Olympus LS-P2 8 GB Hi-Resolution Audio Recorder

I've been using an Olympus DM-20 for around 15 years, to record therapy sessions, and it recently decided to stop recording after 4 hours - irrespective of the quality setting - so I hunted for a replacement.My requirements were many - high quality sound, separated stereo, rechargeable battery that would recharge through the USB or take a normal battery, ability to select both sensitivity and quality, record in MP3 format, and take a micro SD card to expand the memory.This little beauty does it all - and more...You can also record in linear PCM (which is uncompressed) for extra quality.The two microphones point out at 90 degrees which is perfect for that true separated stereo, and the tripod adaptor that screws into the back allows it to be positioned off a surface, although with the adaptor screwed in, it has the effect of lifting the head off the table so I don't think I'll bother with a tripod.The menu system took a while to understand (I'm a bloke - I don't read manuals first!) but once the menu and sub-menu navigation was understood, it gives you all the options you'll ever need.And with standard 3mm headphone and microphone jack sockets I can still use my old Olympus microphones and headphones.And if you are going the use the voice-activated mode, you can even set the number of seconds that constitute a gap - useful.And finally, having the USB plug pop out of the bottom is great - I don't have to fish around for a cable to transfer audio files or charge the battery. When it is plugged into the PC it will both charge and allow access to files simultaneously (unlike my camera).The only whinge I have is that it doesn't come with a carry strap - very handy for such a small and smooth device. There is a 'bar hole' to connect one so I simply transferred my old Olympus one to this, but for the sake of a few pence they could have included one. The calendar also starts on a Sunday instead of the UK Monday - but I can live with that.Here are some useful recording capacities...with just the internal 4Gb memory / plus a 16Gb micro SD card (HH:MM)- Highest recording quality, MP3 (320 kbs) ...25:23 / 114:59- Highest recording quality, PCM (96.0kHz/24bit)...1:45 / 7:59The menu allows you to select either internal memory or SD card, I'm not sure what would happen if internal memory is selected and the capacity runs out - does it stop or switch to the SD card? If I find out I'll add to this review, but in the meantime I'll simply select the SD card as it gives me more capacity than I'll need.And believe me - the sound is just superb.

I've had a number of pocket pro audio recorders over the last 10 years or so. This is by far the best. It's a little pricy but you really do get what you pay for - everything is taken care of. It's so feature-packed that I found myself turning off a lot of features (e.g. the built-in voice instructions, which I imagine would be really useful for a blind or partially-sighted user).The sound quality is fantastic, and the third (central) mic adds the ability to make the recordings highly directional. I put this to the test recording a friend speaking in the middle of a busy crowd at the Edinbrugh Fringe - on the recording, his voice comes across loud and clear, ducking the crowd noise without clipping. It's proved equally good for recording quieter atmospheres, such as night-time rain in the street.As others have said, it's tiny - I can carry it in my pocket alongside my wallet / phone and hardly notice it's there. if you plan to do any kind of outdoor recordings then you'll need to purchase a 3rd-party windshield, but other than that this is a very complete and competent device.

Recorder functions well enough and is better than an ordinary dictaphone. At £90 it is 50% more than the Olympus WS-853 (which is currently £60) and I think it is 50% better although not everyone will need the extra audio quality if they only want to recognise which words were spoken. The build quality too is better than a typical cheaper Olympus.Here are a few observations. Some Olympus recorders can be too fiddly but this one is better than most. I would have like more settings for MP3 quality than the choice of only 320 kbps or 128 kps if you want to record in stereo. The red record button stays lit throughout the recording and it would have been nice to have a setting to turn this off. The "home" screen adds an unnecessary menu which needs navigating every single time the unit is switched on to record. The speaker maybe only for monitoring but it is too quiet to be useful. I have a Sony voice recorder (ICD-UX533) which comes with a USB extension lead that this Olympus unit would also need for use with a PC but it does not come with one. It's also a pity no PC software was provided by Olympus to manage not just the audio files but also have a user panel to adjust phone settings which, again, my Sony does. This recorder comes with almost no accessories except a mounting screw for a tripod and one AAA rechargeable battery - that's everything apart from 3 pages in English in the printed guide.Unfortunately my unit had different sensitivities for each channel making the right louder than the left which seems like a basic manufacturing fault and is not something I would expect in this sort of product quality. I would have given this 4 stars but the imbalance between the channels (and who knows what other calibrations) mean I give it 3 stars. Of course, the mic imbalance was such that the unit had to be sent back for replacement.