Remote, RS30-W Remote Control for Review

My unit functioned very well, but did not do what I expected -- to be able to start my recorder from an adjacent room (outside the sound booth). Since it's infra-red, it's line of sight, so if you want to control your recorder from more than about six or seven feet away from the device, save your money.

What I needed was a true wireless -- or radio frequency controller, so I don't have to be able to see the recorder to turn it on.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Remote, RS30-W Remote Control for

Product Description:
OLYMPUS 147026 RS-30W Remote Controller

Buy cheap Remote, RS30-W Remote Control for now Get 52% OFF

Olympus LS-11 with Olympus RS30 Wireless Remote Samson HP10 Olympus LS11 Skin and Sonic Sense 1/8" Stereo Mini Cables Review

I use this item to record sermons on Sunday. It is hooked directly to my amp line out to mic in. I use a wireless mic and the clearity is amazing. It comes with cubase so I am able to edit before creating cds. This particular item has 5 channels to change from so it helps when you have a guest speaker or other recordings. You don't have to choose which is the most important to keep. Lastly the battery life is excellent! My particular kit came with the skin and headphones so it was a great deal to me. No complaints!!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Olympus LS-11 with Olympus RS30 Wireless Remote Samson HP10 Olympus LS11 Skin and Sonic Sense 1/8" Stereo Mini Cables

Product Description:
Along with the great functionality described as follows, Sonic Sense completes the package with the Olympus Wireless Remote Control, Samson HP10 Headphones, Protective Skin, and Cables for connecting almost anywhere.Pocket, personal recorders don't need to compromise sound quality. Olympus LS-11 Linear Stereo Personal PCM Recorder breaks the sound quality barrier permitting a tiny, virtually weightless recorder to record and play in great sound. With its optional SD/SDHC card slot, you've got virtually limitless memory opportunities. Here's your personal invitation to explore the LS-11 from Olympus. Up to 32 GB of memory is available with an optional SD or SDHC card. Move files easily between internal and external memory. At just over five ounces, with an easy-to-operate interface and aesthetically pleasing design, it is a true anywhere-anytime' portable digital recorder. Two built-in 16mm round dynamic stereo speakers give the small wonder a wonderfully full and vibrant playback. Earphones can also be used. A voice synchronization function enables automatic recording when sounds are detected at a pre-set level. There's auto stop, too. Recording preferences can be fine-tuned with a Level function that's clearly displayed, along with a PEAK indicator, on the recorder's bright LCD. Create Index marks during recording or playback in PCM mode to instantly locate specific portions of the recording that you want to hear. With a new File Edit function, you can partially cut or divide your files. Recording Format Linear PCM (Pulsed Code Modulation) WAVE; MP3 (MPEG-1/MPEG-2 Audio Layer 3); WMA (Windows Media Audio) Built-in 8 GB memory for Linear PCM - Up to 12 hours 45 minutes / MP3 - Up to 142 hours / WMA - Up to 278 hours Organization - 5 folders, 200 messages per folder, plus MUSIC folder Uses 2 AA battery

Buy cheap Olympus LS-11 with Olympus RS30 Wireless Remote Samson HP10 Olympus LS11 Skin and Sonic Sense 1/8" Stereo Mini Cables now

Olympus WS-311M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player Review

As an elementary music teacher, I often have a need to make recordings. After researching my options, on a limited budget, I chose this digital voice recorder to record my grand piano playing vocal parts. At first I was very disappointed, until told to listen through the ear buds, not the speakers on the tiny device! What sounded awful at first, ended up being the best piano recording I have ever heard from a portable device, which used to be a cassette recorder! The cd's turned out great.
Today I recorded a saxophone soloist as I accompanied his piece we are preparing for a state honors concert in a few days. I just sat this small recorder on my windowsill and I am absolutely amazed at the sound quality! It sounds as good as when the band director brought all of his equipment and large microphones to my studio!
Often middle school or high school musicians are required to make a recording for seating or auditions. I would highly recommend this WS-311M to do the job!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Olympus WS-311M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player

