lugged it around in my backpack for endless miles, it’s been out in dry bags for countless 24 to 48 hour stretches and it’s still working great

• it feels solid and reliable, unlike the Sony PCM A10 which feels rather like a toy; this is mostly a subconscious aspect but I think it influences the perception of reliability and how much risk a recordist is going to expose their gear to

On top of the limitations and downsides I mentioned before, I have discovered new ones!

• while the recorder does feel solid in the hand, it is actually quite flimsy in certain parts: the battery cover on the back has a bit of give when open and doesn’t seem like it can take a bit of rough treatment; the writing on the front has started to degrade and fade away in parts; you can hear soft clatter inside when you shake it vigorously

• continuing from above, there are twin gain pots for L and R channels on the side but they’re very difficult to set to a similar value and they drift apart after a bit of use; this is quite annoying and sometimes results in unbalanced recordings

• it only has one memory card slot, but of course this goes for all handhelds and even some bigger recorders on the market; I had never had a card fail on me before using the D10 but it finally happened on my trip to Borneo; it’s difficult to say what caused the malfunction but the SD card in question was not recognized by my laptop anymore; this wouldn’t have been a problem if I’d been recording to two media, of course; at any rate, the lesson here is that the D10 isn’t suitable for crucial shoots that cannot be replicated; in my case I just went back and recorded that habitat again

No review would be useful without actual recordings so press play on the Soundcloud player above. To give you more details, on my recent trip to Borneo I found a small pond in the middle of the rainforest where a lot of insects and birds would congregate. It was surrounded by tall and dense trees which created a beautiful echo, but wherever I would record it from the soundscape felt rather imbalanced.

At this point I realized that I needed to wade through swamp and water to get to the centre of the pond where there were a couple of dead trees. That would be the perfect place to make a balanced recording with echoes coming from all around. It was definitely a case of easier said than done (I will go into more detail about this in a future video) but suffice it to say that the D10 was perfectly suited for the job.

The Sony PCM D10 handheld recorder is a tool, and like all other tools it has its uses, advantages and downsides. Is it the perfect handheld recorder? Not at all, that spot is still held by the D100. Is it a good backup recorder to have in the bag? Probably not in many cases. I think it tries to cram too much functionality in a portable handheld form factor and comes quite short. You’d be way better off with a Sound Devices Mixpre 2nd gen or a Zoom F-series.

It will probably work for beginner sound recordists who want on-board mics, XLR inputs, decent battery life etc. and are after something better than Zoom’s H-series. It will not excel at recording subtle sounds or soft ambiences but it will be all right for medium to loud content like hard effects or dialog up close.

I however see the D10 a a very specialized tool. As mentioned before I only use it in drop rigs and I leave it out for long periods coupled with external mics that I plug in via the 3.5mm jack. In this case the D10 is almost perfect and fares better than the D100 because it is more battery efficient and can take power via USB-C.

FYI I got the D10 with my own money and this is not a paid placement. I ordered it from Japan and paid about double the price just so I could review it for you. If you want to buy and use it as an all-round handheld make sure you get decent wind protection. Rycote’s D100 windshield will fit but may not be enough for high winds so I suggest using another one on top of it (the one they make for the Rycote BBG works great).

Get the Sony PCM D10 from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3bmK3MR.

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