Olympus - Stereo Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player

I recommend for classroom use to students. Records over 100 hours but the battery lasts 7 hours or less. Built in stereo microphones will do a good job for lecture recording and does not have a problem picking up background noises, not as bad as other recorders. You might as well use headphones, plug into powered PC speakers, or transfer the files to a PC since the tiny built in speaker is not very useful. There is an audio limiter that prevents microphone overload. You can play the files with Media Player on your PC. Also, cool features include USB connectivity, transfer MP3 or WMA music files from PC to the 311. The windows XP "WOW" feature is not very "wow" as far as sound quality, but the built in true bass and five band equalizer were much more useful. The unit stores your EQ settings. I wish it had a power supply jack instead of just a AAA battery, so you will want to carry an extra battery. You can recover the files if the battery runs down with your PC. Overall I found it very useful for classroom and as a music player when used with headphones, I don't think you would be disappointed.

I purchased the Olympus Digital Voice Recorder about 3 months ago. I've used it for office meetings, to take minutes, at a concert, and for interviews. This is my first voice recorder and has performed above my expectations. Sound is clear even when there is background noise. I was impressed with the recording power it has for the small size. It can fit in a pocket or bag easily. My only con is that the manual is a little hard to get through. I especially like the USB capability and have transferred my recordings to my computer and transferred to CD without problem. I've used it quite a bit in 3 months and have only replaced the battery one time. Overall, very satisfied with purchase.

Bought this little beauty a week ago for recording meetings and also doing podcasts. The USB plug allows file transfer straight to my computer - SWEET! Sound is clear and crisp, buttons are easy to used. Fits right into my shirt pocket and goes with me every place. I'd recommend this recorder to everyone!

I bought this handy little device for recording lectures in law school. Our classes are huge auditoriums that sit about 120 students and I usually sit all the way in the back. Yet I am able to record lectures by simply placing the recorder on my desk. I find that this recorder is probably too effective; regardless of how close or far I am from the speaker, it picks up a lot of background noice and static. Also, the speakers are ineffective, although that's hardly suprising for a device this small. Listening to the lectures with earphones, or on my computer have proved to be the best options. It is not easily recognizable as a recorder - handy for those professors who would have a problem with being recorded. Also a metal finish might have added some sophistication. Feels a bit cheap and extraordinarily light All in all, I am pleased with it; the pros outnumber the cons by a wide margin.

I use this product frequently. It is very easy to use, it is lightweight and compact. I really like the usb connector to download to computer.

I use this little guy for song writing... THis recorder exceeded my expectations for sound quality. I've never tried another digital recorder, but I've been very happy with this one. (Don't expect a studio recording - but for a little and relatively inexpensive device - it's impressive.) I carry it with me in the car sometimes (it plugs into my stereo like an ipod). Anytime i've played something i'm working on for someone - they are always surprised that i made the recording on such a little device. It would be nice to have the option to name songs (files) on the recorder - but it's not the end of the world

This audio recorder is easy to use and has plenty of memory. I have several albums of music on the recorder and still have hours of audio recording space. Although it has several settings for sound quality, I use a medium level and the sound quality is plenty good for my needs.

I purchased this recorder to record audio discussions so we could easily burn CDs for everyone when finished. When purchasing the recorder, the specs said MP3 and WMA file formats so we assumed you could change the recording format. You can't. You can only record in WMA format meaning the CDs we cut can only be played on computers and not in CD players and other devices of the group members. Happy with recorder otherwise and would recommend if you do not require this easy transferability.