Olympus DP-201 Digital Voice Recorder

Probably the best $29.95 I've spent in recent memory, this thing is truly a gem! If you want something to record thoughts, tasks or grocery lists, your doctor's instructions during the current "in and out in 10 minutes" appointments, or anything else we can't remember due to our modern hectic lifestyle, you'll never go wrong with the DP-201. An uninterrupted 20 or 30 minutes practice with the unit using the clear and straightforward instructions will make you a real pro. It has plenty of sensitivity - with the unit in my office it records music and voice with perfect clarity from a radio playing at normal listening volume two rooms away. I should add that at my age, normal volume does NOT mean rock music The size and shape and the location of the controls make it extremely easy to handle and operate and you can start a recording and put it in a shirt pocket and it will record a conversation perfectly or you can put it on a conference table and it will record everyone in a meeting. For recording school lectures I can't imagine anything that would do as good a job at anywhere near the price of this unit. I have an Olympus WS-802 at more than twice the price and it isn't a bit more sensitive nor is the playback any clearer than the DP-201 when the microphone sensitivity is set to "high" and I would recommend using this mode for everything other than person to person conversations. I could fill another page with praise but suffice it to say I don't think one can go wrong by purchasing this unit. I've read many reviews commenting that the DP-201 lacks the ability to output the recordings into a computer but that isn't completely true. The DP-201 doesn't have a USB connection and can't output a signal in any of the compressed audio formats which can be easily transferred to a computer as a file, however since most modern computers come equipped with sound recording capability it's possible to simply buy a monaural patch cord to connect the earphone output of the DP-201 to the computer microphone input and use the computer sound recorder (in Windows) software to record from the DP-201. In most cases the raw audio recording can then be converted in the computer to a compressed mp3 or similar audio file to save memory space in the computer. Not quite as quick and easy as having a USB connection but it can be done if necessary. I might also add that I spent most of my spare time for the better part of a week trying to figure out how to use all the bells and whistles in the WS-802 which I bought through a well known web auction service. IMHO the instruction manual for that unit was an absolute nightmare to digest and I finally gave up and bought the DP-201. Not only did I pay too much for something that turned out to be essentially unusable but I had to spend an inordinate amount of time going back and checking my bid status and setting up a paypal account to finally buy the thing. After enduring that for a week I went to Amazon, looked up the DP-201 and ordered it, all of which took about 5 minutes and I received the unit one day before the earliest estimated delivery. It's probably quite evident that I'm a real fan of Amazon and this DP-201, it's the best buy of the lot IMO!

I was looking to buy a personal recorder. There are a few of them on the market, so witch one to buy. I'm very familiar with the Olympus products. They put out a good product, at a fair price, and yes, they do stand behind their product. The DP-201 for the money is excellent. It plays back nice and clear. Very easy to use, instructions are very clear, and pictures to show you to press the right buttons, for a dummy like me to understand.HA!HA! It has the date stamp on each recording and numbers them. They can remain in archives or be deleted at your convenience. Also very handy when going to the Doctors office for your appointments. Even picks up well when left in my shirt pocket.

Here's how to erase messages/songs with one try. Press the erase button, go left button to chose the box with the 1 in it, press play/0k button, go left button to chose the box with the check mark in it, press play/ok button and the message/song is erased. Works every single time. The black box with the X means cancel so you have to chose the box with 1 in it. This is a very nice digital recorder. Small, easy to use, sounds great for such a small recorder. I just love it for how I am using it and that is to record live music.

I am a professional writer. I need a voice recorder when I'm interviewing folks, that way I don't have to concentrate on taking notes. I go back and transcribe the chat. For my purposes, this recorder is perfect. The sound is clear and I have no trouble hearing the subjects of my interviews. If you need more than that, you might need something else, but if you just want to record and playback, this is perfect. It's small, light and convenient. Well worth the cost.

This recorder works great, picks up voice very well, has some great features, and easy to understand/use. The only problem with it, is that it you can not transfer the files to a computer. You must transcribe them if you want to keep your audio and use more than what it holds, or if you don't want to lose those recordings from dropping the device. AND MINE DID NOT COME WITH BATTERIES.

This product is easy to use and accessible for seniors to use. During playback of recorded messages the sound is very clear. I loved that the product came with batteries as well. I was very please that it was shipped out and received in the time that was estimated. Very happy with the product and my first experience using Amazon.

A lot of stuff for such a small package. And the price was right. It does seem to go through batteries pretty quickly but I can rely on it keeping my notes and ideas sorted by the date. Paper notes are always getting lost, so this is a step up for keeping me organised. Like anything else, you need to check it out completely when you first get it so you know how to use it most efficiently. Took me about a half hour. Now it is second nature.

super bon son. je suis tres satisfaite par mon acht

Thank you

I returned it as it didn't suite my use.