Customer Reviews

Olympus DW-90 Digital Voice Recorder (Champagne Gold)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really like this little recorder. It's quite small, has lots of features like 3 folders, voice activation, hold (so you don't accidentally press a button), unidirectional/omnidirectional recording (record from one direction or all directions), and good control over the files. It also has very easy-to-use USB connectivity to download the files to a computer. I has everything I need, except for one big problem. As the previous reviewer noted, the LP recording mode is hard to make out what's said. The best way of describing it is that most of the consonants are lost. Instead of hearing "Jim is going to the kitchen" you hear "Chim ith going do da gitchen", which makes LP mode rather useless. Which leaves me with SP (33 min) and HQ (22 min) modes. Don't get me wrong, SP sounds really good and HQ sounds crystal clear, but they just aren't enough time. I am a student and got this mainly for taking notes in class. And when a class is 50 minutes or more, 33 minutes of recording time just won't cut it. I'm sure that this recorder would work great for someone dictating, but it just doesn't cut it for students.

I purchased the Olympus DW-90 Voice Recorder to record ambient sounds for some web work I'm doing. I found the DW-90 easy to operate after browsing the manual. Loading the included software was a non-item. Once you record a sound you just plug the unit into a USB port and the software automatically pops up on the computer screen. You then push one button and it uploads the file or files to the computer. Fast, simple. You select the file (it records in .wav file format) with your mouse and hit the play button and there you are. I'm into recording sounds of doors creaking, birds chirping, water dripping, etc. I record outdoors and in, on the hiking trail, voices in the park, the crackle of a fire in a fireplace, children's voices. In short, I record anything that might make a digital scene come to life. I also use the sounds for link buttons: the ping of a pencil on a drinking glass or china, the crumpling of an aluminum can, fist on a tabletop. Once I've uploaded the sound, I open it in my sound editing software (Sound Forge) and go to work on it. The sound that comes from the DW-90 in HQ mode is crystal clear. Since it's designed to record voices, I was worried that it might muffle background noise, but found this to not be true. Everything the ear hears, the DW-90 records (not the same frequency response, of course), which can at times be a problem for me. Human hearing is selective, so we don't ordinarily hear the refrigerator running or whir of our computer's fan. But they will all be there when you replay a DW-90 sound file. The DW-90 is smaller than it looks in the pictures, ~3.5 inches in length, and extremely light weight, so you can take it anywhere. But it definitely has its limitations. File storage volume is one. Just make sure that prior to purchasing the unit you evaluate its specifications against your requirements. I'm immensely pleased with it, but then I'm not trying to record a one-hour lecture in HQ mode (limit 22 min) or LP mode (limit 90 min) where so many of the reviewers here on Amazon have complained about sound quality.

Highly recommended if you need no more than 33 minutes of recording time. Sound quality is reasonably good in HQ or SP mode, but recording time in these modes is limited to about 22 minutes & 33 minutes, respectively. Sound quality in the LP mode (90 minutes recording time) is so bad that this mode is really unusable for anything more than brief notes spoken directly into the microphone -- and even for that, the quality is "iffy" at best. PC software works well, and USB file transfers are quick and easy.

Wife wanted me to get a device that would capture the chatter of our 20 month old for posterity. Being a visor fan, tried the voice module for it and was VERY disappointed with the inconvenience of the device. Sold it and tried this unit. The sound quality is very good but the real clincher is the ease of operation, which is everything for such a device. It records, plays back, and erases with ease, but the real surprise comes with the interface with the PC. You can set the options to automatically extract the files from the device onto the PC by simply plugging in the included USB cable. Simple Simple Simple. The unit will also act as a PC direct recording device so I can sit here in my family room, point the microphone at the kids and record directly onto the PC. I can name the wav file and store it as I please. The files can be emailed as any other media files. Wish the PC software had clipping capabilities. Very happy with the unit. Microphone has adjustable sensitivity that is very effective.

I have found this recorder to be great for my needs. I'm a student with a low-budget, and thought I might get this to record some of my lectures. Unfortunately, the LP mode isn't quite good enough for that, but it's great for recording shorter conversations or meetings. As I also work for the school paper, this device is PERFECT for recording short interviews. The price is good for what it is capable of, and I've found its ability to transfer right from the recorder to my PC (through USB) invaluable. This is one of the only devices I've seen on the market with this capability at such a low price.

As others have already stated, the LP mode isn't that great, but it's not as bad as you may think. The quality is poor, but the words are still understandable. If you're trying to transcribe a conversation on LP mode, you may have some difficulty, but it'll still work. I would not recommend it for something you would want others to listen to, however. I use the HQ mode to record short messages and send them home to the family, and the SP mode is good if you want to record a lengthier conversation and listen to it later. It would be nice if there was a little more time for both of these modes (22 minutes for HQ and 33 minutes for SP), but at the price and size this comes at, I can't complain.

