Customer Reviews

Olympus Digital Voice Recorder DM-420

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm amending my initial review -- I decided to keep the DM-520 after all because of its outstanding features when used as Olympus intends it to be used. (I've been using the DM-520 for about a month.)

Initially I'd planned to use this recorder for dictation -- but, that's not it's intended market. It really is meant to be a recorder for music (live performance, vocals, instrument practice, etc.). I've been using it to record guitar lessons with my instructor, and I love it for that purpose. In this context, I set up the recorder at the beginning of the lesson and stop recording at the end of the hour lesson. Playback is phenomenal -- I'm using WMA "SP" mode and the sound is great. The 8 gig Micro-SDHC card I put in has almost 1,000 hours of storage using the WMA SP format (less capacity, of course, when recording in stereo and "high quality" modes).

I would not,however, use this recorder for dictation, which was my original intent. I'm very impressed with the ergonomics and options, but disappointed in the absence of a couple of features that are critical to dictation.

I've owned several Olympus recorders, and except for the lowest priced models, they have all featured the ability to "punch in" new material in the middle of an existing recording. This feature is very important to my work as a writer. I use a recorder to take notes, and, while reviewing the notes at a later time, I need to be able to expand on the original thoughts and observations by inserting into an existing recording. I also need to be able to append to the end of an existing recording so that an entire article or chapter is one continuous file. The DM-520 can't do any of this!

My Olympus DS-2400 does this perfectly -- you just press the F1 key during playback and the recorder stops playback and lets you press the Record button to insert a new segment. Also, you can choose to playback up to a point midway in a recording, and record over the remainder of the recording, or, you can just add to the end of a recording.

I've come to accept these features as a requirement of any dictation recorder. I don't use my inexpensive recorders (like my WS-200S) for "work" because they all start a new recording as soon as the Record button is pressed. You can't add to an existing recording, insert into an existing recording, or overwrite an existing recording. So, you end up with a bunch of chopped-up, disconnected recordings that you have to sort out later on.

After a few weeks using this recorder, I can recommend it for the purposes for which it was designed: "field" recording, music playback, and other purposes where dictation features are not important.

I needed this primarily for recording personal coaching sessions both in person and on the phone. I wanted a stereo recorder that saved files in a non-proprietary format such as WMA or MP3, and I needed it to run on an external AC power supply as well as on batteries. This is one of very few recorders that meets those requirements.

At first I was disappointed because, out of the box, you cannot make recordings while it's plugged in to the power supply. The default configuration assumes that when the USB connector is plugged in to the power supply, you are really doing file transfer rather than recording. In this respect, my old Olympus DS-40 is better, because the external power supply connects to a mini power jack that is separate from the USB port. Another non-intuitive difficulty I encountered in using the power supply is that it will NOT recharge the internal batteries unless you hold the "STOP" button down while plugging in the power supply.

It takes some digging through the PDF manual hidden in one of the recorders file folders to discover the "USB Connect" configuration settings, where I was able to change the configuration to ask on startup whether I was charging the device in PC mode or in recorder mode. The quick start printed manual does not contain that information. Frankly, I prefer the intuitive simplicity of the separate power connector on the old DS-40. Also, the DM-420 manual says you cannot leave regular alkaline batteries in place while running the recorder on the power supply, and yet the power supply does not work if the batteries are removed. My old DS-40 can run on the power supply with batteries removed, and it doesn't care if the batteries are regular or rechargeable because it's not trying to recharge them. So, having the capability of recharging batteries inside the DM-420 is a mixed blessing. Because I use the recorder in my office always connected to the power supply, I've almost eliminated my contribution of dead batteries to the environment.

Over all, the operation of the external power supply in simply recharging batteries, or making recordings while on the power supply, or operating as a replacement for completely dead or missing batteries, or recharging the batteries while connected to the PC via the USB cable and transferring recordings, is very non-intuitive and requires careful reading of the manual. It shouldn't be this difficult, because my HTC smart phone, which I also use as a recording and playback device, is completely transparent to use of the external power supply/charger which also connects via the USB port.

