Olympus DM-10 Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player

I am going to be conducting interviews for research. I was new to the digital voice recorder buying scene and started out by buying an Olympus VN-3600. That device is OK, but has severe limitations. The most obvious one being that the lower end digital voice recorders do not transfer files to a computer. So if you want to use the space again you have to take your notes and lose the original. The other limitation that the lower-end voice recorders have is poor to unsuable recording in the long-play mode. For the 3600, 6 hours was a joke. Believe me it was completely unsuable. I knew that going in but I didn't realize how crippling not being able to transfer files to the computer would be.

Enter the DM-10. From the reviews here and across the web I decided to give it a try. I am VERY GLAD that I did. What a remarkable device. It has 3(4) recording modes and each one of them is crystal clear. I put 4 in parathensis because if you use a stero microphone it automatically records in SHQ or Super High Quality mode. As many voice recorders have this has a voice activation level so that pauses shut down the recording. This one works really well with 15 different levels. The SP mode gives you 22hours of recording! And it is usable.

I just downloaded the software and it is great. I recorded two files one in HQ mode and one in SP mode. SP and LP recordings are stored in something called DSS files whereas the HQ and SHQ are stored as WMA files. They downloaded in a flash. I also copied them to a folder and then clicked on them and they brought up the software for replay in a flash.

You can also use the DM-10 as an MP3 player. As a nice bonus, and I bought this in early June 2004, the package I got included a stero microphone. You usually get what you pay for and I would suggest if you want to have a ton of recording space and you feel that storing your recordings would be helpful, spend the money on this device. It has too many features to list but all are well-thought out and enhance its usability. The manual is well-written and will get you started in minutes. Really a superb device and worth the money.

The DM-10 was purchased as a replacement for my bulky and virtually obsolete microcassette recorder, for recording interviews (I'm a journalism student and part-time staff writer) and the occasional class lecture. Here are my initial impressions:

It's small enough to fit comfortably in a pocket and weighs a little bit more than my car keys. The display is easy to read and has a nice orange backlight. It also has a sleek metal body which not only looks cool, but leaves me with the impression of durability should I ever drop it.

The data storage far exceeds my needs. It can record somewhere around 2 hours in high quality stereo and more than 22 hours in its lowest quality setting, which still sounds remarkably good for dictation and interviews. There are 5 folders to store recordings in, each capable of holding up to 199 files each.

The recording quality (in the 24 hours I've used it) has been impressive. Whether I was recording something from the television or recording a class lecture (a 200-person auditorium class) with the DM-10 in a cargo pocket of my pants, it has impressed me with its clarity and sensitivity. Background noise is pretty much inevitable with any recorder, but the DM-10 sounds great in playback and even has a built-in noise reduction option for that makes playback even better!

Files can include multiple index points (for bookmarking important points) as well as user-added comments to identify files in addition to the automatic timestamp placed on them. SHQ/HQ files are stored in WMA format, so they can be downloaded and listened to in your favorite music player. Another neat feature is the ability to set alarms to remind you to listen to specific files at a preset time.

I did not purchase this device for music and had low expectations for it's so-called music features. I underestimated it. The DM-10 works very well as an MP3 player and is doing very well as a replacement for the MP3 player I broke. It's even got WOW 3D sound support, which my old MP3 player does not have. While I probably wouldn't buy the DM-10 for music (for that I'd want something with the ability to hold extra memory), the ability to play music is a huge bonus and means that I won't need to replace my MP3 player anytime soon.

What really sealed the deal for me in choosing the DM-10 over other recorders is the USB cradle. It is so nice to be able to drop the recorder in the cradle and then have full access from my computer to listen to recordings, download files, add or change comments on files, upload files, etc. without having to fool around with a cable every time.

There are other features I left out, but my opinion is that Olympus has done a great job with this recorder and I am very happy with the purchase. It would be nice if it had the ability to accept external memory, but unless one is using it strictly as a music player, I don't see the 64MB it has onboard as being much of a limitation. Another great convenience would be the ability to recharge the DM-10's batteries just by leaving it in the USB cradle. Perhaps Olympus will release an upgraded cradle at some point to accommodate this.

Buy Olympus DM-10 Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player Now

I'm a pharmacy school student. When my professors give lectures they usually go so fast, that it is almost impossible to make notes and not to miss the important information. I tried various voice recorders with prices ranged from $39 to $150. Among those were various models of Olympus and Sony.

Olympus DM-10 has 3 modes of voice recording. Regular quality, which is useless as in all recorders(really bad sound quality). High quality: very nice quality, gives you more then 6 hours of recording. Super high quality: this mode only works with external microphone(came with this recorder). Although this mode only gives you 2.5 hours of recording, the sound quality is trully excellent even if you place your recorder far from the professor.

All recorders' manufacturers give you some huge numbers of recording hours. In order to get these hours one would need to record with regular quality. Very often you can not undestand a single word with this quality. This is expecially true when a professor speaks with an accent, or the room is large. Therefore, I never even try to record anything with regular quality

One of the greatest features of this recorder is its noise cancelling. In play mode you can adjust the noise cancelling feature in such a way that it feels like there was no noise in the room at all.

Finally, after you done with recordings, the program that comes with this machine will download the files to the computer, so that you can listen to the recordings with Winamp or Windows players.

I love this machine.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus DM-10 Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player Here

This device does exactly what I wanted it to do, which is record interviews and make them easy to transcribe. I'm a financial reporter in New York, and really noticed the DM-10 when I went to a press conference and four out of five reporters whipped them out. Now I know why: Back at the office, I can download a 45-minute recording to the computer in a minute, and review it at digital high speed or digital low speed as I choose. Indexing is easy. I can also convert to a .wav file so colleagues can review it. The software is the charm. Hardware's not bad either: it slips easily in the pocket. Anyone who's used an iPod will grok the "hold" switch, which is the "off" button if you're not recording or playing.

This would not be a very useful device for my purposes if absent a computer. I've not tried to use it as an mp3 player.

It uses regular AAA batteries, a more robust power solution than rechargables. Power consumption seems low.

Want Olympus DM-10 Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player Discount?

A previous reviewer said this recorder is "not good for transcribing" because it lacks pause and review functions. This is incorrect on both counts.

During playback, the Stop button acts as a pause button. If you press Stop and then press Play again, it will continue playback from where you paused.

To review a section without rewinding all the way to the beginning, hold down the Rewind button. As long as you hold it down, it will continue backing up, playing little pieces of the audio as it goes to help you find your place. Similarly, you can fast forward (cue) by holding down the FF button.

Pages 25 and 26 of the manual describe these playback functions.