Again, great entry-level recorder.

Straight off the bat -- the sound quality of the unit's HQ and SP modes are excellent. Just keep in mind that you only get 22 and 33 mins of recording time for each respectively. The 90 minute recording time boasted on the packaging refers to the unit's LP recording time. Now, it seems like everyone is complaining about how bad the LP mode is....

The biggest thing everyone needs to keep in mind when purchasing this (or any digital player) is that LP (long-playing) recording mode is *NOT* good quality, but it IS decipherable! And for my use, recording client meeting conversations, that's all I need a voice recorder for. I don't care how good his voice sounds, as long as it is decipherable. To better articulate my impression on how "bad" is "not good", it will actually take some _work_ to decipher an LP recording -- at times, you may find yourself pressing the unit to your ear or turning up the volume a little louder just to figure out exactly what the person just said. But the overall conversation is still "clear".

Just keep the above in mind, and you'll be a very happy customer. The unit is light, small, has a clean-looking design, controls are intuitive, microphone stand is useful, handstrap is sturdy -- this thing is great. I haven't run into any of the problems the above people had (i.e. software *does* work for me past 7 seconds). Also, at least in my hometown area, this is the cheapest unit that provided the quality of a digital voice recorder PLUS the USB connection to allow me to save my recordings for archiving. ... Even Sony's ... unit didn't offer a PC link! I do not understand the use of a voice recorder if I cannot save my conversations for the long-term -- ie, what if I dropped the unit and the batteries fell out by accident? Would all my recordings erase? Thankfully, the DW-90 provides us a PC Link to prevent this potential disaster.

And another thing, the VCVA (Variable Control Voice Actuator) Option is FANTASTIC! For those of you who don't know what this is, when VCVA is enabled (the unit gives you the option, very nice) when the REC button is pressed to start recording, the unit immediately samples the volume of the sound level in the room. Using this measurement, the unit begins recording *ONLY* when the sound level raises higher than this initial measurement, which is when someone is speaking. And when the speaking has stopped, the unit senses the drop in volume level and automatically pauses recording until conversation resumes. So basically, the unit will automatically pause recording when it senses the conversation has paused, and automatically resume when the conversation resumes! This is allows for truly "hands-free" recording. This feature is truly spectactular and very useful in conserving recording time.

Good luck, buyers!

This is a great recorder, but the capacity is somewhat limited. The other reviewers are right that the lowest quality setting is almost unusable. There, is, however, a DW-180 model that is not that much more expensive. I assume Amazon will get it sooner or later (if they don't have it already). The best feature of this recorder, aside from its small size, is the automatic date and time-stamp feature. A lot of recorders have this, but then again a lot don't. It really makes all the difference.

1. The 90 min recodring is NOT usable as the sound quality is tooo poor. It should have been advertized for only 22 or 33 min recording time.

2. One way download, so onece you download and delete the file from the DW-90, cant get it back on the DW-90! Its a major setback if you do lot of recording and might want to
reveiew while NOT with the PC. Guess its to protect the MP-3 players.

3. The claimed directional MIC sensitivity is worse than human ears.

4. As of Oct 22nd, 02 .The olympus website does not list the DW-90 driver /software any more! Surprise !!!

Conclusion :Price wise its a bad buy , but compared to the basic analog recorders its stylish and kinda workable.

I purchased the Olympus DW-90 over other digital voice recorders because of its ability to download to a PC via USB cable. The package stated that it was compatible with, among other OS, Windows 98. When I attempted to install the included software, it would not install. Finally, in small print, the manual informed me that the software would not run on an OS that was upgraded from Windows 95. I emailed Olympus tech support and they confirmed that condition and informed me that the package provided that information, so that I could have made an informed purchase. Digging the package out of the trash to return the recorder, I looked it over carefully. No where does it inform the customer of the actual capability of the recorder. Now I question all the claims made for these things, particularly Olympus. The ...(website's)tech specs aren't any better.

I purchased this thinking that I was getting a recorder that would actually hold 90 minutes of audio. Unfortunately that capacity is only available for "LP" mode which is highly distorted. HQ and SP modes record very well, but only plan on getting 20-30 minutes of use out of it before the memory is full.

The PC connection was not automatic, despite the instruction manual comments that no additional software was required. On the whole, I found no little to no support material available on the Olympus website.

I returned the recorder and am still looking for something <$100 that provides 2-3 hours of high quality recording with a PC connection.