Olympus S-711 Microcasette Recorder (Blue)

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)For those who don't want to invest in an expensive digital recorder, the Olympus Microcassette recorder is perfect for interviews and taking voice notes. The volume control allows for sensitive sound pick-up, and the dual speeds allow for either longer recording or higher sound quality. Use the voice activation feature for automatic recording. Although the sound quality is hardly perfect, it is adequate for most uses. Because of its small size, it fits easily into a average-size purse or small backpack pocket.

This little unit can be operated with minimal effort practically straight from the plastic pack. It comes with one microcassette and the necessary batteries. Highly recommended for people who don't mind the older technology or for those on a budget.

If you are a student and just need a cheap, good quality recorder for classeslike I didthis is a real gem. Its just a plain old fashioned tape recorderbut compared to digital, the sound of this recording is excellent. For techno-freaks, be aware: It doesn't hook up to your computer to translate from recorder to printed notes via voice recognition software, it isn't the size of a pen (although it IS pretty small and lightweight), and it won't stand up on your desk and tap dance. It'll just make recording your lectures a cheap and easy proposition. As an aside: you will need a little adaptor ($2 on Olympus website)in order to use standard headphones with it (it has a mini-mini plug port, which is not standard) or else you will have to listen to it out loud. At this price, I think its worth grabbing these up while they last and while Olympus hasn't discontinued them yet (assuming that digital will eventually cause them to discontinue all 'tape recording' machines). So, even though I like computer stuff and have lots of gadgets and gizmos myself, I ignored 'image' and was very happy with this inexpensive little purchase! Footnote: I would have given it 5 stars IF it had a tape counter (this model doesn't) and IF it included the adaptor for standard headphone plug OR had a standard size port so you wouldn't need their own brand headset or adaptor.

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The Olympus Microcassette Recorder S711 is the perfect utensil for corporate meetings, fun stuff, and stuff you know you will remember. It slashes a digital recorder, because the simple tapes that you buy may include almost 90 mins. of space. That's 270 mins. with all 3 tapes (if 90 mins. are included) That is even more then some of the digital voice recorders that top $50. This proves a digital voice recorder isn't and wasn't worth my while. At first, when searching I'd looked towards Sony and Olympus for their digital recorders. But that is nothing compared to their microcassette recorders. Sony has been doing well for quite a while, but it is tiny, puny, and not worth it once compared to the Olympus.

Pros

-Large, easy to use buttons. Nothing fancy

-Allows 2 type of speeds

-From a name brand that you trust

-Cheap, but accurate

-3 tapes with 90 mins. can hold more than some digital recorders which top $50

Cons

-Looks aging

-Some buttons are too big and bulky

-Blue, I think not, Maybe Grey or something else

Overall, I rate the Olympus 5 stars. It isn't too big or small, and it is accurate. It allows you to record with microcassette tapes, and has been proven much better than a digital voice recorder. I'm glad that I own it, and I would like you to have it too.

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This is the first time I've purchased a mini recorder and it's definitely not as clear as I expected. However I believe the quality I want can only come from a "walkman size" recorder. The sound is easily heard but there's also a lot of white noise being heard as you turn up the volume on playback.

The major drawback of purchasing this recorder is that in order to use the ac adapter or the headphone adapter you need to use Olympus products. Neither hole for the adapters is the standard size. I only realized this after buying and opening a pair of stereo headphones. I've searched high and low for headphones that fit and finally a salesperson, at a major office supply store said to me "the only reason why the holes would be smaller is if the manufacturer wants you to buy their products" and then he said check a major electronics store...but they told me to check the office supply store. Since I bought this with the intention of listening to my lectures during my morning train commute I am very disappointed. No wonder the package inserts included the pictures and product #'s for all of the optional accessories that go with this recorder.

So if you are willing to listen sans the headphones and with a little white noise then this is a good buy and it's cheaper here than in the stores. A definite plus is the royal blue color. You can definitely pick it out which one belongs to you when your peers recorders all look the same.

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I bought this Olympus recorder at a local electronics store (circuit city) and had to return the first one, since the record/playback head had a problem staying in physical contact with the tape. The playback volume would drop down in volume since the head was not snug against the tape during playback conditions.

The second one worked okay for about six months, then guess what happened? You've got it the same tape contact problem that occurred with the first sample occurred with the second. This time the problem was even worse the recorder failed to record adequately, so that nothing but noise was on the tape. I see that both items were made in China where quality control is much poorer than either Japan or Korea, at least that's my personal experience.

While it worked, it was just "okay", nothing to brag about.