101 of 101 people found the following review helpful:
Simplicity and some ease of use
I bought this as a backup to my other Olympus recorder (which I frequently lend out). My other recorder is an Olympus WS-100 which I bought 4 years ago. It was one of the first digital voice recorders ever made. It has served me well.
This unit contains a number of improvements over the WS-100 and the WS-400.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Not bad but not the best
This is the 4th digital recorder I have purchased and it is not bad but not the best one I have purchased. The sound pick up is not as good as the WS 100. I have used both at the same time and it is harder to hear on this one than the older one. I like the buttons being on the front and the display being bigger but when it comes down to it the purpose of a recorder is to...
This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I bought this as a backup to my other Olympus recorder (which I frequently lend out). My other recorder is an Olympus WS-100 which I bought 4 years ago. It was one of the first digital voice recorders ever made. It has served me well.
This unit contains a number of improvements over the WS-100 and the WS-400.
When I bought this, I was afraid I would have to carry around a USB cable with me. However, this unit has a little slide button on the side which extends a built-in USB connector. Plugging this into a USB port is a snap.
This unit is a little more compact than the WS-100. It also seems to solve the record delay which was a time vampire on the WS-400. This unit starts to record immediately on pressing the record button.
I would give this unit five stars except except the menu is almost indecipherable without spending an entire day memorizing and studying it. This means that you pretty much have to have the manual available for the first months you use this, or memorize the manual, or, you will not be able to use most of the features. (Unfortunately, this seems normal for most digital personal devices nowadays (except for some Apple products)).
The arcane menu arrangement does not lend itself to quick and easy use of the unit if there are constant changes to your recording requirements. For example, as far as I can figure out from the arcane manual you must press two separate buttons, a total of five times in order to something really simple like erase a recording. I erase more recordings than I keep and this is a real time vampire.
Other than that the plusses are that it supports Vista 64 bit, and, contains all of the features of the WS-400. The unit is easy to snap record conversations and other items. One feature I really like is that it comes with its own, easily replaceable, NiMH battery. If you keep this unit plugged into your USB port, it will repeatedly charge the battery. (It is a REAL advantage that it doesn't need its own docking station to charge, or, new batteries every few hours of use).
It is a good buy at the price and easier to use, with all of the features, even with its drawbacks, than any of the other small personal recorders I've looked at over the years by other manufacturers.
Specifications:
Recording Format: WMA
Input level: -70dBv
Maximum working output: 60mW (8 ohm speaker)
NAND FLASH memory 2GB - this unit works excellently as a flash drive with VISTA 64 or 32.
MIC Jack: 3.5mm mini-jack; impedance 2k ohms
EAR jack: 3.5mm mini-jack; impedance 8 ohms or more
RECORDING TIMES:
STXQ mode 34 h 30 min.
STHQ mode 69 h 40 min.
STSP mode 139 h 25 min.
HQ mode 139 h 25 min.
SP mode 247 h 10 min.
LP mode 544 h. 55 min.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
As a musician, singer/songwriter, I started to find a need to record my music ideas. My phone has of late been recording a lot of small samples, but I wanted something with better quality. After asking around, Olympus seemed to be the best option. I first came to Amazon and felt confused by the different options. When I went to Olympus's website regarding their Digital recorders, it was a big help. They have charts which compare their models and it was easy to discern what models contained what features. I wanted a model that could plug into the computer and had two mics for a speaker effect and that's what I got for a good price.
So regarding the actual recorder, like I said the 2 mics are nice for recording guitar, voice, piano... etc. Not the best for drums, but you could have figured that out. It's not flimsy, it fits into my pocket and it takes 1 AAA battery that can recharge (provided). It's a pretty straight forward piece of hardware and the only thing I ever needed to use the directions for was how to charge it (hold the stop button as you plug it into the computer, otherwise it just opens files and doesn't charge). I like that it can just plug into the computer with the switch on the side but they also give you a cable incase you're using a desktop (sometimes USB's aren't in the best places).
Anyway, the only thing I would mention to someone buying this is that the speaker doesn't represent the quality of the recording. I mean look at it. It's about 1.5 inches in diameter... if even. Plug it into your computer/headphones/or speakers and you can tell the difference immediately. I like that I could rename files on my computer and then it stayed like that on the device because it records things as numbers with dates and times. Oh, and I really haven't used it for this, but there is a way to use the device for playing MP3's which is pretty nifty. Not really necessary if you have an iPod and it isn't going to replace your iPod anytime soon, but cool nonetheless.
Hope that helps!
