Olympus Linear Recorder (LS-11) Review

Looks like I am going to have to send this back for evaluation by the manufacturer. I bought this recorder to try my hand at recording nature sounds- rain, thunderstorms, riverside sounds, birds- that type of thing. I am a complete amateur, so take that in consideration with this review. I have been using this recorder for over two months now. I usually record at least an hour at a time and often several hours, mostly at very high bit-rates. I have babied this unit and take great care to protect it. The biggest problem I have with it is that it introduces electronic "clicks" into the recording. It is getting worse lately- about 1 every minute in today's recording. These appear as very large spikes in the waveform (Sony Soundforge audio editor). It is now such a problem that I can't use the recorder. I first noticed these spikes after a few weeks of use and they weren't as frequent or pronounced as they are now.
What do I like about it? I love the form-factor and layout of the controls. The menus are very well thought out and very intuitive. The use of a memory card is a very nice feature. It gets great battery life and is a pleasure to operate. The microphones are sensitive but there is a significant amount of 'noise-floor' to me. The 'hiss' during low-noise/quiet recording is too loud and is another reason I find myself less and less wanting to use this recorder. I have used an external mic only a few times, but that seemed to help some.
'Motor-boating' or putt-putt: I sometimes record in an area that is adjacent to a small airport and whenever a propeller-plane gets too close the recorder can't handle the sound. The recording becomes stuttered and starts to putt-putt-putt. I tried recording with the limiter on/off/automatic. No matter which setting I tried, it couldn't handle the airplanes (which were a little loud, but not so very close).
Be aware that the V-Sync recording feature, which starts the recorder whenever it detects a preset sound level, will only work one time (it will restart only if it re-detects a sound within 10 seconds). This feature is different than other Olympus models which offer VCVA (Variable Control Voice Activation).
Would I buy it again knowing what I now know? No.

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Product Description:
A Compact, Lightweight Powerhouse of Audio Recording. Drawing on 40 years of experience, Olympus has put a feature-packed audio studio in one 5-ounce PCM recorder. The LS-11, with two high-sensitivity microphones and 8 GB of internal memory, is the star of the show when it comes to capturing and playing back crystal clear audio, whether for personal enjoyment, hobbies, or even important business functions.

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