My use of the recorder is not completely restricted to the office. I carry it to the gym, on walks and on the airplane in order to listen to music and books on tape. With the microSD card slot, I can carry hundreds of hours of audio.

The quality of audio from WMA and MP3 music files that I copied to the device are excellent, and the stereo recordings I've made in the office are excellent (using two separate left/right microphones connected via a stereo-to-mono Y splitter). Recordings made from the phone are monophonic, but also quite clear, being limited by the phone line quality not the recorder.

I strongly advise any purchasers of this device to at least skim through the detailed (128 page) PDF manual that's hidden in a folder on the recorder itself. The recorder can be highly configured to a wide variety of different recording and playback possibilities, and if you don't read the manual, you will definitely be missing out on a lot of possibilities. I copied the PDF file to my PC and printed the whole thing out using the duplex and 2-up paper saver settings on my printer - it was well worth the effort, and only cost 32 sheets of paper.

By the way, the external AC power supply/charger (Olympus A514) is NOT included with the DM-420 recorder being reviewed here. You must order it separately. Otherwise, you are limited to recharging the batteries of the DM-420 by plugging it into the USB port of a computer.

In conclusion, I think this is a great little recording and playback device, in spite of the faults found in its user interface. The complex user interface conceals a great degree of flexible configurability, accessible only by careful reading of both the quick-start and hidden manuals. If you are one of those folks who never read the owner's manual, I'd hesitate to recommend this device to you.

Amendment:
Some folks have complained that when they use drag and drop to copy music to the recorder, they cannot find and play it on the recorder. If you have a microSD memory card in the recorder, you may have copied music to the microSD card but the recorder is still looking only at the built-in memory. I made a lengthy comment on Dr. Jerry Stettheimer's review in which I describe the procedure for switching your recorder from the built-in memory to the microSD memory.

I've been using the recorder for 12 1/2 months now, no problems. I must say again - reading the manual is VERY important to get the most out of this device. The BIG, DETAILED COMPREHENSIVE manual (128 pages) is concealed as a PDF in a folder in the built-in memory named OL_MANUAL. You will need to copy that into your computer and use Adobe to open and read it. The printed "quick start" introduces you to about 10% of the capabilities of this recorder. If all you read is the quick start brochure, you might as well have bought an old cassette recorder.

I bought this to record forensic examinations I do. So people may be speaking quietly, whispering, crying etc. The initial couple of times I tried it, I could not get enough volume out of the internal mikes. I tried the different scene settings and still the sound wasn't there. It wasn't until I fought through the manual and found out how to use the monoraul zoom microphone setting that I was able to get acceptable sound from two people speaking in a modest size room. Which brings me to the manual. Of course, it's only on disk, so you either have to read it on screen or print it out. And it's written in Japanese English... "the functioning of the Euphony will be the sound enhanced." Thereby, making it next to useless when trying to drill down through the various menu settings to try to make adjustments. Olympus is a huge company--you think they could afford an English speaking technical writer.

The software that comes with it seems to be first-rate, enabling all kinds of conversions, joins of separate files, volume-matching etc. It is very helpful in making adjustments for what is recorded.

One other point--I know websites are supposed to sell things, but I went to the Olympus site multiple times to see which of their digital recorders would do the job I needed done. The site is so loaded with praise for every product that it's very hard to make a reasonable decision about which of their devices to buy. Is the $400 professional dictating one really the one I should have gotten? Why did this one win Hammacher-Schlemmer's 'best' rating as opposed to the others? Would the $99 one have been as good?

I now own it and still have no idea if I got the right one.

At the outset, let me say that I am not the typical user for whom the DM-520 was designed. For example, I don't categorize my music into playlists, albums and artists. I simply have a bunch of diverse audio files, including music, that I've successfully transferred to the device for my listening enjoyment, and the device plays it all beautifully. Because of my prior successful experience with Olympus DVR's, I was impressed when I read about the improvements included on the DM-520, specifically:

(1) The increased memory to 4GB, plus the additional SD memory card feature.
(2) The convenience of using two AAA rechargeable batteries.
(3) The improved stereo microphone.


