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Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM recorder

Can dictation devices do music?

On the right side, there are line and mic input sockets, recording level control, high/low mic sensitivity switch and a low-cut filter – the latter helping with wind and handling noise, as well as intelligibility in booming, resonant environments. The positioning of these controls is quite well thought out for handheld use. The transport area below the main screen is similarly set up for thumb operation featuring large Stop and Record buttons with a four-way navigation dial and Play/OK button below. Five smaller buttons: Erase, Fn (function), A-B Repeat, Menu and List round off the front panel.

The monochrome backlit LCD adequately shows most of the functions, with the Menu button revealing an array of preferences for recording, playback, memory selection and power management, as well as zoom mic settings and playback enhancements, including reverb and Euphony spatial dynamics processing. Aural excitement indeed, but how about something useful, like a graphic equaliser?

Olympus LS-10 Olympus LS-10

Controls aplenty, all round

Having established recording preferences, the List button brings up five folders, labelled A to E, and a Music folder, for MP3/WMA files only. Each of the five folders can record up 200 audio files and recorded files are automatically named LS100001 onwards, plus the WAV, MP3 or WMA suffix, and cannot be renamed. If you’ve used an Olympus voice recorder, the folder system will be familiar. Given the file naming shortcomings, and the fact that fast forward and rewind isn’t audible - so no hunting for soundbites - it soon becomes apparent that Olympus LS-10 is a dressed-up voice recorder lacking some basic functionality that discerning customers would expect.

Using the user-assignable Fn key takes some of the pain out of the LS-10. During tests, record modes were regularly changed, but the playback screen doesn’t display the sample rate or resolution. However, selecting the file and bringing up Property – buried in the System menu, but reassigned to the Fn key – swiftly revealed all. Likewise, during recording the function key was assigned to access the file format options.

Tickets to the Proms say "no tape recorders" so the tapeless LS-10 was obviously immune. Hearing back the live performance of Holst’s The Planets was a sonic surprise, with the LS-10 accurately capturing this dynamic suite in the challenging ambience of the Albert Hall. Thunderous timpanis, twinkling triangles and sensuous strings retained their presence with LS-10 putting in an evenly balanced and remarkably transparent performance. Here, the limiter (volume overload control) had a little work to do at times, but its processing was unnoticeable.

Next page: Verdict

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