Take a closer look at the Yamaha Pocketrak CX stereo audio recorder.
Donald Bell
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
The Yamaha Pocketrak CX ($399 retail, $299 street) is a powerful digital audio recorder that keeps things simple.
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
On the right side, you'll find buttons for power, folder, track list, edit, and delete, as well as a 3.5mm mic/line input and a hinged door that conceals the recorder's Mini-USB port and microSD card slot.
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
The extras bundled with the Pocketrak CX include a foam windscreen, earbuds, 2GB of microSD memory, a mic stand adapter, a fabric pouch, and a USB cable.
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
The Pocketrak CX weighs just 92 grams, and measures 5 inches long, 1.75 inches wide, and just a 0.6 inch thick.
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
The Pocketrak CX design is compact, intuitive, and familiar (remember those microcassette recorders from college?).
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
The Yamaha Pocketrak CX runs off a single AA battery, capable of 22 hours of continuous WAV recording or 50 hours of MP3 recording.
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
The left side includes the Pocketrak's headphone jack, along with switches for automatic mic level adjustment and mic sensitivity (high/low).
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Yamaha Pocketrak CX
Here's a top view of the Pocketrak's microphone cage. The Pocketrak CX can be set to record 44kHz or 48kHz WAV files, or stereo MP3 files ranging from 320Kbps to 32Kbps.
