My colleague and I compared notes on the Olympus WS-400 versus the Sony ICD-UX71 digital voice recorders for use by our undergraduate social science students, and here's a copy of what we agreed on:
Both the Sony and the Olympus have nearly identical features:
- 1GB storage
- stereo microphones
- USB direct connect
- 1 AAA battery
- about 2 seconds to start up
The Sony creates MP3 files, and the Olympus creates WMA files, but this is not a big problem for Mac users, since many of us have the free Flip4Mac download that automatically converts WMA files for Apple Quicktime player.
I think that the Olympus WS-400 is a better product for student interviewing, for the following reasons:
1) the Olympus has fewer buttons, and better placement of them
2) when you record on the Olympus, you can see the input sound levels on little bar charts, which confirms it's actually working
3) the Sony has a plastic cap that covers up the USB direct connect, which comes off and can easily be misplaced. But the Olympus uses a simple slider button to move the USB connector outside of the case, where you can use it. No parts to lose!
4) when I connected both units to PC and Mac computers, both units appeared on the screen within seconds, but the Olympus had a simpler file structure (only one level) to locate the recorded files.
5) Based on my simultaneous recording test, the sound quality was very similar on the PC, but better for the Olympus on the Mac (not sure why). For file size, the Olympus is about 2/3 the size of the Sony files (I think, because the default sound quality level on Sony is 192k, while the Olympus is 128k)
6) The Olympus is a better price.
If you buy the Olympus, one very simple but important setup instruction: the AAA battery has a thin transparent plastic covering that must be removed before inserting it into the unit Olympus WS-400 S Digital Recorder (White)
I've owned this recorder for about four months, using it mostly for interviews. It's far and away the best DVR I've ever owned. Very simple to use, decent battery life (love that it can recharge through USB port while plugged in), good mic pickup, super-easy file transfer with built-in USB dongle. It's even better when used with the small Olympus noise-cancelling mic.
As previous reviewers have noted, this recorder has some clear advantages over the Sony UX71. It's much more intuitive to operate, and better built. But the main advantage is battery life: The UX71, which I unfortunately bought, routinely kills a battery in one day, even when set to "hold." It's worthless, and Sony hasn't been too anxious to do a thing about it, beyond offering exchange for a refurb (I suspect its endemic with the model, and haven't bothered.) I was a Sony user for a long time, but no more.
The sole advantage to the Sony, in my mind, was the fact that it records in MP3 format, which is handy for web posting, etc. But that's not an advantage anymore. Olympus has posted a firmware update for this recorder on its web site that gives you the option of recording in .wma or mp3. So there you go. A much-appreciated update. Download it.
If your an occasional user of digital voice recorders, this is a great product and you will likely be very happy with it. I "upgraded" my VN-4100PC to this unit because of the lack of Vista 64 support on the VN-4100 PC, I still was able to offload audio using VMWare with a XP image.
The device is a lot larger in terms of audio storage than my VN-4100 PC, I went from 24hrs to 70hrs with HQ mode (highest quality non-stero mode). On lower quality you can get 250+ hours, but I find HQ is best because you are better able to understand what you are recording.
I use the devices two ways, one way is very difficult with this device and is the primary way I use it. The other way, the device works perfectly and well suited for this task.
I will frequently record phone calls with a TP7 telephone recorder (very cheap mic that records both sides of the conversation). For this task, the WS-400S is excellent, the recording time and quality works perfectly. Since the device is now a mass storage device, support for any OS is practically guaranteed.
The second, more common use is taking notes. I use David Allen's "Getting Things Done" process as well as other systems and my own for day to day productivity. One part of GTD I have adopted is taking note down immediately. I use a digital voice recorder for this and carry it just about everywhere. I will then dump the notes into my system, here is where I have a lot of problems. With my VN-4100 PC I would put the device on "HOLD" which pretty much locks the keyboard, but with the WS-400S, it turns the device off, the downside of this is it takes 1-2 seconds for the device to wake up, compared to the instant wake up on the VN-4100PC. So when you take it off hold and hit record (I frequently do this without even looking at the device since I record 5-30 messages daily) the record button frequently will do nothing, you have to remember to wait 2 seconds or so before even attempting to press record. This has caused me numerous lost recordings and 'redos'. For daily use, this has become much more problematic than lack of Vista 64 support has been. Support claims this is par for the course and there is nothing that can be done. I am waiting to hear if the WS500 series has the same problem, if they do I may want to look at Sony recorders. USB functionality is key for me as I frequently record phone calls and my son talking for my blog. Also as a mass storage device, it is actually easier to use the computer to record 10-50 messages a time to put into my "system".
I would give the device a 2 because this slowdown is such a problem for me, but other than that, the device is excellent. It is just slow all around because of the new computer system on it. If your a daily user like me, I would stay away from this device. Unfortunately I already gave away my VN-4100PC so I will be looking for another device and send this one back. - Olympus Digital Recorders - Digital Recorder - Voice Recorder - Olympus'
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