Olympus DS2000 Digital Voice Recorder

by Olympus

Product Details

Product Manual [766kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 2 x 0.6 inches ; 2.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00005J7WD
• Item model number: 141575
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,084 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 25, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Voice recording and downloading your speech files has never been easier, thanks to the DS-2000 Professional Digital Voice Recorder.

The DS-2000 supports removable SmartMedia cards for up to 22 hours of recording time (on a 64 MB SmartMedia card) and makes downloading speech files to a PC quick and easy, especially if the DS-2000 is directly attached via the included USB cable. For additional ease-of-use, the SmartMedia card can be removed and its contents downloaded to a PC using a number of SmartMedia download devices.

Aside from the SmartMedia capability, the DS-2000 is equipped with other features helping to enhance productivity such as two recording modes--SP and LP depending on your needs--and an LCD panel display to check recording mode, remaining recording time, and date and time. There's also a Microphone Sensitivity Selector, voice activation for hands-free recording, and editing capabilities such as insert, delete and partial erase.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars AT ($$$), YOU WASTE ABOUT $200, December 22, 2001

By 

"preach_leh" (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympus DS2000 Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

Digital is so much better, right? Well, this misstep from Olympus didn't sound any better at all than my Olympus analog (microcassette) recorder. There was a very noticeable hiss during playback, and in order to hear my recording without laying the speaker almost directly against my ear, I had to turn the volume up past the point of distortion. Consider the fact that I am a Pentecostal preacher, and you might get the idea. As loudly as I speak, I shouldn't have to turn the thing up so high. This wouldn't be bad for a $50 recorder, but at ($$$), this is just a couple steps below robbery! I used the highest quality mode, and both high and low mic sensitivity, but the results were just not acceptable. It was on its way back within 72 hours. I liked the size, weight and the features, but the poor playback, combined with the low-wattage speaker, killed this recorder for me, at least at it's retail price. It's one strong feature is that you can connect it directly to a PC (no need for a card reader), but again, that just wasn't enough to save it from the return process.
Olympus makes the best ANALOG recorders, by my ears, but digitally, they have left much to be desired. If you want to spend ($$$) on a digital recorder, I'd highly recommend the Sony ICD-MS1. Same price (the one without the voice recognition software), basically the same features (except direct PC connection), but much better sound, I mean very much better.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good technology - durablity could be better, May 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Olympus DS2000 Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

I've bought analog recorders for years and constantly been disappointed in the microphone quality, not to mention the annoyance of dealing with tapes. If you want quality you have to pay for it, and you pretty much get it with this product. In my case I was able to set it on a table and pick up presentation style audio more than 15 feet away (assumes the individuals were projecting, but not shouting). The playback was quite clear. The size, weight and functionality are good. The MP3 playback was nice, but dedicated MP3 players will always have better features.

My only complaint is that after more than a year, the price doesn't seem to have come down much. Considering that Olympus sells an improved DM-1 model for a similar amount, I would've expected a lower price for this.

I originally gave this product 4 stars, but after using it moderately for 10 months, have lowered it to 3 stars. My reason is that in less than a year, the headphones plug has malfunctioned so that audio only works in one ear, and to my surprise, the speaker stopped working. I understand that expensive electronics such as this can be fragile. But my advice to anyone purchasing this is to handle with care and keep your receipt and packaging ready.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does what it claims to do, December 5, 2002

By 

Saqib Ali "http://quantumcrypto.de/dante/" (http://quantumcrypto.de/dante/) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olympus DS2000 Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

and is very good at it. I really like the VCVA feature. You can control the sensivity as well. Also the switch for dictation vs conference is very useful as well. Awesome/fast tech support. Had few questions about the software, and got them all answered in 5 mins.

The most important thing about digital voice recorders is: they should be easy to control and navigate. I must say DS-2000 is very easy to control and use.

Wish List:
It would be awesome if the software had the capability to export to mp3 format.