Olympus DS 2300 - digital voice recorder (06/14/2005)

Review: I recently bought the Olympus DS-2300 voice recorder for class and thought I’d let everybody know what I like and dislike about it. First of all, I expected it to be bigger and bulkier. When I first pulled it out of the box, I was delighted with its small size. It’s approximately the size of a cell phone. It takes two AAA batteries and also came with a 16 Megabyte Xd picture card from the factory. Before buying this recorder, I was very concerned whether the unit would pick up enough sound for me to hear it clearly during playbacks. So far I’m pleased; however the recorder does have a somewhat limited range. I’d recommend this recorder to anyone who can sit within a 15 foot radius of the speaker. Sound clarity is indirectly proportional to distance. The closer you are to the speaker, the better playback you’re going to get. There are optional accessories that you can buy for the recorder. I’ve bought the ME12 noise canceling microphone, and (2) 256Mb Xd picture cards. I honestly don’t like the noise canceling microphone. I’m sure it has its uses, but it makes the playback sound too faint when recording lectures. If you’re using the recorder as a personal dictation device in a high noise environment, then I think you may find it useful. I am going to spend the extra cash on the ME15 non-directional microphone. Just to be courteous, I’ve asked permission from my teachers to use the recorder in class. One was OK with it, and the other told me “no.” The ME15 would come in handy for something to be used under your shirt, or clipped to your book bag with the voice recorder tucked away in an unnoticeable bag pocket if the need were ever to exist. The voice recorder itself has a red LED that is easily visible when looking at it from the front or top during recordings. The 256Mb memory cards that I bought were a bit more than what I needed. One card holds about 42 hours of dictation. The batteries don’t even last that long, but I have rechargeables. I’ve been downloading my files into my computer right away, so I don’t have to worry about going back and organizing them. On average I store about 2 hours at a time on the card before I empty it. I could have saved some money by buying 128Mb cards instead. They too would have been more than what I need. I do recommend having 2 cards just so you have a spare. The cards don’t last forever, and it’s nice to have a backup in a pinch. The last accessory that I’d like to mention is the carrying case. The DS-2300 does NOT come with a case. You can buy one online for an extra $20. I spent the money and I’m really glad for doing so. It’s great for safeguarding the recorder from scratches and also kind of cushions it from being banged around. One last thing everybody needs to remember about these voice recorders is that they aren’t designed to give CD quality playback. What you’re going to hear coming out isn’t going to be live and isn’t going to be Memorex. Just be glad that the technology is out there for us to buy and use. I’m very satisfied with mine and I would buy another if I ever needed to.