Olympus LS-P1 Hi-Res digital audio recorder with directional stereo microphones, USB connector, Low-Cut Filter, Noise cancel, Zoom Microphone, Intelligent Auto Mode, Voice Balancer and 4 GB memory

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 / 7:59 The 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 ended up buying mine from elsewhere as my Amazon order never turned up, however... It's an excellent little recorder for the size. Compared to my old LS-11 it's a fraction of the size. It really is teeny tiny. It's almost too small to hold in the hand, but paired with a iGadgitz Black Genuine Leather Case Cover for Olympus VN-713PC, VN-732PC & VN-8600PC Digital Voice Recorders (which fits perfectly) it becomes a much nicer experience to hold. Also, hand-holding the device when recording is a lot easier when in the case and results in far less handling noise. Sound-wise, it's very good / excellent. I measured the noise floor of the built-in mics to be roughly the same as my LS-11, but... whilst it may technically have the same noise floor (numbers wise), the noise "sounds" different. What I mean is, if you crank up the gain on both devices the noise that the LS-11 produces is a pleasant "hiss" kinda noise (c. 10kHz or so) which is fairly easy to eliminate with EQ, but the noise of the LS-P2 seems more "middle-y" and so it appears to be more pronounced to the human ear, and it's also much harder to minimise with EQ alone. A quick frequency analysis shows that the LS-P2 has a 3-4dB dip in the frequency range at the c. 8.5kHz mark and if you compensate for this by adding 3-4 dB of boost via a parametric EQ then both the LS-11 and LS-P2 "sound" far more similar, noise-wise (more "hissy", and less "middle-y")... BUT of course the LS-P2 obviously becomes 3-4dB more noisy as a result, so not anything you'll want to do in a hurry on noisy recordings. So, ound-wise it's really great - clear, crisp recordings (albeit with hard-to-remove noise if the gain is high), but its diminutive size has an unfortunate side-effect on one other important aspect of the sound - the stereo image. Having the ORTF mic array so close together has made a big difference to the spaciousness of the stereo image compared to the old LS-11. In comparison, the recordings seem narrower and have less "air". You'll probably want to put a stereo expander on your recordings if you want a wider soundscape or use a better external stereo mic - incidentally, I have not yet tried the mic input for noise but Avisoft Bioacoustics has measured it (and I have no reason to doubt their findings) at -114dBu. Not bad, but still 4dBu more noise than the older LS-3 at -118dBu, and 8dBu worse than my old LS-11 at -122dBu! So, I think it'll be "fine" for most microphones unless you start using really low noise mics in which case the LS-P2's preamp will become the weakest link. Build-wise, whilst it is all metal (aluminium), it's so light it feels like plastic. It really doesn't feel like there's a quality "weight" in your hand, although I'm sure the aluminium casing will be durable, but time will tell on that one. Now, what about the 3rd mic feature in the LS-P2 over the LS-P1... Is it worth it? Hmm. Well that's completely dependent on what you're going to record. If you're going to use this to jot down acoustic guitar ideas in the house then the extra bass will definitely add more body to the sound, but... if you're buying this as a keep-in-your-pocket-in-case-you-hear-an-interesting-ambient-sound kinda device (like I did), then chances are you'll have the low-cut filter turned on to minimise handling and wind noise anyway (and incidentally, wind noise is TERRIBLE on this - you MUST buy a fluffy cover if it's going anywhere near outside!), in which case that extra bass response from the extra omni mic is completely redundant. Personally, if you don't need bluetooth (I don't), voice narration of the menu items (I don't) and plan to use this primarily outside (I do) then I would save your money and get the LS-P1 instead. It's nearly half the price on Amazon (at time of writing) and will do everything else the same. If I were to buy again, that's what I'd do. <marked it as 4 stars because of the noise characteristics as can't do 4.5 stars>

I have only had the device a short time so I cannot comment on the full functionality but having used it the last few weeks, to make basic recordings to help with my college study, it has been fantastic. Recordings are simple to produce with the onboard stereo microphone set up and playback is very crisp and clear through headphones. The preset settings (dictation, meeting, lecture etc) have worked fine for me and have had no reason to put into a full manual set up mode. The built in speaker is not so great in terms of sound quality, but it is adequate, attaching headphones produces a much sharper clearer output. The onboard interface and screen is totally usable, albeit both a bit dated by modern standards. The unit uses a standard AAA battery or alternatively there is a supplied rechargeable AAA which can be charged inside the unit itself. I would recommend viewing/downloading the complete manual to get a better understanding of the full functionality, as the quick start guide is very basic. I did a lot of research before making this purchase, I am very happy and glad I spent a little more and chose this quality Olympus branded item even if I don't use all the functionality available.

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.

