Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works better than I had hoped, 16 Sep 2008
I just took a job that requires me to record lectures, presentations and one-on-one interviews. My old Sony cassette recorder quickly proved inconvenient for the purpose - if only in trying to keep up with its endless demand for batteries and blank tapes. Reviews of this recorder inspired me to give it a chance.
I fully expected the sound quality to be better than the cassette recorder, which added hiss both during recording AND playback. But the sound quality is better than I had hoped for. Last night I recorded a lecture where the speaker did not use a microphone and I had no hope of getting near the front of the room. I set the recorder on my knee and hoped that would be enough. The result is a recording that, while not perfect, leaves every word audible (except when I shuffled my own papers - those moments are rather loud).
I also use it to record myself on guitar and singing, just to get ideas down before I forget them. That was the purpose for buying the old Sony machine, but this makes it so much easier. I can access specific songs instantly, I can rename the files when connected to the computer, and connecting to my Mac at work and PC at home are a breeze. I've recorded about 12 hours for work and maybe an hour total of guitar play, and the drive is nowhere near full and the battery that came with the recorder is still well charged.
There may be better recorders out there, but if you haven't used one before and you're looking for something that can handle these kinds of tasks, this is worth considering.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Olympus WS-331M dictaphone, 20 Feb 2008
The recorded sound has to be the priority. Through its own speaker it sounds no better than my 30 year-old Binatone microtape. Given that the two microphones are tucked in to tiny little holes beneath the silverish top they are vulnerable to (no pun intended) the distortion of passing wind. I was out on Fistral Beach at Newquay early February and nothing but the light breeze (sounding like a force 15 storm) could be heard. I tried it later at the Beach Hut restaurant at Watergate beach to record an excellent lunch in convivial company and then discovered that whilst a lot of the ambience was captured (in conference mode) it proved near-impossible to distinguish foreground and background conversations when listening later. As an AppleMac user I was livid to find it only recorded in Microsoft's WMA format, although as a USB drive it was instantly and fully available and indeed most amenable to MP3 files being stored on it for leisurely later listening. However, purely by accident I discovered FLIP4MAC software that inserts components into the Quicktime engine to enable Windows Media files - such as WMA audio format - to be playable (at a range of prices from free for audio to not a lot for video) on AppleMacs. Once enabled QuickTime plays the files flawlessly (albeit exposing all recording flaws) and QT Pro happily converts them into conventional file formats for cleaning up in audio suites like Logic Studio. Using a conventional cable I recorded a program from a DAB radio, and the result is surprisingly disappointing. I have to admit that I quickly took a strong dislike to this bit of kit with its plastic feel and fingerprints all over its glossy surface but after a week of use in the field it has given no trouble, it has many hours of recording time remaining - and the single AAA battery still appears to be fully charged. If the recordings didn't sound like a cheap dictaphone it would be a real winner. Having said that I'm really warming towards it although probably not to the extent of buying a pair of external microphones!
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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Little Gem for Snapshot Sounds, 20 April 2008
It does what it claims.
This is the second Olympus we've bought; our previous one was the 1Gig WS320M, now a year old and still working beautifully in everyday use.
If one sets the record quality to be the highest (ST XQ), with the Bass-Cut filter off and the mics in Conference mode, then the recordings make excellent stereo when played back on a PC with good speakers (eg I use Logitech X230).
The quality is also good enough through the (surprisingly durable) supplied earpieces, with a bit of bass EQ added, if you have ear-holes big enough (17mm dia) to accommodate them! But I use my trusty old AKG240 headphones, which are far more comfortable (if a bit lacking in sensitivity for this machine) and allow the playback to be set as Flat, and the Extra Bass and Graphic EQ etc all left off. Since I first wrote the review, I've bought the Sennheiser CX300 in-ear buds which are much, much more comfortable than the Olympus ones and sound excellent on this machine, almost as clear as the AKG240s. I also bought a set of Sennheiser PX200 mini headphones but found I could not get a good fit, so the bass was poor, and I was disappointed; however, my wife loved them with her WS320M.
The controls are easy to use, and I recommend the informative manual is downloaded - it is much clearer and easier to read then the tiny type in the booklet that comes with the recorder. The display is easier to read than on our year-old WS320M.
I have no argument with WMA format files, as long as they are 128K or more, and so far I have not noticed any compression artifacts on this machine, except some intermod on complex soundscapes with many voices (eg a choir, in an echoing hall.) For recording rehearsals, auditions, and meetings for later review, it is perfect; simple, unobtrusive and very convenient. For just a few voices it gives a clear and accurate portrayal of both speech and singing, male and female. It also works well with a grand piano (a tough test for an old fashioned analogue tape machine).
However, I would not expect to use it as a serious recorder; to my professional ears no compressed audio format is good enough. But as a snapshot 'sound camera' it is a little gem; and it is vastly better than any dictaphone, or (with external electret mics which it can power) any tape-cassette machine I have tried in the past (including the expensive so-called professional ones).
It is not so ergonomic to use as a dedicated IPlayer, but otherwise just as good on playback, and how many IPlayers allow you to record? The AAA battery has only 11 hours life for the 35 hours ST XQ recording time, doh! But on just Music playback it does much better, and then the battery life is very much a function of how loud your ears can stand it, about 15 hours on the normal mid-volume setting. The battery compartment has a much improved captive slide and flip cover, so it will not get lost (as might happen with the earlier WS320M).
As one might choose from a range of different screwdrivers for different screws, so this stakes its claim for a place in the range of different recorders for different occasions.
At the heavily discounted price it is good value, but avoid paying list.
Why only four stars? I would have much preferred a longer lasting AA battery, and of course, more comfortable, smaller diameter earpieces. And the list price is too high.
A postscript after a year of contented, reliable use.
I have been experimenting with direct recording from the hi-fi using the MIC socket, with the intention of putting some of my old material on to the portable format. The recorder has very different characteristics depending on the input level, so choice of source equipment and signal level matters.
If the level is below about -50dbv then the AGC is smooth and almost undetectable with a long decay to higher gain. In other words, it's perfect for an electret microphone. The maximum gain seems to be at about -70dbv input.
If too high a signal level is applied then a Fast Limiter mode kicks in and the gain pumps rapidly to try and keep everything within bounds, and, as one might expect, it sounds awful. So do not try and apply a line level signal to the MIC input!
I ended up with a 50dB pad on each signal leg. This has a 47K Ohm in series from hi-fi, 150 Ohm shunt to ground, with a 100 uF 5V tantalum capacitor in series to the recorder to save from wasting the MIC power (+2.1V from approx 3.3K Ohms). You may need to experiment with the pad attenuation or the hi-fi volume controls, but the bar meter on the recorder gives a reasonable indication of what you need to achieve; check that the peaks mostly do not go to full scale, but mainly stay around three-quarters.
Transfers from my fifty-year-old vinyl sound surprisingly good in ST-XQ mode! The research and effort was worth it.
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