Astounding audio quality, feature laden, great value.

The Olympus DS-2 Digital Voice Recorder is one of those breakthrough products that makes me want to recommend it to everyone I see.

Digital voice recorders have been around for a number of years and I have owned a few, a Sony and an older Olympus model. They have previously been very disappointing, mostly because of the poor sound quality. Comparing the DS-2 to older digital voice recorders is like comparing a high-end stereo system with a Victrola.

The DS-2 is a reasonably sized, very configurable digital voice recorder. But the term "voice recorder" is not the best description of this little gem. You will discover, as I did, that the quality of recording can be so good that you can easily record music and be quite satisfied with the incredible sound. It has a built-in stereo microphone and you can also attach an external stereo (or mono) microphone using the mini-jack mic input.

The built in speaker has decent output for its size. You can also use headphones or connect to a stereo or other audio device using the headphone output jack. I use a cassette tape adapter in my car which enables me to listen to my audio notes on my car stereo while driving.

The DS-2 has 5 different recording modes. 2 of them are Stereo (Stereo HQ-Stereo High Quality recording and Stereo SP-Stereo Standard recording) and the other 3 are mono (HQ-high quality, SP-standard recording, LP-long term recording). Olympus uses two different recording formats, WMA and DSS, depending on which recording mode you are in. WMA mode is used for all stereo recordings as well as the highest quality mono mode (HQ). The DSS format is used for the 2 lesser quality recording modes, SP and LP.

Recording time for the DS-2 can be as much as 22 Hours 20 Minutes in LP mode and as short as 1 Hour 5 Minutes in Stereo HQ mode. If you are using the DS-2 strictly for dictation or general voice reminders, you will be quite pleased with the recording quality in the lowest quality mode, LP. And remember that in this mode you can record for over 22 hours. I think that is pretty amazing. If you bump up the quality to SP, you can still record for over 10 hours. HQ mode records for over 4 hours. Stereo SP mode records for over 2 hours and Stereo HQ mode records for just over 1 hour.

You can alternate recording modes and your total time will adjust according to whatever mode you happen to be in.

The DS-2 display is small but more than adequate. The text is sharp and clear, while the back-lighting makes visibility excellent during daylight or in dark situations. There is contrast adjustment

The unit uses 2-AAA batteries. You can also use NIMH batteries if you want to be able to recharge batteries. Battery life is pretty good averaging about 10-12 hour while recording or 8-10 hours of playback.

The unit also comes with a USB docking station and software which works on both Macs and PCs. This enables you to upload audio files to your computer where you can then listen to them or just store them

Here are some of the other features of this device...

-5 folders which can hold 199 files each for a maximum of 995 recordings. You can also name your folders something other than the default "Folder A, Folder B", etc. There are also some pre-set folder names available such as ""Meeting", "Memo", "Note", and so on. Although it is tedious to change folder names on the player itself, using the DSS software and making the changes via the computer is a breeze.

-VCVA (variable control voice actuator). A fancy phrase that simply means you can set the device to only record when a certain loudness threshold has been reached. This enables you to avoid recording silence thus effectively extending the total recording time. This feature is very adjustable and you can adjust it to compensate for ambient background noise.

-Mic sensitivity can be adjusted for either "Dictation" which is lower sensitivity or "Conference" which is high sensitivity.

-Timer record function lets you set the recorder to begin recording at a specified time.

-File Comments: You can enter up to 100 characters to name a file. There are also 10 pre-set comments such as "Important", "Confidential", "Priority" and so on. Although it is tedious to add file comments on the player itself, using the DSS software and making the changes via the computer is a breeze.

-Noise Cancel Function: The recorder has a feature to reduce background noise during playback. This can be useful if the recording was made in an environment with a lot of background noise.

-Alarm: You can specify a time for an alarm to sound and you can also attach a specific file to play after the alarm is turned off. This is a great feature for giving you audio reminders at specified times.

-Variable playback speed: You can vary the playback speed in intervals up to 2x. This is great for listening to long recordings in half the time.

-Index Marks: You can "mark" files during recording or playback with up to 16 index marks per file. This is handy for quickly accessing specific parts of a long lecture, for instance.

-Files can be moved from one folder to another.

-The device can also be used as external memory for your computer...for the transport of files to another computer for instance.

The features are numerous, but easily accessed via an intuitive menu system.

I absolutely love this little device. It is an excellent performer with great features at a very good price. It is an excellent value overall.