Olympus DS-40 Digital Voice Recorder by Olympus
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Our Price: $304.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Olympus DS-40 Digital Voice Recorder
Digital camera Review: Flawless Audio Recording Device
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm glad that my extensive research in voice recorders paid off.
You know, is rare when you come across a gadget that makes you almost entirely happy. :)))
I can see that Olympus has refined this solid voice recorder through the years.
This makes it a mature product which is a better option than going for a MP3 players with integrated mics as your voice recording solution.
The DS40 is a versatile machine that ca do many things.
The on board mono mic is really good and it compares well with a large external Dynamic mic I have.
The stereo mic that is included is also good but no great.
I'd recommend getting the external mic Olympus ME52W microphone, which can be used as a lapel microphone, or you can get two of them to use in a binaural setup.
The part that I like the most about the DS40 is that it works as an excellent USB microphone, very clean signal and it can operate with no batteries.
You can even record up to 96Khz 16bit PCM stereo quality !!
For windows XP and newer you don't need any drivers nor to install the included software for it to work as either a USB Audio class Microphone or a USB storage device.
As a portable device at its highest quality setting it records using WMA 128 kbps, 44.1 Stereo and the recording is pretty much free of noise or compression artifacts.
Also it is a blessing to have an on board speaker, what a difference it makes in comparison with the hassle to carry headphones with the typical MP3 player.
In all I'm very happy with the DS40.
The imperfections ?
No SD card which limits it as a serious music player.
No PCM 48Khz stereo recording in stand alone mode.
WMA is the only format it records on.
Conclusion:
The DS40 is a great portable audio capturing device that is much versatile that many other options out there.
It excels as a Voice Recorder and as a high quality USB mic which can be enhanced even further with the addition of external mics.
If you need only the voice recording part, with no need for stereo or the USB mic, get the Olympus VN-5200PC instead, but the DS40 will retain more it value in time.
Digital camera Review: Gadget Geek
Summary: 5 Stars
The Olympus DS-40 digital voice recorder works great. It is very easy to use and make very clear recordings. It's microphone has adjustable sensitivity and can be removed for wired remote setup (though the necessary cable is not included). I bought the Olympus to record as much of my 89 year old grandfather's stories as I can and to have the recordings in a format that can be easily stored and shared. It fits this need very well.Digital camera Review: Go for Sony ICD-PX820 at 1/4 of the price
Summary: 1 Stars
I was in a conference room in LA for 6 days for 8 hrs a day and a friend was recording with the Olympus DS-40 with the special Mic that comes with the recorder and I was recording with the Sony ICD-PX820 and the Olympus sound was like with lots of eco and like inside of a can and my recording is clear and understandable like the guy was there. Very easy to use and you can edit on the go, the batteries long me almost the entire conference (I came with replacements that I just change the last day the final hours, just in case). I recomend go for the Sony ICD-PX820 instead of the Olympus and is 1/4 the price of the Olympus and best sound quality (you can also add a mic if you need it but I didnt need it in that conference).Digital camera Review: Good Product.
Summary: 5 Stars
Good Product.
Little bit costly. Good quality of recording.
Useful for official purposes.
Digital camera Review: Good Purchase
Summary: 5 Stars
I like this product so far. I have only had it for about a month. I wanted it to record class lectures for school and it seems to work pretty well for that. Though I will advise anyone else buying it for that reason that you will still need to sit in the first or second row in order to record the professor. To be honest I haven't had a chance to really see what it can or can't do. But it seems to be a great little machine so far.