ICD-SX57, ICD-SX57DR9, ICD-SX67, ICD-SX67DR9, ICD-SX77 - Sony Audio Service Manual (repair manual)

2008F16-1

© 

2008.06

Capacity (User available capacity)

ICD-SX77:  1GB=1,022,590,976Byte
ICD-SX67/SX67DR9:
 512MB=507,346,944Byte
ICD-SX57/SX57DR9:
 256MB=249,462,784Byte
Actual usable capacity may be smaller.

Recording time

Frequency range

STHQ :  80 Hz - 20,000 Hz
ST :  80 Hz - 16,500 Hz
STLP :  80 Hz - 7,000 Hz
SP :  80 Hz - 6,000 Hz
LP :  80 Hz - 3,500 Hz

Bit rates and sampling frequencies for

MPEG Ver. 1 Layer 3:

Sampling frequencies: 32, 44.1, 48
Bit rates: 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 
160, 192, 224, 256, 320, VBR

MPEG Ver. 2 Layer 3:

Sampling frequencies: 16, 22.05, 24
Bit rates: 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 
144, 160, VBR

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The maximum recording time of all the 
folders is as follows.

4 hr. 10 min.

11 hr. 10 min. 21 hr. 35 min.

34 hr. 15 min. 91 hr. 20 min.

8 hr. 35 min.

22 hr. 50 min. 44 hr. 00 min.

69 hr. 40 min. 185 hr. 55 min.

STHQ :  High-quality stereo recording

mode; you can record with stereo
high-quality sound.

ST : 

Standard play stereo recording
mode; you can record with stereo
sound.

STLP : Long play stereo recording mode; 

you can record for a longer time 
with stereo sound.

SP : 

Standard play monaural 
recording mode; you can record
with standard quality sound.

LP : 

Long play monaural recording
mode; you can record for a longer 
time with monaural sound.

17 hr. 25 min. 46 hr. 5 min.

88 hr. 45 min.

140 hr. 35 min. 374 hr. 55 min.

Speaker

Approx. 16 mm (21/32 in.) dia.

Power output

150 mW

Input/Output

Microphone jack (minijack, stereo)

input for plug in power, minimum input 
level 0.6 mV, 3 kilohms or lower impedance 
microphone

Headphone jack (minijack, stereo)

output for 8 - 300 ohms headphones

USB connector

Playback speed control

+200% to –75% (DPC)

Power requirements

Two NH-AAA rechargeable batteries: 2.4 V DC
Two LR03 (size AAA) alkaline batteries: 3.0 V DC

Operating temperature

5˚C - 35˚C (41˚F - 95˚F)

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Dimensions (w/h/d) (not incl.
projecting parts and controls)(JEITA)*

30.8 × 119.3 × 14.9 mm (1 1/4 × 4 3/4 × 19/32 
in.)

Mass (incl. batteries)(JEITA)*

70 g (2.47 oz)

* Measured value by the standard of JEITA

(Japan Electronics and Information
Technology and Industries Association)

Supplied accessories

change without notice.

Rechargeable batteries (2)
Stereo ear receiver* (1)(EXCEPT French model)

* The stereo ear receiver is supplied with 

some models in some regions only.

Application Software, Digital Voice
Editor (CD-ROM) (1)

USB connecting cable (1)

Cradle (1)(SX57DR9/SX67DR9)

The cradle is supplied with some models in 
some regions only.

Carrying pouch (1)
Operating Instructions (1)

Photo : ICD-SX67

US and foreign patents licensed 
from Dolby Laboratories

  ..................................................................   3

2-1. Disassembly 

Flow 

...........................................................   5

2-2.  Knob (HOLD), Speaker Assy (SP001) ...........................   6
2-3.  Chassis Assy, Case Assy .................................................   6
2-4.  Battery Case Lid .............................................................   7
2-5.  Cover (Chassis), MAIN Board .......................................   7
2-6. Chassis 

............................................................................   8

2-7.  SW Board, HPJACK Board ............................................   8
2-8.  MIC-A Assy, MIC-B Assy ..............................................   9
2-9.  Liquid Crystal Display Panel, AUDIO Board ................   9

