Only spotty intern reporters from the Lower Grimthrope Weekly Gazette still use tape recorders for interviews because digital is where it’s at baby- and to underscore that point, Olympus have just shunted out their latest voice recording gizmo, the LS-5.
The company solemnly swear that you’ll be able to, “make high-end audio recordings no matter the time and place,” thanks to this baby, with the pint sized ear-in-a-box capable of faithfully recording concerts, probing interviews, passing steam trains or the soothing sounds of nature.
Auto on/off
Boasting Linear PCM recording capabilities and sampling rates of up to 24bit/96kHz, this mobile mini sound studio comes with 2GB of built in memory, expandable to 32GB (using the SDHC-compatible SD card slot).
The high-sensitivity, noise reduction stereo microphone lets you record in three modes (Normal, Wide and Zoom) with the option to record in the popular WMA, MP3 and WAV recording formats for maximum compatibility.
An Auto Recording feature can also be set to automatically start recording when noise levels exceed a given threshold and turn off again when the signal fades below the preset level – handy if you’re interviewing a drunk celeb with a penchant for falling asleep.
Reverb
There’s also five reverb modes – Normal, Studio, Club, Hall, Dome – to add a bit of life to mumbling bores (or perhaps inject an amusingly inappropriate reggae influence to your interview with the Right Hon Smythe-Tory-B’stard MP) ,
There’s automatic or manual record level adjustments, and a large, backlit display (1.8 inches) keeping you informed as to w’g’wan.
The Olympus LS-5 is available now, with pricing hovering around the £199.99 mark.
Feature list:
- Elegant, compact metal design
- Up to 24bit/96kHz sampling rate & PCM recording
- High-quality built-in microphones
- WAV/WMA/MP3 recording formats
- 3 modes: Normal, Wide, Zoom
- 5 reverb modes: Normal, Studio, Club, Hall, Dome
- 4 playback modes (Euphony mobile): Normal, Natural, Wide, Power
- Automatic or manual record level adjustment (manual with switchable limiter)
- Switchable recording monitor
- Low Cut-Filter
- Large, backlit display (1.8 inches)
- Long battery life time
- 2GB internal memory
- SD / SDHC card slot
- Built-in stereo speaker
- Function Button: Justifiable speed-dial button for the most needed function
- Optional AC adapter
- Optional infrared remote control
Full specs:
| Classification | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Class | Linear PCM Recorder | ||
| Mobile / Stationary | mobile and stationary | ||
| Storage Media | |||
| Internal / Removable Media | Internal + Removable | ||
| External Memory | SD / SDHC card (512 MB – 32 GB) | ||
| SD / SDHC card | Yes | ||
| microSD / microSDHC card | No | ||
| Internal memory | 2 GB | ||
| USB functionality | |||
| USB HID | Yes | ||
| USB Audio Class | Yes | ||
| USB Speed | USB 2.0 High Speed | ||
| USB storage class | Yes | ||
| Display | |||
| Display Backlit | Yes | ||
| Display colour | White | ||
| Display Type | Full Dot Matrix Display | ||
| Display Size | 30.1 x 35.4 mm / 1.83 ” | ||
| Device operation | |||
| Programmable button | 0 | ||
| Main Switch | Push | ||
| HOLD switch | Yes | ||
| Power switch | Yes | ||
| Recording Modes | |||
| Recording format | WAV / WMA / MP3 , PCM | ||
| PCM (WAV) format | This high-quality, non-compressed recording format gives you better-than-CD sounds. Choose from the following modes to get the best combination of quality and recording time: | ||
| 96 kHz 24 bit | 0 h 55 min | ||
| 96 kHz 16 bit | 1 h 25 min | ||
| 88,2 kHz 24 bit | 1 h | ||
| 88,2 kHz 16 bit | 1 h 35 min | ||
| 48 kHz 24 bit | 1 h 55 min | ||
| 48 kHz 16 bit | 2 h 55 min | ||
| 44.1 kHz 24 bit | 2 h 5 min | ||
| 44.1 kHz 16 bit | 3 h 10 min | ||
| Mono | 6 h 20 min Recording time is expandable with optional SD / SDHC card (e.g. more than 12 h with 8 GB card, 44 kHz 16 bit). Recording time is expandable with optional SD / SDHC card (e.g. more than 139 h with 8 GB card, 128 kbps). Recording time is expandable with optional SD / SDHC card (e.g. more than 272 h with 8 GB card, 64 kbps). Recording times shown above are approximate values for reference. Maximum recording capacity per each file is limited of approx. 4 GB due to file system restrictions. For WMA format the maximum recording time is approx. 26 hours 40 minutes. Available recording time for SD/SDHC memory cards refer to the Olympus official web site (http://www.olympus-europa.com). |
||