The opening screen on the DM-520 indicates the three major sections for holding recorded data:

(1) Recording
(2) Music
(3) Podcast

Like some of their other models, the Recording section has 5 folders available for making recordings. The folders are labeled A through E, with each folder being able to hold a whopping 999 files. A special word of gratitude for the built-in stereo microphone which is absolutely amazing, with incredible sound quality.

The Music Section actually has two sections, both of which can hold audio content. There is the Music Section itself, and a sub-folder labeled "Audible", set up to accept commercial audiobook files. As mentioned, the Audible folder can hold any audio content, not just audio books.

The Podcast Section was set up to accept Internet podcasts, but fortunately, it has the flexibilty to hold any audio content.

According to the User Manual, there are three methods for transferring content to the DM-520:

(1) Sonority software program
(2) Windows Media Player
(3) iTunes

None of those three methods work for me. Fortunately, when the device is plugged into the PC using the supplied USB cable, it is treated as a separate drive, and files can thus be transferred each way using the file transfer features of Windows Explore. This allows me to bypass the above 3 User Manual methods of transferring files, and instead use the tried and true Windows Explore method. In my opinion, this was the unit's main redeeming feature, and it wasn't even mentioned in the Manual.

I had to call the Olympus Support line a couple times because some of the unit's features were a little mysterious at first. But Support was very helpful, and the DM-520 is working like a charm.

Bottom Line: This is a great high-quality DVR and well worth the price. The Sonority software and the User Manual could have been explained and written better, but what else is new? Overall, it is a sweet, versatile and powerful device.

The Olympus DM420 is an excellent recorder. The control buttons and menus are very easy to use. Even the battery compartment very well designed and much easier to use than anything else I've seen. The display shows the battery level and plenty of information about the settings in use during recording and playback, as well as the timestamp. It is an excellent recorder for both voice and line input. Although not advertised or specified as having a line input, it is sensitive enough to accept a tape out signal using the microphone input, so that there is no need to worry about setting the volume level of the earphone output of the radio being recorded. The pdf instruction manual is stored in the memory and can be copied to your computer for learning all the options not obvious on the screen menu. I had to read the manual to understand the settings related to using the USB connection for file transfer versus external power for recording or playback. Another useful feature not indicated in the published specifications and reviews I had seen, is the ability to program the recorder to record at three separate times with various settings for program length and quality. The feature of this recorder most important for my choosing it over others is the ample playback speaker which produces enough volume, with 320 mW power output, for listening without earphones, and still, the replaceable, rechargeable batteries last many days between charges.

I've been using the DM-520 for about one month. It's fun to use. The stereo recordings are just great. I've been using the highest frequency MP3 mode.

The recorder comes with two rechargeable AAA batteries. It has a mini-USB port to connect to a PC and to re-charge the batteries. The recorder also accepts regular, non-rechargeable AAA alkaline batteries. The push buttons are raised, large enough, and well placed, so I can find each one one without looking.

There are three recording formats, WMA, MP3 and PCM. All formats have two or more frequency modes. WMA supports stereo and monaural recording.

The DM-520 has a 4GB memory internal memory and support for a microSD card (up to 16 GB).

The recorder has a metal body and a professional feel to it.

My minimum requirements for purchasing a DVR were rechargeable batteries, a mini-USB port, and good, tactile push buttons. For me, the microSD card, the MP3 and PCM recording modes, the MP3 player functionality were a bonus.

As a member of a large growing professional choral organization, I purchased this recorder to help me replay our rehearsals as well as to record my part on piano with a friend's voice. I had previously used a laptop with the microphone of a computer headset and an older basic Olympus voice recorder. Neither one provided enough sound quality to do what I needed.