Product Description:
Record up to 138 hours or store up to 120 songs on 512 MB of internal flash memory. Built-in stereo microphones and a Stereo Extra-High Quality (STXQ) mode let you record and play in superior-sounding audio. Five other recording modes include STHQ, STSP, HQ, SP or LP. The no-hassles Windows Media Audio (WMA) format works seamlessly with any PC. You can conserve memory with the Variable Control Voice Actuator that records only when sound is sensed. Continuously record for 21 hours with one AAA battery. Doubles as a USB storage device! Store any type of file and stay organized with five folders that each hold 200 files. Always know where important passages are with an index mark feature. Our -USB Direct- design lets you plug the recorder right into your computer for easy, high-speed transfers using USB 2.0. And listen to MP3 and WMA files while WOW XT Technology provides rich bass and three-dimensional sound during playback. Customize the sound using a built-in equalizer. Accelerate or slow down audio with eight different playback speed variations to help you listen efficiently.

Buy cheap Olympus WS-311M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player now Get 11% OFF

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.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Olympus Linear Recorder (LS-11)

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.

Buy cheap Olympus Linear Recorder (LS-11) now

Olympus WS-321M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player Review

I have been using mini cassette recorders, digital voicepens, and PDAs to record lectures and my own thoughts for years. This one blows them all away, in terms of both usability and sound quality. It is my first Olympus, and it is clearly the product of generations of improvements they made. I have not bought a gadget in a long time that keeps giving me GOOD surprises instead of disappointments. Worries that a recording will be lost because the battery ran out during a recording are eliminated by the fact that: 1. there is a nice battery indicator that you can check before beginning. 2. It uses one AAA, which is easy to find anywhere, and easy to carry a spare. if you see the battery is low, just pause the recording, put it on Hold, and put in a new battery. 3. The battery lasts over 8 hours anyway. How many recordings require continuous 8 hours? That sure beats fumbling with the old 30-min minicassettes! The stereo internal mic is superb, even at the medium quality setting. The usability of the controls is excellent, and most functions can be done blind, without needing to look at tricky menus. At the highest quality setting, I still get quite a few hours of recordings onto the 1GB memory. And transferring talks and MP3s into and out of it is perfectly simple--slide off the battery compartment revealing a full-size USB, plug it into the computer, and it appears on the desktop as a removable disk (in Mac OS X). Drag & drop, unmount and yank, and go. They even included a little extension USB cable, in case the body of the recorder would bump into adjacent wires on your computer. You can put marks anywhere in a recording while recording or during playback. That makes it easy to find important places again. You can play back slowed or sped up by up to 50% (or less) to either blaze through a boring lecturer, or scrutinize one with complex concepts. You can lock the controls so you don't accidentally switch off during a recording, or switch it on in your pocket and waste the battery. The screen has a backlight for recording at dark performances or auditoriums, or playing back at night. I recommend getting an external mic if the noise of handling the buttons and the recorder is a problem. However, it does have very good "limiter" circuitry (ALC), reducing the volume of my fumbling and coughs so I don't blow my speakers out on playback. I am delighted how fast it activates using voice activation--Not a syllable is missed when set to 13-15. It does lose syllables if you have it set to "dictate" (low mic sensitivity) and voice activation, unless you put it right by your mouth. But on Conference (high mic sens.) it is just great. And the internal speaker is amazingly good--Loud and clear. Menus are intuitive, but they included a pretty good manual with it. Finally, it is very small and light, pocketable enough to be unobserved in your shirt pocket, but not so small as to be hard to operate the controls. Two design improvements I would make: put the mic and headphone jacks in two different places, and put the headphone jack away from the internal mics because rubbing the wire (if recording while wearing headphones) causes noise. This is about the only complaint I can think of. Amazing.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Olympus WS-321M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player

