Ok, re the DS-71 and the DM-520, , it is actually a tricky decision on one hand, and a completely clear decision on the other.
This is a very detailed post. I have both units - which I am happy about, because as a conference speaker, the DS-71 (like the DS-50) mic remote control and detachable mic option is perfect for capturing my presentations. I can wire myself up, and just flick the switch on the remote to start and stop recording - almost total reliability that record has activated. If, you have a DS-50, you can use its remote control and Mic with the DS-71. You can not, however, use the DS-50 or DS-71 remote control on the DM-520! The price I paid for the DS-71 was nearly double that of the DM-520, and in many ways the DS-71 is an inferior product, using an older generation of technology. I actually think someone stuffed up somewhere in releasing the DS-71 when they did, it feels like a legacy product that was very delayed to market. Still speaking about the DS-71, the recording quality is pretty good, and you do notice the Wave recording improvement over the DS50 and the WMA on the DS-71. However, it is not as good as the audio recording quality of the DM-520, and has more noise floor and Mic preamp noise (I think). In addition, the external stereo Microphone for the DS-71, though an improvement on the DS-50 mic is definitely inferior to the in-built stereo Mics of the DM-520, especially if you want to use any of the zoom recording modes that The DS-71 offers. I don't actually believe that they fully tuned the DS-71 mics for the Zoom technology. I would never use any of the zoom options on the DS-71, but I do use them for some situations (especially Narrow, and sometimes wide) on the DM-520. The narrow setting is good for keeping sounds localised, and the wide option is good for spreading the left right mike pickup to catch several speakers from a single location. If you want to hear how the DM-520 Narrow zoom mic setting works in open air situations, you can go to my CoffeeCast Conversations podcast at http://coffeecast.posterous.com Other advantages of the DS-71 are that it buffers key presses far better. For flipping back and forth between recordings in a folder, results are better. Also it doesn't exhibit the annoying audio click through the speaker when you move to different recordings. Both these problems with the DM-520 are bugs, and I do hope a firmware release will address them, as they do frustrate me, when using the DM-520 as a voice recorder. Also, it is necessary, occasionally, to reboot the DM-520 to fix an occasional bug where recording is flawed and choppy. This means that absolute trust of capturing a recording is somewhat compromised. Monitoring important recordings with earphones is therefore useful. I power the machine off, and back on prior to doing interviews, where I can't afford to lose quality of a recording. Finally, in complaint about the DM-520 is that I have stopped using the supplied rechargeable batteries, as they were dying unexpectedly, even when supposedly fully charged. I haven't had the time to fully track this problem down, or do charge discharge cycling to see if the problem goes away. Not a big problem for me, as I am happy to swap in regular AAA batteries before important recordings. The other relatively minor advantage of the DS-71 is that its size is smaller than the DM-520 if you remove the stereo mic. They are equivalent sized, when the external mic is attached. I still love the audio quality of memos recorded with the in-built mono mic of the DS-71. You have to change your mic technique considerably with the DM-520, so it isn't optimised for close mouth memoing, but mostly this doesn't matter. I think the DS-71 gives you 200 files for each of the five folders. With 4gb, this may or may not work for you! I found this limitation a problem once or twice. On the DM-520 you get 999 files per folder, and if you add Micro SD card, you then have ten folders to categorise stuff in to. All that said, though, my DS-71 is sitting here on my desk, hardly used since the new machine arrived, and my DM-520 is always in my pocket, ready for any situation I need to make a note, or capture a meeting or conversation. In summary: Unless you Really need the remote control, you will probably be best off with the DM-520, it is a magic machine, accessibility is good and the price is good for size, quality and features . A few bugs, but only compared to the elegant smooth operation of the DS-50 and DS-71 machines. And, of course, you can still plug in an external tie clip Mic, you just can't remote control it as conveniently. Olympus do have a remote control for the DM-520, but this is expensive and is wireless. Hope this helps. Regards Tim -----Original Message----- From: pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] On Behalf Of tim Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2009 8:33 AM To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Digital recorders again - Plextalk Pocket and Olympus DS-71 hi all! am seriously debating between a ds71 and a dm520, only thing stopping me from the dm520 is the not included stereo mike like that comes with the ds71, also, is there any other recorders with 4 gig or grater copasity, built in speech and a mike or 2 included with the product? thanks for help! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lauren" <lotusris...