| MP3 format | The ever-popular MP3 format is great for distributing music online – and the LS-10 lets you record directly in a choice of MP3 modes for different recording times: | ||
| 320 kbps | 14 h 10 min | ||
| 256 kbps | 17 h 45 min | ||
| 128 kbps | 35 h 35 min | ||
| WMA format | Need to record for even longer? The LS-10 supports the versatile WMA format, which offers the following recording times: | ||
| 160 kbps | 27 h 50 min | ||
| 64 kbps | 69 h 35 min | ||
| Playback Modes | |||
| Playback format | WAV / WMA / MP3 , PCM | ||
| Frequency response | |||
| 96 kHz (PCM) | 20 – 44.000 Hz | ||
| 88,1kHz (PCM) | 20 Hz – 42 kHz Hz | ||
| 48 kHz (PCM) | 20 – 23.000 Hz | ||
| 44.1 kHz (PCM) | 20 – 21.000 Hz | ||
| 44,1 kHz mono | 20 Hz – 21 kHz Hz | ||
| 320 kbps (MP3) | 50 – 20.000 Hz | ||
| 256 kbps (MP3) | 50 – 20.000 Hz | ||
| 128 kbps (MP3) | 50 – 17.000 Hz | ||
| Mono | 50 Hz – 13 kHz Hz | ||
| 160 kbps (WMA) | 50 – 19.000 Hz | ||
| 128 kbps (WMA) | 50 – 19.000 Hz | ||
| 64 kbps (WMA) | 50 – 15.000 Hz | ||
| Frequency response | 70 – 20.000 Hz | ||
| Record function | |||
| Continuous Recording | Yes | ||
| Direct recording | Yes | ||
| Erase all files | Yes | ||
| Erase single files | Yes | ||
| Partial Erase | Yes | ||
| Handsfree recording function via optional footswitch | No | ||
| Index | Up to 16 in one file | ||
| Insert | No | ||
| Low-cut filter | Yes | ||
| Manual Rec level control | Yes | ||
| Noise canceling function | No | ||
| Overwrite | No | ||
| Rec Monitor | Yes | ||
| Timer recording | No | ||
| VCVA recording | Yes | ||
| Verbal annotations (up to 32 per file) | No | ||
| Voice filter | No | ||
| Zoom Mic. Setting (DVM) | Yes | ||
| Playback function | |||
| Alarm playback | No | ||
| EUPHONY | Yes | ||
| Fast play | No | ||
| Playback Speed Control | No | ||
| Repeat playback | Yes | ||
| Reverb | Yes | ||
| Slow Play | No | ||
| Data organisation | |||
| File move | No | ||
| Folder Audible | – | ||
| Folder music | 128 | ||
| Folder Podcasts | – | ||
| Folder voice | 5 | ||
| Time/date info | Yes | ||
| Files per folder | 200 | ||
| Workflow function | |||
| Author ID Setting | No | ||
| Pending File | No | ||
| Priority setting | No | ||
| Worktype ID Setting | No | ||
| Other Features | |||
| Audible support | No | ||
| beep signal (system sound) | Yes | ||
| Configurable Firmware | No | ||
| Podcast support | No | ||
| Remote Control | No | ||
| Voice feedback / guidance | No | ||
| Software | |||
| corresponding Audio software (type) | Audio Management Software | ||
| corresponding Audio software (name) | Sonority | ||
| Interfaces Input | |||
| PC interface | USB Cable | ||
| SD / SDHC interface | no function | ||
| Microphone sensitivity | High (- 59dBv) Low (- 39dBv) | ||
| Microphone jack | 3.5 ø mm mini-jack, impedance 2 kΩ | ||
| LINE IN jack input | – 6dBv | ||
| LINE IN jack | 3.5 ø mm mini-jack, impedance 78 kΩ | ||
| Interfaces Output | |||
| Max. working output | 200 mW + 200 mW (8 Ω speaker) | ||
| Maximum headphone output | 3 mW + 3 mW | ||
| Speaker Diameter | Stereo (two built-in ø 16 mm round dynamic speaker) | ||
| Earphone jack | 3.5 ø mm jack, impedance 8Ω or more | ||
| Power Supply | |||
| Alkaline battery life | Recording: 23 h (PCM 44.1kHz 16 bit) | ||
| Device standalone recharge function via AC adapter | No | ||
| Device standalone recharge function via USB | No | ||
| Docking station with recharge function | No | ||
| External power supply | AC-Adapter 5V / 300 mA | ||
| Ni-MH battery life | Recording: 22 h (PCM 44.1kHz 16 bit) | ||
| Power Supply | AA batteries (LR6 or ZR6) or two Ni-MH rechargeable batteries | ||
| Dimensions | |||
| Weight | 165 g (incl. battery) | ||
| WxHxD | 48 x 131.5 x 22.4 mm | ||
| Housing material | Metal | ||
| Housing colour | Blue metallic | ||
| Languages | |||
| Menu languages | English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian | ||
| Hardware Security | |||
| Device Locky by Fingerprint | No | ||
| Device lock by PIN code | No | ||
| Lock single files | No | ||
| Operating Systems & Requirements | |||
| Windows | Operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista (Free USB port) | ||
| Macintosh | Operating system: Mac OS 10.2/10.3/10.4/10.5 (Free USB port) | ||
[Olympus]
Olympus always get the build quality and ergonomics right, and the battery life on the LS-10 was excellent.
But around the same price point it’s worth considering Edirol’s R-05, which has a similar basic spec. You won’t get the same smooth appearance or robustness of construction, but you might get a slightly richer and better balanced sound.