I had considered buying a better microphone for my computer, but a reasonably good one was about 66% of this purchase price when you consider most microphones need a mic amp when plugged into a computer. So I decided on a voice recorder, and I'm very glad I did. When I demonstrate the difference in sound quality between recordings using my previous method and the 520 recordings, everyone is pretty shocked. I'm not really comparing apples to apples, but the comment I liked the best is, "What!?!? That recording was done on THAT!?!? It sounds like a studio recording!!" It is really quite amazing how clear the recordings are. For my personal recordings I simply put the 520 into it's case and clipped it to a book on the music stand of my piano while my friend played and sang. For our rehearsals, I just place it at the front of the chapel we use for our practice hall. It easily captures everything. I have no real experience with anything like this, but having said that, I did not expect such impressive results. With all my recordings, I use the automatic settings recommended by Olympus for music recordings, and use uncompressed PCM format for the highest quality.

The DM-520 is very easy to use, once you get used to it. Pressing and holding the center OK/Menu button accesses the menu, where you adjust every setting. The display is very sharp, clear, and easy to use. The buttons have a nice tactile feel and are spaced far enough apart that there is no danger of pressing the wrong button. I added a few pictures here so you can see the case, and get a better idea of its size in a hand. I am 6ft with normal sized hands, so you can get an idea of its size.

The unit feels very solid, like it is a solid block, and has a nice heft to it. The case is plastic but very sturdy. Again, I am very impressed with the build quality. The battery lasts what seems like an eternity. I have recorder HOURS of full uncompressed wave (PCM) files and it still shows full charge. The 4G built in memory holds almost 6 hours of the same uncompressed format, or 1042 hours of the most compressed format - and anywhere in between depending on the quality you need. Tons of room. I did have a little 2G Micro SD card I put in just to see how it works. I did not need to format it or anything. It just recognized it and worked fine. I doubt I'll use it, but I'll leave it there just in case.

Regarding software and computer compatibility, I'm not sure why there are any complaints. I run Windows XP, so the Sonority software works on my PC, but I don't use it. I prefer to move file myself. I plug in the USB cable, and the computer recognizes a "mass storage device". I then use Explorer to copy or cut files and past them where I want. Additionally, I prefer to use Audacity to edit files. It is a free program easily found on the net, and it works beautifully. I think it's a mistake to hinge a purchase decision of a recorder on the software it comes with. Sonority works fine, but I don't like it as well as a free program anyone can obtain. Would I buy Sonority? Certainly not. Would I skip this recorder because it doesn't come with a better program? Absolutely not. I doubt any recorder comes with a program that is so good it overcomes shortcomings in the base product. You can also use Windows Media Player to move files back and forth.

I do recommend you go to Olympus' website to download the full manual. What it comes with is a very abridged manual as well as a little acordian folded quick guide. I did not print the full manual but leave it on my computer and access it when I need to know something. I have not needed it since the first week.

This little device is pretty remarkable. I absolutely recommend it.

UPDADE: I often wonder about these reviews. 99% of the good reviews are written in the first few days of ownership. This tell you nothing of the longevity of the product. So, I am back after almost a year to tell you that I still love this recorder. Still works great, still sounds great, still perfect.

For professional reasons, I need sometimes to record interviews and lectures.
I had already an Olympus DM-520 (an outstanding product) and decided to buy this DM-420, which is essentially the same, but with half the recording capacity. If you have to record important interviews, lectures and so on, you should better use 2 recorders at once, to guarantee a backup, just in case: the double recording is far cheaper than the possible loss of data.
The reason for the choice of a DM-420 instead of another DM-520 was the color: the DM-520 is black and the DM-420 is silver, so it is quite easy to identify the recorders. And, as a matter of fact, I think that, for most users, 500 hours or 1000 hours will mean the same. Just remembering: 500 hours mean some 21 continuous days of recording time and the batteries will not last for 1 day.
As told before, the DM-420 and the DM-520 are very similar. They use the same technology, the same microphone (wich is the most critical component of a digital recorder) and the same software. They are, by far, the best portable non-professional digital recorders I've ever seen, for several reasons:
1. The microphone is very, very accurate. Other cheaper recorders (including other Olympus models) distort the sound and, in some cases, it is not easy to listen and undestand what was recorded;
2. The rechargeable batteries last for a long time (I'd say some 20 hours of continuous recording);
3. The software is nice. For sure, it could be better, but it is at least ok and represent a huge improvement compared to previous Olympus software releases;
4. They are so light and small, and come with a stylish protective case;
5. The operation is very easy and quite intuitive. The manual is reasonable;
6. The voice activation feature (i.e., the recording is automatically suspended when the speach ceases) is very useful, both for saving record time and for making easy the further transcription of the recorded content;
7. The earphones have superb quality, comparable to those from iPod and similar.
But Olympus made a primary mistake: when I first tried this DM-420, I thought it was deffective. As a matter of fact, it was not, but it came with completely dead batteries. They had no manufacturing problems: they were just discharged, so I had to charge them before the use. When I bought the DM-520 a few months ago, I received it with the batteries fully charged, and I think this is the right way. I think this mistake is not enough to prevent a five stars evaluation, since the product itself is very worthwhile. But Olympus could be a bit more careful about such details.
I do recommend this product, for its excellent performance and very fair price compared to its outstanding quality.

