Olympus WS-100 64 MB Digital Voice Recorder with USB Interface

I'm part of an Irish/Celtic musical duo, and so many times I've wished I had a recorder to capture those spur of the moment and fleeting "inspirations" when we come up with some good musical ideas that we can't remember at the next rehearsal session. "Let's see....what was that cool guitar part you did last week....?" "I don't know....can't remember." So I bought the WS 100 to record our sessions and it does an excellent job. We usually sit about 6' apart, facing each other, and with the WS 100 placed between us on the LO mic setting, it clearly captures every nuance, note and vocal. Best of all, after the session, I can plug it into my USB hub, download the files to my computer and burn a CD for my partner to take with him for practice or to listen to in the car. No, it's not CD quality, but for the purpose intended, we don't need it. We can go into a recording studio for that. But the audio quality is surprisingly good when played through my computer's Altec-Lansing speaker system (the WS 100's internal speaker is pretty lame). I've run a few of the live musical tracks through Gold Wave editing software, adding effects and EQ, and come up with some surprisingly good sounding material.

I say the internal speaker is lame, but actually, it's ok if you adjust the volume and place the speaker against your ear. Obviously, music played back on the small internal speaker won't have the bass and treble spectrum it'd have when played back through a better speaker, but it's still respectable when the speaker is right against your ear. If you're simply listening to the spoken voice, it's very clear. The included ear buds work pretty well, but I don't particularly like sticking things in my ears. When I want to listen to something closely using just the WS 100, I use a set of Sony headphones.

I've gotten to the point where I take it with me when I leave the house. Often I'll be in a store looking at various products that I'd like to check out online, and with the WS 100, I can verbally record the product information for reference instead of walking around the store looking for something to write on.

The tiny size, quality, versatility, direct USB, features, and price make this a real winner for me.

My design requirements were stringent, but voice quality requirements were not, since this will mostly be used for making quick "to do" notes.

Features I needed:

* Compact design able to fit into a small purse, which holds just a little more than a wallet. Must be able to fit into a pocket also.

* Good, simple layout of buttons, with easy to discern "record" and "stop" buttons. If needed to make a note while driving at night, wanted to be able to record without looking and without having to take concentration off the road.

* Ability to upload files to PC, if desired at some point in the future.

After reading tons of reviews of many brands and models, I decided on the WS-100, but checked it out first at a local store. The dimensions were just right not too bulky, but no microscopic buttons.

Other reviews have noted the attached USB port and ability to upload WMA files, which is a plus. No need for separate cables (although an extension is included), nor for USB docking stations or extra software.

I took this home and was amazed at the quality of the voice recording. The speaker was fine for shopping list type of notes. Setting the microphone sensitivity to "Lo" (dictation mode) cut out a lot of background and hand noise that was picked up in the higher sensitivity setting. The extent of sound tests was spoken words at the kitchen table. Even so, playback quality was excellent with the supplied earbud headphones far beyond what I would have considered acceptable.

The menus were easy to learn and the instructions were easy to follow. Within a few minutes it became very simple to turn the unit on / off and make recordings without looking. The recorder beeps to confirm that it is on, that recording has begun and that it has stopped. The beeps are even different pitches. Red and green lights flash at the top of the unit for further confirmation that you have started / stopped recording.

This was the only model I found in the stores that ran on only one AAA battery, which is supposed to last 13 hours. Recording time at highest quality is about 4 1/2 hours. It is nice to know that the capacity is there to record meetings.

My requirements were met and then some. I will be able to carry the WS-100 everywhere and use it on the road, if necessary, without thinking about it.

Well done, Olympus.

Buy Olympus WS-100 64 MB Digital Voice Recorder with USB Interface Now

I paid a bit more than I wanted at Fry's for this, but I was looking for a dedicated portable recorder for voice and music. The WS-100 certainly fits the bill in the portability department; hand-held, it can easily pick up conversation (and noise) in a room. You can listen via the tinny speaker or monitor using the included earbud headphones but there is really no control of input volume. Think of it as a high-tech cassette recorder.

I was able to record and download audio files into my iMac G5 using the USB port. The trouble began when I tried to edit these WMA files in Quicktime. QT7 Pro will play but does not allow editing the Windows Media format. GarageBand refused to deal with them, and when I tried to import them into iDVD I got a message that my original recordings were "Copy-protected" media. On going to the Windows Media Player website I learned that I would have to purchase an "upgrade" that would allow my Mac to edit WMA files. I was suspicious since it seems that WMP for the Mac had not been updated for a few years.

Fortunately I found a workaround. Switch (www.nch.com.au/switch) is a freeware app for Mac OS X that allowed me to easily convert the WMA files to AIFF. Still, I think Olympus could be more Mac-friendly in their sound formats...

Read Best Reviews of Olympus WS-100 64 MB Digital Voice Recorder with USB Interface Here

The Olympus WS-100 has a few flaws. As has been stated in other reviews the on-board speaker is terrible and you really cannot listen to anything clearly. You need to use the included earbud earphones, plug into a larger speaker, or transfer the files to your pc. The recorder can record in three speeds. The slowest speed the one that you get 27 hours records with a tinny, poor sound. It is ok if you just need to hear what was said, but it is not a good reproduction of sound as it runs at 5bps and is highly compressed. The middle speed and the high speed have good reproduction quality but this reduces this recorder's record time to 8 hours or 4 hours. Not the 27 hours you might have hoped for.

The other minor problem is that there are two red leds on top to show that the unit is recording and if in voice activated mode these flash flashing or not this calls attention to the recorder and can be distracting at a meeting, etc. There seems to be no way to turn these leds off. Since the recorder has a display screen that shows the recordig activity, they are not really needed.

Good points are the size very small and the need for only one AAA battery for 13 hours of recording. There are four folders to organize recordings. The USB connector is easy to get to and plugs directly into your pc. The recordings on a pc require Windows Media Player or any other player that reads wma files. These also may be converted to mp3 or wave files with independent software and could be burned to CD. The unit is very light and fits easily into a shirt pocket. The mic is very sensitive and records well across the room.

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When I first bought this, I was very disappointed in the playback quality. This is not the fault of the recorder but simply the speaker size. When listening back with headphones, or when the file is transferred to a PC, the quality is fine. I fly a plane and need to get weather briefings from flight service stations. These guys can rattle off stuff pretty quickly, so rather than trust my memory to write it all down, or make them repeat everything, I simply turn on the recorder, put the telephone on speaker, and capture the entire conversation. After the call, I can then play it back and catch anything that I may have missed in real-time. I also use it when at industry trade shows, when walking the exhibit floor. If I see something that I want to discuss with someone at the office, I make a quick note in the recorder and then move on to the next booth. I then transcribe these notes to an email when I get back to the hotel room. You can adjust the playback speed: Slow, so you can write stuff down or type on a PC while it is playing back, or fast, so you can quickly go over something that is not as important. (This makes it sound like you are drowsy or just had too much coffee but it serves the purpose.) I'm just now starting to use the index marks. I wish I had this when I was in college. My only complaint is that the buttons down the side for play, stop, record are not the easiest to navigate by touch alone. It would have been better if they would have used different sizes or shapes so you could feel exactly where you were without needing to look. And they are a little small so I find that I have to push them with my fingernail so as not to hit two at once. Minor complaints though.