TEST  MODE 

 ............................................................   10

4-1.  Block Diagram  - MAIN1 Section - ................................   13
4-2.  Block Diagram  - MAIN2 Section - ................................   14
4-3.  Printed Wiring Board  - AUDIO Board (Side A) - .........   15
4-4.  Printed Wiring Board  - AUDIO Board (Side B) - .........   16
4-5.  Schematic Diagram  - AUDIO Board (1/2) - ..................   17
4-6.  Schematic Diagram  - AUDIO Board (2/2) - ..................   18
4-7.  Printed Wiring Board  - MAIN Board (Side A) - ...........   19
4-8.  Printed Wiring Board  - MAIN Board (Side B) - ...........   20
4-9.  Schematic Diagram  - MAIN Board (1/5) - ....................   21
4-10.  Schematic Diagram  - MAIN Board (2/5) - ....................   22
4-11.  Schematic Diagram  - MAIN Board (3/5) - ....................   23
4-12.  Schematic Diagram  - MAIN Board (4/5) - ....................   24
4-13.  Schematic Diagram  - MAIN Board (5/5) - ....................   25
4-14.  Printed Wiring Boards  - HPJACK Board, SW Board - .   26
4-15.  Schematic Diagram  - HPJACK Board, SW Board - ......   27

5-1. Overall 

Assy 

....................................................................  38

5-2. Chassis 

Section 

...............................................................  39

  ..............................   40

UNLEADED  SOLDER
Boards requiring use of unleaded solder are printed with the lead-
free mark (LF) indicating the solder contains no lead.
(Caution: Some printed circuit boards may not come printed with 

the lead free mark due to their particular size)

Unleaded solder has the following characteristics.
•   Unleaded solder melts at a temperature about 40 °C higher 

than ordinary solder.

 

Ordinary soldering irons can be used but the iron tip has to be 
applied to the solder joint for a slightly longer time.

 

Soldering irons using a temperature regulator should be set to 
about 350 °C.
Caution:  The printed pattern (copper foil) may peel away if the 

heated tip is applied for too long, so be careful!

•   Strong viscosity
 

Unleaded solder is more viscou-s (sticky, less prone to fl ow) 
than ordinary solder so use caution not to let solder bridges 
occur such as on IC pins, etc.

•   Usable with ordinary solder
 

It is best to use only unleaded solder but unleaded solder may 
also be added to ordinary solder.

Notes on chip component replacement
• 

Never reuse a disconnected chip component.

• 

Notice that the minus side of a tantalum capacitor may be dam-
aged by heat.

Flexible Circuit Board Repairing
• 

Keep the temperature of soldering iron around 270 °C during 
repairing.

• 

Do not touch the soldering iron on the same conductor of the 
circuit board (within 3 times).

• 

Be careful not to apply force on the conductor when soldering 
or unsoldering.

CAUTION
Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced.
Replace only with the same or equivalent type.

Microsoft, Windows, Outlook, DirectX are registered
trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other 
countries.
Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple 
Computer Inc., registered in the USA and other 
countries.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel
Corporation.
Intel Core is a trademark or a registered trademark
of Intel Corporation.
Dragon Speech, Dragon NaturallySpeaking are
trademarks owned by Nuance Communications,
Inc. and are registered in the United States and/or 
other countries.
MPEG Layer-3 audio coding technology and 
patents licensed from Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson.
Sonic, Sonic Solution, and Roxio® Powered are
trademarks of Sonic Solutions.

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Refer to the pages indicated in 
parentheses for details.

 



 (headphone) jack* 

 Built-in microphones (stereo/

directional)

 Operation indicator

 Display window
 DIVIDE/  (bookmark) button
   (folder)/MENU button
 



 (record/pause) button

 



 (stop) button

 



(cue/fast forward) button

 



 (play/stop/enter) button

 



 (review/fast backward) button

 VOL (volume) +/– button
   (repeat) A-B/  (priority) button
 ERASE button
 Opning for a handstrap (A handstrap 

is not supplied.)