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
This is the 4th digital recorder I have purchased and it is not bad but not the best one I have purchased. The sound pick up is not as good as the WS 100. I have used both at the same time and it is harder to hear on this one than the older one. I like the buttons being on the front and the display being bigger but when it comes down to it the purpose of a recorder is to record what is being said and this is a weakness in my opinion.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I bought this recorder basically on the back of the other reviews here. Up to this point I would just use my laptop and a mic, and record into my Cakewalk program. But I wanted something more mobile for when I was driving or not near my music room to get ideas down. After talking to a few people the name Olympus was the one that came up often so after weighing all the options the WS-500M was the one I wanted. I loved the idea of the internally stored USB because I hate cables that I have to worry about not losing. And I wanted something simple, and it had to have stereo mics.
On to the actual review of the product now. After realizing the rechargeable battery was DOA, I didn't feel like waiting for it to charge so I tossed in a good old reliable AAA alkaline battery that I had in the drawer. The device sprang to life quickly, I hit record and said "testing 1-2-3" hit playback and sure enough it was working that fast. I didn't even need to read any instructions at all, it was pretty much that simple. I played around with the settings and creating index marks and various other things. Operation is very much intuitive if you've ever worked with any old fashioned tape recorder.
The interface between the WS-500M and my Windows XP/SP3 laptop was flawless. It was totally plug&play, no software required. I could drag&drop any files back and forth. You can even rename a file and the name changes right on the device too. So you can do away with the random file names the device creates.
Recording quality is very good. On the highest quality setting, with the mic set to high sensitivity this little device picks up every sound in stereo that your guitar or voice is making from pretty far away. You can adjust them down and get different acoustics in the recordings giving you some flexibility. For the money this device records very high quality. Even by today's digital music standards. The bad thing is that it won't hide your mistakes and pick scrapes like analog recordings will.
2GB of storage is more than enough for me. I will never fill that up before I get to my laptop to off-load anyway. The MP3 player is a nice little feature, although I won't use it much as a true MP3 player, I have a Sansa for that. It will be nice to have the ability to upload my own songs as MP3 though so people can have a listen. The playback quality of the WS-500 is very good. MP3s and WMA both sound very clear.
I probably won't use the recharge feature much either, it tends to take so long to charge anything through a USB port to being with. I will either just keep using alkaline, or buy a lithium AAA for now until I can get a AAA recharge station. If you do use a non-rechargeable battery make sure you don't use the charge feature when you plug it into your USB. That would be bad.
The physical interface is good. The device is small, so too are the buttons. But the main buttons are big enough to find by feel. REC and STOP are both sized well enough. The screen is not huge, but you can read everything easy. Some people might like a more fancy screen with colors and pictures...well you won't get that here. Its old school black-on-gray "Etch-a-sketch" all the way. But that is fine by me. I didn't buy it for a pretty interface.
All in all, if you are looking for a high quality device at a fair price to record music this one is a great option. The WS-500M is small, portable, and easy to use.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I did a lot of research on features and quality reviews before choosing this. I couldn't be happier! I wanted to record class lectures and quick personal notes. I am also an actor and I wanted it for memory work and rehearsal. The stereo microphones do it all very well. I was a little worried at some reviews which speak of poor audio quality. It's no better or worse than I had expected from the external speaker. Simply satisfactory. But, when using the ear buds, the sound is superb.
This is the 2 gig model which says is only .wav compatible, however, you can go online and download a (free)firmware update which makes it mp3 friendly as well. I did, and I put e-books in the music files. The menu system will take a little getting used to, but it's fairly user friendly and I figured it out with some playing around with it.
I also love the fact that the screen is easy to read and back lit, so I can use it in a dark room. The battery life is great. It took me 3 days to deliberately run down the battery after the first charge. (They suggest you run it dry a few times when you first get it which improves overall battery life and charge duration) Unlike some reviewers, my battery worked just fine out of the box, and I love the built-in hidden USB feature for charging and downloading!
This recorder is so much more than I expected and I'm sure I'll enjoy using it for a long time.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I purchased this DVR for a number of purposes which include both work and personal use. I'll keep this short for those looking for quick information:
Pros:
It works as advertised.
Easy to operate (I'm technical by trade)
Easy to get data on and off the device
Cons:
The charging method. A number of other people commented on the battery not charging however I have discovered why. When you plug the device into a computer you MUST hold down the "STOP" button while plugging it in. The display will then say that it is charging. This makes sense to a point. If you have a standard AAA battery in the unit, it won't attempt to charge unless you follow the charging procedure. Is this a con? I don't know. It would have been nicer in my opinion had they brought up a dialog on the screen indicating "data link only - charge?" and then you confirm yes or no. It's a cludgy way to do things but I guess that's OK.
The other problem (although I didn't really need it) is the manual. Seriously? Isn't Olympus a multi-national company with offices throughout the world? You think they could get someone who speaks english to proof readh this thing? It's horrible.
