Olympus WS-331M
Voice recorders made the transition from analogue tape to solid state digital in the latter 1990s. While those early tapeless models were considered groundbreaking, the recently introduced Olympus WS-331M is an example of just how far this product category has evolved.
Of course, the world that the WS-331M enters is quite a different place as well. We users are more savvy about digital gadgets, but also more demanding of our digital devices. Moreover, digital audio isn’t just about consuming music any more. The global phenomenon of podcasting has turned many into audio producers who want to sound as good as professional radio broadcasters.
The WS-331M does a fine job of recording voice notes to yourself, or making a record of a lecture or business meeting. It’s set up with five folders and you can organize your recordings within them if you want. But if business or classroom note taking is all you want a voice recorder for, you’d be equally well served by a less expensive model. At $300, this flagship in Olympus’s line isn’t cheap, but here are some of the things beyond simple voice note taking you get for your coin.
It’s a USB flash drive
The body is made in two parts, and when you separate the lower "L" shaped module holding the single AAA battery, you expose a standard USB connector on the upper module. Plug it into a PC and it’s immediately recognized as a flash drive - and a biggie with two gigabytes of capacity. Recording at the lowest quality mono setting, that much capacity is good for around 550 hours of voice notes and musings, or more than 35 hours of high-quality stereo recording.
It records in stereo
Olympus says that recording group business meetings in stereo has some advantages in making it easier to distinguish individual speakers, thus helping the listener follow the flow of discussion, while also giving the whole group session a more natural sound. The unit comes with a built-in stereo microphone, but also has a 3.5 mm stereo mic jack so you can use a better mic if you need improved sound quality.
The WS-331M records in Windows Media Audio format, which offers a more efficient compression method than MP3 (e.g., equal sound quality with smaller file size or better sound quality with equal file size). Another big advantage in using this audio format is that no specialized software is needed to read the file. Thanks to Windows’ market penetration, most audio programs understand WMA including the Windows Media Player that comes free with Windows. In fact, the Olympus device does not come with any audio software, although you can download a free DSS Light Player if you are so inclined.
When you connect the recorder to your PC via USB, it shows up as just another USB device, so you can drag and drop the recorded files to your PC hard drive for editing or further processing. And this is yet another benefit. If you’d used an audio cassette recorder, you’d have to play back the file in real time and rerecord it by capturing the signal using your sound card’s line-in jack. Dragging and dropping a few hundred megabytes worth of audio files is nowhere near as arduous.
The Olympus unit offers three levels of stereo recording, all using a 44.1 kHz sampling rate. SP is the standard mode, and has a frequency range of 50 Hz-9 kHz, which is good for voice-only recording. The unit will record 142 hours in SP mode. In HQ mode, you get 71 hours of recording time and a frequency range of 50 Hz to 15 kHz (cassette tape recorder territory), while at the highest XQ mode, you can get 35 hours with a frequency range of 50 Hz - 19 kHz. You also can use one of three mono recording modes.
It’s a music player
While the WS-331M won’t record in MP3 format, it will play music in either MP3 or WMA format. A small sliding switch on the side of the unit lets you select voice record mode or music playback mode. Included with the player is a feature called WOW XT, which is made up of a spatial enhancer (pseudo surround) and a bass enhancer. There are also controls that allow you to select how you want a selection played (e.g., random, repeat) and a built-in equalizer. Playback frequency range is 20 Hz - 20 kHz, which is the full range of sound humans can hear. Music on it sounds very good - this one easily competes with other dedicated MP3 players I’ve used.
The Olympus user manual gives a somewhat convoluted method of loading the unit with music using Windows Music Player, but I found it simpler to just drag a folder of tunes into the Music folder in the voice recorder.
Overall, this is a desirable if somewhat expensive unit. It can be used as a music player, a high-quality stereo recorder or a mono note taker - or a USB flash drive. It runs on a single AAA battery and is about the same size and proportions as an iPod Nano (the WS-331M is 95 x 38 x 11 mm and 47 grams compared to the Nano at 90 x 40 x 6.5 mm and 40 grams).
