Olympus DS-30 Digital Voice Recorder

I love this recorder. Read the other reviews. They will tell you how great it is. Why, then, only 3 stars?(I own the DS-30, but these comments would also apply to the DS-40 or DS-50)First, for Mac users. I found so many problems running the included software from Olympus that I just deleted it after a couple of days. My workaround is to plug in the DS-30 as a usb drive, drag the audio files to my desktop, and rename them there. (Don't delete the files on the recorder directly from the Mac; do it directly on the DS-30.) Since the files are in WMA format, I needed to convert them to a format I could edit, put on my ipod, whatever. I found a shareware program called easywma for [...] that's a peach and works perfectly for me, though there are plenty of other shareware and commercial solutions out there.The second thing to know is that my DS-30 was a lemon. Yup, it happens. The key, though, is how Olympus service deals with a failed product.After 3 weeks of working perfectly, my DS-30 just froze up. All I could do was remove the batteries and try again. This happened just as I arrived at an overseas conference where I was making a presentation. Very bad timing. Olympus service was generally great in fixing the problem - they even paid shipping - but it took way too long. I sent the DS30 to them, it came back "repaired" but with the same problem, I sent it to them again, it came back with the same problem, I sent it to them a third time and they finally sent me a new one. The whole elapsed time was about 8 weeks. They were gracious on the phone, I got to speak with humans, they returned my calls, and they met every time commitment they made. (If they said I would get it back in 10 business days, I did.) However, two months was really too long. I should have been able to return it and get a new one.Skip ahead several months...Now, I have a working recorder, I have a process to use it on my Mac, and I'm one happy camper.By the way, I expected to use this as a writing tool and for lectures, notes and conferences. I was very pleasantly surprised by how good the highest quality setting is. I am able to record concerts and shows in stereo, convert the music to mp3 and transfer it to my ipod. And it sounds - surprisingly - really, really good!I love this machine. I just had to share my tale.P.S. Get a cover or case. It scratched the second day I had it.

Not sure what any of the problems other people have had with this recorder before but I found it really simple to use if you've ever used a piece of electronic equipment or computer. Right out of the package I could figure out how to use every function of this recorder including using the software without touching the instructions. It doesn't do much, so it doesn't take much to figure out. Pick your folders, record, playback, transfer, organize.The Olympus DVR is nicely built, very small and lightweight: like a fancy PEZ dispenser. Sound quality is superb for a portable recorder. Comes with a stereo mic that plugs in on top that can be detached; or use the built in mono mic, making it even smaller. I found the mono mic had much better sound for voice pickup since the stereo picks up too much ambient sounds. Plus, smaller file size. The stereo mic is really good for recording a "panoramic view" of sound from all directions, but not as great for dictation, interviews or lecture. You can plug in pretty much any mic with a mini-jack: camera mics, lavaliers, phone headsets, etc. I use an old cellphone headset (FYI:same as Skype / internet headsets) plugged into it while driving and works great! The sound is great because the headset mic is right next to my mouth and I can hear playback in my ear. I do a lot of extended driving and come up with most of my ideas on the road, so this is really useful.(Disclaimer: I don't recommend operating any device while driving.) There is a mic sensitivity adjustment switch that works wonders when applying it to the correct recording situation.Software install and transfer was pretty simple, as is the program; although I prob won't use it, as I have other audio edit programs. The Olympus creates a propietary DSS sound file (extremely small file size compared to standard WMA) that can be converted to WMA, although I don't recommend the "blowing up" of your files unless you have a need. The program is basically only useful for saving, organizing and playback of your files. If you plan to do more, like edit or convert files for other uses, you need to use other programs more suited for your needs. If you are just getting started, it is easy to do for FREE with the internet and a few Google searches. Might I suggest "Audacity" or "i-tunes". You'll be surprised what you can do for free with a little research.Overall, an excellent little recorder that actually exceeded my expectations, especially for this price range. Highly recommend.