This was bought as a backup and does everything I need. Can use with its own internal mics for location / wild track audio, plug in a wired mic or plug in a Rode Wireless Go II receiver, 24bit high quality audio and plenty of recording time if you use a micro SD card. Olympus menu a little fiddly at first but you learn fast. Pocket sized and weight almost nothing so can always carry it .

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.

First of all, I must say this is the first device of this type that I have owned, so I am not really qualified to judge. Over the years, I've considered buying a Sony PCM-M10 or Zoom H1 or H2N perhaps... maybe one or two others. But I've finally taken the plunge and bought this. The first thing that strikes you is just how TINY is it. I was pretty shocked by that - it really is minute and could easily slip into shirt or trouser pockets no problem at all. It's shorter than an iPhone 5 and about 2/3rd of the iPhone's width - very small indeed. It's very well put together and has a nice solid feel to it, being all metai. It's easy to use - very intuitive - and I have not really had to look at the manual; all very straightforward. So all well and good, now what does it sound like (using the in-built mics)? Hmmmmmm. Well I have to say I am a bit disappointed really. Everything is all very crisp and clear, but there's two issues that concern me. The first is that there is hardly any stereo image at all. It's virtually mono. It gets a tiny bit better - not much - is you switch the middle mic off, which limits the frequency response unfortunately, but at least it means the left and right channels are recorded seperately without the middle channel being mixed in with them. But even without the centre mic, sounds that are clearly off to one side "live" all sound like they are fairly central in the recordings. The second issue is the noise floor. I think the mics are quite noisy and there's a very audible background hiss in all the recordings. This doesn't seem to get much better if you whack the recording levels up - it's simply the background noise from the internal mic/amps. So overall, I don't really know what to make of the device. Perhaps my expectations were too high and maybe these shortcomings are inherent in all such devices with their tiny, close together microphones and cheap internal amplification? Maybe for £180 this is as good as it gets? I am sure a Sony D100 is a whole load better and costs 4 or 5 times as much for a reason! But within in its limitations, I still do quite like it. The small and neat form factor appeals to me and its great I can take it anywhere and it runs for ages off 1 AAA battery. I don't regret buying it even if it's not quite as good as I had hoped.

I needed something small and easy to use for recording mixes from my DJ setup, instead of relying on a laptop. This device is perfect. Easy to setup, and just a case of taking an RCA output from the mixer with an RCA/3.5mm cable, and plugging in to the mic port on the device. Hit record which shows you your levels but doesn't start recording. Hit record again and you are away. Stop to stop it. You can then transfer the recording file you a laptop at your leisure. Battery life is great and it will charge when the device is in a USB port. 4Gb space is ample but you can expand this with an external microSD card if you wish. Overall this is brilliant and well worth the money.

La notice d'utilisation est facilement compréhensible. Sont emploi est aisé. l’enregistrement lors d'une réunion est claire et sans bruit particulier. nous sommes très satisfait de cette achat dont le prix est attractifs. Nous le recommandons particuliérement.

Compré esta grabadora para mi centro escolar. Necesitaba que fuera fácil de manejar, fácil de transportar, que no tuviera mucha parafernalia de cables y, sobre todo, que hiciera una grabación de calidad, ya que se va a usar para grabar exámenes en inglés que deben escucharse con claridad. Lleva un pequeño manual de instrucciones en papel para empezar a manejarse, pero en el interior de la grabadora se incluye un manual más amplio y detallado sobre su manejo, basta con conectar la grabadora mediante el USB a un ordenador para tener acceso al mismo, además está en varios idiomas. Esta grabadora cumple perfectamente con todos los requisitos que le pedía, he acertado de pleno con ella. La única pega, al conectar el USB en el ordenador hay que procurar poner algún tipo de soporte que impida que el aparato venza hacia abajo. En lo demás es un 10.

Ho trovato per caso questo dispositivo dopo una lunga ricerca. A dire il vero avevo bisogno di un lettore mp3 con tastini dedicati per la riproduzione/arresto dei brani e che soprattutto avesse la possibilità di collegare una cassa esterna bluetooth. Solo alcuni modelli Sony di fascia alta dispongono del BT, ero quasi per acquistarlo e ho trovato questo Olympus che oltre a riprodurre i file ha i microfoni per registrare i suoni. Io lo utilizzo in ambito naturalistico e mi ci sto trovando molto bene anche grazie alle dimensioni contenute. Ottime le varie funzioni di riproduzione. Per esempio ti permette di riprodurre solo una parte di un file da te selezionata, tralasciando l’altra. Sufficiente la portata del BT, siamo intorno ai 3 metri senza avere problemi con l’audio. Oltre si hanno perdite di segnale a intermittenza. Unico problema che non so se è comune a tutti gli apparati di questo genere è che una volta collegato il registratore/riproduttore a una cassa esterna BT il volume rimane fisso (credo al massimo) e non c’è verso di diminuirlo se non intervenendo sulla cassa stessa. Peccato.