* Connect stereo ear receiver or stereo

headphones supplied or not supplied to the 



 (headphone) jack. If unwanted noise is 

heard, wipe the headphones plug clean.

 Speaker
 HOLD switch**
 V-UP (Digital Voice Up) switch
 DPC switch
 DIRECTNL (directional) switch
 



 (microphone) jack

 

 

(USB) connector

 Battery compartment

** Slide the HOLD switch in the direction of 

the arrow to lock all the functions of all the 
buttons. During stop, “POWER SAVING…”
will be displayed and the display will be 
turned off to prevent battery power from
exhausting.

 

Press and hold 

/MENU.

The menu mode will be displayed in 
the display window.

 

Press



 or 



to select “DETAIL

MENU” and press



.

 

Press



 or 



to select “DATE & 

TIME” and press



.







When you selected “AUTO,”  the clock is 
automatically adjusted using the clock 
in the computer connected to the IC 
recorder and on which the supplied 
Digital Voice Editor software is started.
When you select “MANUAL,” proceed
to the next steps.





/





/MENU

You need to set the clock to use the 
alarm function or record the date and 
time.
Clock setting display appears when you

you insert batteries after the IC recorder
has been without batteries for a certain
period of time. In this case, proceed from
step 4.









 



“EXECUTING….” appears and the clock 
is set.



If you do not press



 within one minute

of entering the clock setting data, the clock 
setting mode is cancelled and the window
will return to the normal display.



 Remaining battery/Charging

indicator
When dry batteries are used, the 
indicator shows the remaining
battery power.
While charging the rechargeable
batteries an animation appears.

 Selected message number/Total

number of messages in the folder

 Priority marks

Appear(s) when a message is set with 
priority mark(s).

 Bookmark indicator

Appears when a bookmark is set for
a message.

 Alarm indicator

Appears when the alarm is set for a 
message.

 

Displays the EFFECT setting in the 
menu.
BA1 :  The bass sound is reinforced.
BA2 :  The bass sound is further
reinforced.

 Operation mode indicator

Displays the following, depending on 
the current operation mode

 : playback
 : stop

 : review/fast backward,

cue/fast forward

 : going backward/forward

continuously

 Folder indicator
 Elasped time/Remaining time 

indication/Recording date and time 
indication

 Folder name/Message name/Artist

name indication

 Recording mode indicator

Displays the recording mode set 
using the menu when the IC recorder
is in the stop mode, and displays the 
current recording mode when the IC 
recorder is in the playback mode.
STHQ : Standard play stereo
recording mode with high quality
sound
ST : Standard play stereo recording
mode
STLP : Long play stereo recording
mode
SP : Standard play monaural 
recording mode
LP : Long play monaural recording
mode
MP3 : MP3 mode (during playback
only)

 Microphone sensitivity indicator

Displays the current microphone
sensitivity.

 (high) : To record at a meeting or 

in a quiet/spacious place.

 (low) : To record for dictation or in 

a noisy place.
MAN (manual) : To record with 
microphone sensitivity set manually.

 Remaining recording time indication

 Operation mode indicator

Displays the following, depending 
on the current operation of the IC 
recorder.

 : recording
 : recording standby/recording

pause

 : recording with the VOR

function

 : recording pause with the 

VOR function

 Recording level meter
 Microphone sensitivity indicator

Displays the current microphone
sensitivity when recording with AGC
(Automatic Gain Control).

 (high) :  To record at a meeting or 

in a quiet/spacious place.

 (low) :  To record for dictation or in 

a noisy place.
Displays the recording level during
manual recording.

 Elapsed recording time indication
 Alarm indicator
 Recording mode indicator

Displays the recording mode (STHQ,
ST, STLP, SP, and LP) set in the menu.

 LIM (limiter) indicator

Displays the LIMITER setting in the menu.
When “REC LEVEL” is set to “AUTO-
AGC,”“---” is displayed.

 Remaining recording time indication
 Remaining battery/Charging indicator
 LCF (Low Cut Filter) indicator

Displays the LCF setting in the menu.