I've had this recorder for a year now. Love it. Pay attention to other critical reviews to determine if it has all the features you want (Olympus has other recorders better suited for special purposes like dictation).

The voice menus have proven surprisingly useful. I use this in the car a lot to record quick thoughts and reminders. Once you get the hang of where the buttons are, no need to look at the recorder to use it.

Speaking of the buttons, there's an OK button dead center in the front of the recorder, ringed with up/down/left/right buttons. Thes button functions change depending on mode and are all you need for simple playback. If you've used a Logitech Harmony remote, you know how useful this button configuration can be when done right. It's done right here.

Recording quality from the built in (stereo) microphone is excellent for voice. I haven't tried it with music. It picks up voices in a large conference room clearly from 20 feet away. The stereo isn't irrelevant even for voice. When multiple people are talking over each other it actually helps intelligibility. I just don't worry when recording a large meeting about being able to hear everyone. While writing this review, I tried a little experiment, setting the recorder on the floor in a far corner of the living room, default record settings, and then walking around the house talking. In the dining room, 25 feet away, clear as a bell. In the kitchen, partially blocked by walls, still pretty clear. 40 feet down the hallway in the bedroom, still clear, if faint. If there's one reason to choose this recorder above others, it's the ability to grab multiple voices from distances you wouldn't expect.

Hardware quality is excellent. I'd recommend a case if you're going to carry this in your pocket with your keys. My previous DM-20 was pretty marred by being tossed around with keys in my pocket for years. The included case is way too big for a pocket. I ordered another case off Amazon purely for slimness. Unfortunately, the Amazon link thing didn't work for it or I'd link to it. I'd love to find a neoprene case designed specifically for this recorder. Probably this link will be suppressed:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UX1060/ref=oss_product

The recorder takes two AAA batteries, and will charge Nimh batteries via USB. Battery life is almost too long. I forget that you have to hold the Stop key while connecting to USB port on your computer to go to charging mode instead of connected mode. The recorder works well as an external USB drive.

Bells & whistles--there are a lot. I have no idea how to use most of them. The Scene stuff seems interesting. It changes a group of recording or playback parameters all at once for different scenarios (music, lecture, large conference room, and multiple custom scenes you can add). Since I haven't gotten an unuseable recording yet from the defaults, I haven't tried any of this. There's voice activation with multiple sensitivity settings. You can add an SD micro card (I put one in just for backup--I've never come close to exhausting the 4GB of built in memory.)You can transfer files from the built in memory to the card and move files between folders. It works as an mp3 player and has Audible support.

Bad stuff:

You do have to press a lot of keys to get some things done. Others have complained about erase--once you learn the dance it's ok (Erase, up arrow, OK, up arrow, OK).

Could we please get a decent case for this? It's supposed to be a pocket recorder but it's hard to carry it around in your pocket.

The directions are a bit confusing but once they are worked out...tech support was a great help it works find. Have used it with external mike to record meetings, in my pocket to record small groups, in all situations it picks up fine and data is easily transfered to my computer. The small size is a bonus. Careful about ambient noise...it will hide speech but if you keep it motionless it works fine. I recommend it.