Outside of that the unit is solid and does what I need.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
This recorder is one of the better ones out there. The sound clarity when recording is better than the rest. It was simple to transfer files to my computer. All in all a great little gadget. Just purchased another one as a gift.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I bought this little device to record the sermons at my church, and what a gem it is. The unit doesn't come with any instructions for use, but it only took me 10 to 15 minutes to figure everything out - it's super simple! For all that I use it for, the battery only needs charged once every 5 or 6 weeks - just hold down the "stop" button for a few seconds while plugging it into the computer's USB port. The folders can't be renamed, but each file that you add can be by using your computer's keyboard while the unit's plugged into the USB port. The sound quality is only as good as the sound system being used. The unit's two little speakers do o.k. for what they are, and the earphones that come with it do a great job for sound quality - I burn everything to a disc or copy to a flash drive so the speakers aren't a big concern for me. This unit has only one drawback that I can think of. As opposed to the old analog mini-cassette recorders, with this unit (as far as I can tell) you are unable to add to an existing recording without beginning a new track with a separate title. You can pause the recording and continue on without a problem, but if you stop the recording, then you cannot add to it. Typically that's not a big deal unless you are dictating and get interrupted and need to rewind to re-gather your thoughts. Over all, this is a great little tool that is well built and very much worth the price.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I am very happy with this little voice recorder. It does an excellent job, and holds many, many hours of recordings so you don't have to download them to the computer often. It plugs right into any USB port in the computer which is great because this way you don't need any chords (don't we all have enough chords?!) Though, it does come with a short chord just in case the USB space on your computer is too tight to plug the unit directly into it. I especially like the fact that you don't need any special software to download or listen to the files - it's plug & play - what a pleasure! It's also very small, and very light, which makes it so easy to take along. This unit can also function as an ipod or as a flash drive, but I haven't tried it for those purposes.
There are 2 small charging-related complaints that I have. These small complaints do not affect the recording quality of the unit, but I find these things annoying which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5:
1 - When you want to charge the unit you have to remember to hold down the STOP key while plugging it into the computer. If you don't, it wont charge. It would have been nice if they would not have required doing this and you could just charge it by plugging it in, OR if they would have created an additional key called "charge" or something intuitive like that.
2 - It does not tell you when the charge is complete. You have to guess. What's up with that? It should say "charge complete" or if it had a little "charge" key that would light up or have an led light near it indicating that the charge is complete. Something intuitive indicating the charge is complete.
All in all, it's a great little device and works very well. I think it's the best or one of the best digital voice recorders available and would recommend it without hesitation.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-500 Digital Voice Recorder (Silver) (Electronics)
I won't repeat what other reviews have stated. The WS-500M does its job very well and is a good value, compared to other models, and the competition. Here I'll contrast it with the DS-40 and the WS-500M, which I own, and with the DS-61 (a 2gb version of the DS-40).
Nevertheless, there are some things to add about this unit, and DVRs in general. For best sound quality, it is essential that you pick the correct microphone sensitivity. The WS-500 offers two levels, the DS40 three. (More is better.) Moreover, the WS-500M requires you to go two levels down in a menu to change sensitivity. The DS-40 has a handy switch on the side. Curiously, the next lower model, WS-400S, has a two-position switch on the side. (You will not learn this detail from website descriptions, but only from the common manual or by experience.)
Every line of Olympus DVRs has a different setup of buttons. Those on the DS-40 are on the side, and it is easy to tell by touch that you have successfully started or stopped recording. The tiny buttons on the face of the WS-500M are much less positive. Compounding the problem is the absence of a green playback light on the WS-500M. The DS-40 has not only a red recording light but also a green playback pilot light, and these lights are brighter than the one on the WS-500M.
So far, it appears that I prefer the DS-40, but the WS-500M has some good points, as well. Its built-in USB plug means you can always connect to your computer, even if a USB cable is not at hand. The WS-500M is slightly but significantly smaller, which I find valuable. Considering that the WS-500M has four times the memory of the DS-40, it is a much better value, even though it lacks the latter's excellent removable stereo microphone. (The DS-61 has 2gb, same as the WS-500M.)
Bottom line: both the WS-500M and the DS-40 are excellent units, but the former is a better value. If pride of ownership derived from build quality is added to the equation, then the DS-40 is the one for you.
UPDATE after a month's use: I really think the buttons are the weak point of this device. Unless you put it on Hold, it is very easy to start recording accidentally. When not looking at the unit, it is harder to tell by feel which button to press than the DS-40 discussed above. I now think that because of the superior buttons and external sensitivity control, I would now recommend the DS-40 above this one, though it is a poorer value for money. It seems that button position is a personal taste, and some other reviewers prefer them on the face, as in the WS-500M. Different strokes...
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