Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder

 (49 customer reviews)

I bought this recorder to record music. I am a cello major at college, and needed something at least to record lessons. I sorted through many recorders before buying this one, here's my advice:
~Look at the specifications; if you are buying an olympus recorder go to their website to look up the sampling frequency and other specs. For instance you'll find out that the sampling frequency is 44.1khz (cd quality) on hq mode
~Think about how much space you will need. For me, I will not be saving anything on that recorder; it will be moved quickly to the computer or my ipod so there was no point in buying more space on it.

My thoughts on the recorder so far:
~Good quality recording, almost cd quality. Works best of course with an external mic.

~I love the ease of use. The best thing, is that it works just like a usb device; you take the batter compartment off to reveal that in essence, this is a fancy usb stick. No additional software ... just drop...Read more

I bought the Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder after researching quite a few brands and models (on Amazon and elsewhere). As I've used the device for about 3 hours only (since I got it yesterday), my feedback here will probably be revised after a few days' use.

Pros:

1. Ideal size - lightweight; not heavy/bulky like most microtape recorders
2. Simple and intuitive user interface - the buttons are sized correctly and the on-screen prompts are useful
3. Quality of recording at the highest quality is simply superb. I am still amazed at the high quality of audio.
4. Connectivity to the PC is straightforward (through the USB port) and finding the file within the folder structure is effortless.
5. The price I paid ($60 + free shipping) makes this device a fabulous buy.
6. The in-built speaker is quite good considering its size

Cons:

1. File format is limited to WMA/Windows Media instead of mp3 or a more...Read more

A buyer needs to know that this is just a recorder and not suitable for dictation use. The device is slim, light, but just the right weight to feel right in your hand. The USB connector is a great idea. All audio files generated are accessible as a USB drive that you plug into your computer.

The way the controls work is that when you press the "rec" button a new file is created that stores the audio. You can pause recording and restart by pressing the "rec" button to keep recording in the same file. If you press stop the file cannot have anything else added to it. What you cannot do is to pause the recording then listen to the recording to see where you were in your dictation. If you want to listen you have to press stop then play the file. You cannot add to the end of a file.

For recording discussions, music, events, or interviews it is fine. Good audio quality and low price. However, for dictation it is not appropriate. I returned the unit after...Read more