@att.net> To: "PC Audio Discussion List" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 6:48 Subject: Re: Digital recorders again - Plextalk Pocket and Olympus DS-71 > Hi, > > Can someone please talk about the cost f these items? I am looking for a > digital recorder that you can take anywhere, that has a good sound > quality, but that is also affordable. I am on a budget. > > > > Sincerely, > > Lauren > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Tim Noonan" <t...@timnoonan.com.au> > To: "'PC Audio Discussion List'" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> > Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 7:35 PM > Subject: RE: Digital recorders again - Plextalk Pocket and Olympus DS-71 > > >>I would guess, in the absence of no hard comparative data, that the audio >> recording quality of the Pocket is quite a bit better than is the Olympus >> DS-71, which I do have. >> >> I find the Olympus, across a range of external mics does have a degree of >> background hiss (preamp noise or circuit noise). This is the case when >> set >> to wave recording and manual mic input levels. >> >> Also, The Olympus doesn't actually have a line in, only a mic in port, so >> I >> am curious about line in recording quality, and whether you are using an >> attenuation cable to reduce the line in signal to mic levels? >> >> That all said, I absolutely love my Olympus DS-71 in so many ways, and >> for >> so many reasons: its extraordinarily flexible and effective voice >> recording >> capabilities, battery life and replaceable batteries, and especially its >> super compact size makes it a take everywhere audio device. >> >> Speaker monitoring of line in recordings, and audible recording level >> feedback are features unique to the Plextalk recorders. >> >> Regards >> Tim >> >> -----Original Message-----t >> From: pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org >> [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] >> On Behalf Of G-Dog >> Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 10:20 AM >> To: PC Audio Discussion List >> Subject: Re: Digital recorders again. >> >> Agreed! >> >> accessability is a very important factor but it doesn't equate to >> performance. >> I use the olympus DS-71 which does an excellent job for both mike and >> line >> in recordings. >> Yes, you can monitor through headphones. >> I also like the fact that it uses AAA batteries that makes it easy to >> swap >> them out if needed. >> >> I hear the Edital R9 is also a nifty unit >> >> G-Doggy-dog! >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Bruce Toews" <br...@ogts.net> >> To: "PC Audio Discussion List" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> >> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:01 PM >> Subject: Re: Digital recorders again. >> >> >> That statement should probably be qualified: It may well be the most >> excellent recording device in its class on the market, I couldn't say >> but have no reason to believe otherwise, but there are better recording >> devices on the market. Sweeping statements are dangerous. >> >> Bruce >> >> >> On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 12:56:11 -0500, "Sunshine" <sunsh...@abe.midco.net> >> said: >>> I totally agree with you Dean, the plextalk pocket is the most exclent >>> recording device on the market these days. >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "dean martineau" <dea...@earthlink.net> >>> To: "'PC Audio Discussion List'" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org> >>> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:36 PM >>> Subject: RE: Digital recorders again. >>> >>> >>> What I know is that the PlexTalk Pocket is totally accessible, nicely >>> packaged, has both manual and automatic level control, and does a very >>> nice >>> job of recording from the line injack. I doubt any other digital >>> recorder >>> provides as much feedback, as this one is made for the blind. Of >>> course, >>> it >>> may (or may not, I don't know) cost more than others of similar quality, >>> but >>> there's no guesswork involved. It's nice to be able to monitor through >>> the >>> speaker when making a line-in recording. >>> >>> Dean >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org >>> [mailto:pc-audio-boun...@pc-audio.org] >>> On Behalf Of Tim Crawford >>> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:27 AM >>> To: PC Audio Discussion List >>> Subject: Digital recorders again. >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> Just wondering, which one of the flash memory based recorders recently >>> discussed here, would be most suitable for making high quality >>> recordings >>> from an external source via line-in? e.g. a satellite receiver. >>> >>> I don't intend recording via microphone, so that particular aspect of >>> performance is of limited interest. >>> >>> Any views much appreciated. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> Tim. >>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >>> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org >>> >>> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus >>> signature >>> database 4487 (20091007) __________ >>> >>> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. >>> >>> http://www.eset.com >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >>> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org >>> >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >>> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org >> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org >> >> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org >> >> >> To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: >> pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: > pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: pc-audio-unsubscr...@pc-audio.org