Ich filme für Youtube. Die Kameras in meiner Preisklasse haben derzeit keinen Mikrofoneingang. Ich habe eine M100 von Canon. Der Mehrpreis zu einer M6 mit Mic-Eingang ist größer, als das LS-P1 kostet. Dann habe ich aber noch kein Mikrofon. Doch, ich habe ein Rode VideoMikro Compact. Das hat allerdings auch nochmal Geld gekostet, funktioniert aber auch am LS-P1. Der Wunsch nach "Freiheit" kommt aber auch spätestens dann, wenn man mal fünf Meter von der Kamera entfernt steht. Eine Funkstrecke, mit der man das überbrücken könnte, kostet wieder extra und baut auf der Kamera auf. Im schlimmsten Fall muss man noch einen Blitzschienenadapter kaufen, wenn der Mikrofoneingang blöd platziert ist... Ihr seht also, guten Ton in einer recht kompakten Kamera muss man sich teuer und kompliziert dazukaufen. Darum habe ich mir gedacht, so ein Voice-Recorder wäre da ideal. Das sind meine Bedingungen am LS-P1: ° stabiles und kompaktes Gehäuse ° Aufnahme in sehr guter Qualität (mit 32GB microSDHC kann ich über 14 Stunden speichern) ° Mic-Eingang ° lange Laufzeit Mit diesem Gerät schlage ich nun mehrere Klappen mit einer Fliege. Ich kann unabhängig von der Kamera Ambient-Sound aufnehmen. Das macht Videos nochmal interessanter, wenn man z.B. Waldgeräusche als separate Tonspur im Schnitt zumischen kann. Dazu erstelle ich mir noch eine Audiobibliothek von solchen Sounds. Dann kann ich mir ein Laveliermic anklemmen und das LS-P1 in die Tasche stecken. So habe ich immer den Ton nah bei mir und kann mich ohne Verluste von der Kamera fortbewegen. Ganz hauptsächlich aber kann ich den Wind mit dem im Foto gezeigten "Puschel" blocken oder mit einem "Puschel" am Laveliermic. Beim Videoschnitt wird es allerdings etwas komplizierter, denn ich muss ja für den Ton jetzt immer zwei Tonspuren synchronisieren. Ich habe mich auch gegen ein "Tascam" oder "Zoom" entschieden, weil ich das Wertigkeit vom Olympus höher einschätze und das LS-P1 auch deutlich kleiner ist. Außerdem kann ich das LS-P1 mit einer AAA-Eneloop genauso lange oder sogar länger betreiben, wie das DR05x bzw H1n mit mehreren AA bzw. AAA. Das spart nochmal Gepäck an Ersatzakkus. (Wie lange das LS-P1 durchhält im Vergleich zum Zoom oder Tascam müsst Ihr mal eben selber schnell in den Datenblättern checken) Mit meinen drei Kameraakkus kann ich etwa vier Stunden Film aufnehmen. Das LS-P1 hält länger durch. Zur Not nehme ich dann noch ein oder zwei AAA-Akkus mit, die wiegen ja nix. Ich habe mich auch gegen ein "besseres" Modell, wie dem LS-P4 entschieden, weil ich dessen weitergehende Funktionen nicht benötige. FAZIT: Klein, ausdauernd und wenn man sich in die Bedienung hineingefuchst hat, auch einfach zu nutzen. So habe ich eine separate Aufnahmemaschine, mit der ich mich unabhängig und frei vor der Kamera bewegen kann, ohne dass der Ton darunter leidet. In der Videobearbeitung habe ich mehr zu tun. Funktioniert tadellos mit diesem Laveliermic: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B073GJQKL1 Der Ton ist aber etwas flau. Ich mache dann minimal Echo hinzu und hebe den Ton etwas an. Das LS-P1 zeichnet den Mono-Ton auf beiden Kanälen auf! Der "Puschel" auf dem Bild ist dieser hier: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01D7TW7HO Mein Rode VMMicro: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B015R0IQGW

Funkar oehört bra. Avancerad teknik, men mycket enkelt meny som gör det lätt att använda. Mycket känslig mikrofon som fångar allt. Och några super funktioner som inte står i beskrivningen ! Grafisk equalizer med 5 frekvens som är helt manuellt justerbar. Det är till för justera ljudkvaltet vid uppspelning. Och att det finns en inbyggd Mp3 spelare för lyssna på musik! Jag har inte testat Mp3 musik funktionen än, men den finns på apparatens menu. Och en till grej. Du kan också anvenda apparaten med en helt vanlig AAA batteri. För detta väljer du i menyn vilken typ av batteri du stoppar i. Laddbar som är med i förpackningen, eller en icke laddbar du köper. Detta är en viktig sak för det ger storre frihet ifall du skulle inte ha möjlighet att ladda om din batteri. Då kan du köpa en vanlig AAA var som helst och köra med den. Apparaten har låg energiförbrukning. Det är bra också. Mycket nöjd!