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Hello, I have a basic question:

I have recently become interested in getting a portable digital recorder.

My main uses would be in speeches, conferences, and one-to-one interviews. All of this for personal use, and occasionally for web posting.
I would be tempted to record live shows too, for the same purposes as above.

I have looked at the top olympus offerings, the LS-10 and the DS-71. I want to know if getting a more basic recorder (Sanyo S003M ~$100, only records MP3's up to 192) with an external microphone would give me comparable sound quality to those recorders.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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anonymous Mon, 04/20/2009 - 10:03

re:

urbanpro wrote: if these are stationary interviews, then perhaps you could consider purchasing a laptop and a USB mic?

I currently use a tape recorder for when I'm on the road, but digital is more convenient.

Of course, I don't want to replace my perfectly working device just for convenience, that's why I am trying to maximize what I get from it.

anonymous Tue, 04/21/2009 - 18:32

TheJackAttack wrote: Here is the field recorder goto site:

http://www.oade.com/index.html

Thank you for the reading, they have a lot of great information in those FAQ.

From what I understood, the recorder's cheap circuitry would somehow nullify the benefits of using an external mic. Would that still happen with a self powered device (let's say the audio technica ATR25)? How far should the sound be from the aforementioned LS-10?

Some specs of the Sanyo ICR S003M I have in mind:
Best recording setting: 60~20,000Hz - stereo - 192kbps (mp3)
Power from 1 AAA battery
I don't have data about impedance

Thanks again.

TheJackAttack Tue, 04/21/2009 - 18:58

I think there are many many many better options than the Sanyo or Olympus. However if all you want is a personal memo dictaphone then do what you will. If you want an actual field recorder then skip Sanyo and Olympus. If you want to record music then don't go anywhere near the Sanyo or Olympus.

The fact that the Oade brothers improve circuitry on the machines they sell should not be construed to mean the stock machines cannot make good recordings or are in any way inferior to the toys you mentioned.