Voice recorders made the transition from analogue tape to solid state digital in the latter 1990s. While those early tapeless models were considered groundbreaking, the recently introduced Olympus WS-331M is an example of just how far this product category has evolved.
Of course, the world that the WS-331M enters is quite a different place as well. We users are more savvy about digital gadgets, but also more demanding of our digital devices. Moreover, digital audio isn’t just about consuming music any more. The global phenomenon of podcasting has turned many into audio producers who want to sound as good as professional radio broadcasters.
The WS-331M does a fine job of recording voice notes to yourself, or making a record of a lecture or business meeting. It’s set up with five folders and you can organize your recordings within them if you want. But if business or classroom note taking is all you want a voice recorder for, you’d be equally well served by a less expensive model. At $300, this flagship in Olympus’s line isn’t cheap, but here are some of the things beyond simple voice note taking you get for your coin.
It’s a USB flash drive
The body is made in two parts, and when you separate the lower "L" shaped module holding the single AAA battery, you expose a standard USB connector on the upper module. Plug it into a PC and it’s immediately recognized as a flash drive - and a biggie with two gigabytes of capacity. Recording at the lowest quality mono setting, that much capacity is good for around 550 hours of voice notes and musings, or more than 35 hours of high-quality stereo recording.
It records in stereo
Olympus says that recording group business meetings in stereo has some advantages in making it easier to distinguish individual speakers, thus helping the listener follow the flow of discussion, while also giving the whole group session a more natural sound. The unit comes with a built-in stereo microphone, but also has a 3.5 mm stereo mic jack so you can use a better mic if you need improved sound quality.
The WS-331M records in Windows Media Audio format, which offers a more efficient compression method than MP3 (e.g., equal sound quality with smaller file size or better sound quality with equal file size). Another big advantage in using this audio format is that no specialized software is needed to read the file. Thanks to Windows’ market penetration, most audio programs understand WMA including the Windows Media Player that comes free with Windows. In fact, the Olympus device does not come with any audio software, although you can download a free DSS Light Player if you are so inclined.
When you connect the recorder to your PC via USB, it shows up as just another USB device, so you can drag and drop the recorded files to your PC hard drive for editing or further processing. And this is yet another benefit. If you’d used an audio cassette recorder, you’d have to play back the file in real time and rerecord it by capturing the signal using your sound card’s line-in jack. Dragging and dropping a few hundred megabytes worth of audio files is nowhere near as arduous.
The Olympus unit offers three levels of stereo recording, all using a 44.1 kHz sampling rate. SP is the standard mode, and has a frequency range of 50 Hz-9 kHz, which is good for voice-only recording. The unit will record 142 hours in SP mode. In HQ mode, you get 71 hours of recording time and a frequency range of 50 Hz to 15 kHz (cassette tape recorder territory), while at the highest XQ mode, you can get 35 hours with a frequency range of 50 Hz - 19 kHz. You also can use one of three mono recording modes.
It’s a music player
While the WS-331M won’t record in MP3 format, it will play music in either MP3 or WMA format. A small sliding switch on the side of the unit lets you select voice record mode or music playback mode. Included with the player is a feature called WOW XT, which is made up of a spatial enhancer (pseudo surround) and a bass enhancer. There are also controls that allow you to select how you want a selection played (e.g., random, repeat) and a built-in equalizer. Playback frequency range is 20 Hz - 20 kHz, which is the full range of sound humans can hear. Music on it sounds very good - this one easily competes with other dedicated MP3 players I’ve used.
The Olympus user manual gives a somewhat convoluted method of loading the unit with music using Windows Music Player, but I found it simpler to just drag a folder of tunes into the Music folder in the voice recorder.
Overall, this is a desirable if somewhat expensive unit. It can be used as a music player, a high-quality stereo recorder or a mono note taker - or a USB flash drive. It runs on a single AAA battery and is about the same size and proportions as an iPod Nano (the WS-331M is 95 x 38 x 11 mm and 47 grams compared to the Nano at 90 x 40 x 6.5 mm and 40 grams).
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