Product Description:
Stay organized and on the move with this high-class storage device and powerful music player. Record meetings or notes and even store large documents to bring from one computer to another. The easy USB input lets you plug the WS-321M right into the computer for fast results. Built-in stereo microphones and a Stereo Extra-High Quality (STXQ) mode let you record and play in superior-sounding audio. There are five other recording modes including STHQ, STSP, HQ, SP or LP. The no-hassle Windows Media Audio (WMA) format works seamlessly with your PC. You can conserve memory with the Variable Control Voice Actuator that records only when sound is sensed. Continuously record for 21 hours with one AAA battery. And up to 250 songs can be stored and played in impressive stereo sound.

Buy cheap Olympus WS-321M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player now Get 17% OFF

Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder Review

I was about to buy either a tascam pro digital recorder or one of the competing models - both in the $800 - $1200 price range when Olympus demo'ed me this item just in time to stop my purchase!

A digital recorder is simply a musical fidelity, 2 channel recording device that can record uncompressed digital or compressed (MP3,WMA) formats.The professional models give you a high quality VU meter for adjusting levels, compression options to prevent digital clipping, usually XLR jacks with 48V phantom power (which this lacks, but that's not a big deal as it does have line in), and the ability to insert additional memory cards.Limited editing can be done on the unit, but it includes PC software for real editing later (see below)

For half the price of the cheapest tascam unit, Olympus has the same audio specifications, includes high quality stereo microphones built into the unit, makes a unit that is 1/8 the size of the tascam and literally fits in your pocket, and basically the only 2 things you "give up" are

1 - it uses SD memory while most everyone else is on compact flash
2 - it lacks XLR inputs but has a line level input plus 2 built in mic's

Other than those two limitations, at half the price, it's a killer deal for recording in the studio where you have a line out on your mixing board or on the road with the built in microphones.Since XLR->Line adapters are cheap and I have SD memory (it includes 2GB built in flash which will record for over 3 hours uncompressed digital, w/ USB 2.0 out) I'm not to disappointed.Yes, it would be nice to take a high quality sennheiser microphone and plug it right in, but the compact size (just slightly larger than a dictation recorder including microphones) makes this just too optimal to pass up.The extra $400 savings will buy some very nice microphones to go with it!

If you are thinking about migrating from a CD-ROM to a digital recorder to put on your mixing board or a portable digital recorder to capture music / speech / etc, this literally can drop in your shirt pocket and be ready instantly.I've recorded several hours with it now and am perfectly satisfied with the CDs I burned on my laptop.I'm sure any musician will be as well!

Misc:

Other features - it can act as a USB disk drive, includes a CD rom software package of Steinberg Cubase LE4 for compilations, and has both mic and line in jacks for input, as well as 3.5 mm stereo headphone outputs.

Summary:

I had my heart set on the $800 Tascam "lugable" digital recorder when I was given a chance to demo this recorder and at half the price the only real difference to me is I loose the 2 XLR jacks and get 2 quality microphones built into the unit - I loose the weight and get a 2xAA 12 hour runtime, and with the built in 2GB I get over 3 hours of linear PCM recording or 60+ hours of WMA audio.The built in backlit LCDs are comparable between recorders.It's complicated my buying decision, but at half price with all the same "recording" capabilities I'm now searching for a simple XLR -> Line mic preamp to compare an equivalent configuration.I would have liked the XLR+48VDC phantom feature but Olympus chose to put in 2 good mic's instead.I've returned my demo unit and am researching the XLR input issue now but I plan to go this route instead of the comparatively huge tascam recorder.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder

Product Description:
Combining the advanced technologies derived from Olympus' decades of experience in the recording field, the compact and portable LS-10 brings you high-fidelity sound recording that's ideal for everything from live music to the singing of birds. The LS-10: unparalleled sound quality, anytime, anywhere.

Buy cheap Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder now