Olympus WS-853 Black Voice Recorder with True Stereo mic, 8GB, 110 Hours Battery Life, Voice Balance, Direct USB Connection, with MP3 File Format.

This is the newest DVR in Olympus' WS series - it just came out in September. I never had a DVR before, and I don't know what the word "intuitive" means. Nevertheless, I was able to get it up and running quickly without asking for help. I attend hour-long lectures quite often, by different lecturers in rooms of different sizes: large, medium, and small. In each case, I keep the DVR on my table and record the lecturer from up to 60 feet away. I set the mode to 'conference' and the volume at about half-way, and the recording is as clear as a bell! I keep each lecturer in a different folder - there are five of them - so I can select a particular lecturer and date for playback in a moment. Pros: fits in my shirt pocket recordings are perfectly clear 140 hours of recording time on the device rechargeable batteries reasonable price Cons: compatibility with different OSs are not listed anywhere; not on Amazon, and not even on the Olympus web site. Only when I received the DVR did I become aware that it isn't compatible with my computer, as the DVR package had the compatible OSs on the outside. Caveat: if you have a Windows OS below Vista (I have XP), the DVR won't be compatible. That may be a problem when you want to recharge the batteries that come standard installed, as the recharging mechanism is ONLY through a USB v3 plug (or optional compatible cable). There should be an alternate method of recharging the batteries. File transfer (to the computer) is also only through the same USB plug, so that may prove to be a problem as well. One final comment: although the recording is just about perfect, the playback volume is very low on the built-in 250 mw speaker, even with the volume set all the way up. With headphones on, I can hear it clearly, but not as loud as I want it. In short: it's a great recorder, and if you can get around the problems, or if your computer is compatible, you'll have many hours of enjoyable recording and listening. UPDATE 12/2/2015 As mentioned above, I was told unequivocally that WS-853 is incompatible with Windows XP. I ordered the optional USB extension cable (KP-19). I got it today and I plugged the DVR into it. I pressed <OK> to start battery recharging, and I downloaded the recorded files onto my hard drive. No problem doing either one. I'm currently listening to one of the files though my computer's speakers, and there's no problem with the volume either. Incidentally, this lecture was recorded in a very large hall, where the lecturer was at least 60 feet away from the DVR. Perfect pickup, and perfect playback speed and volume! I'm changing my assessment to 5 stars.

I bought the Olympus 853 because I have had an Olympus WS-321 for 10 years that I have used 3 or more times a week and have loved. As the old one was starting to get a little problem although still usable, I decided to get a new one. I use it to record a weekly choral rehearsal so I can practice it during the week. For good sound quality I use headphones when I play it back as I practice. It sounds as though I am there at the rehearsal-excellent recording! I like the rechargeable battery and it seems to last a long time. I have only recharged it once and that was to make sure that I wouldn't run out of power during a recording. I like that, like my old one, it can be easily paused and restarted with the touch of a button so that I only get the parts of the rehearsal that I need and is all part of the same file. Although I could make separate files if desired. I can hear all of the voice parts and piano in the room although I do hear my own voice a little louder than the rest since I have it attached to my music folder. It has a much larger memory for files (8 GB) and also a micro card can be inserted for more memory as well as upload the files to my computer or external hard drive. I haven't done that yet. I like that I can find the file I want by using the included calendar which shows the days I made recordings and I can just use the arrow buttons to go back to them. There may be other great features that I haven't even tried yet. The only thing I would like to see changed is a larger opening for inserting a strap. Only a very thin wire or strong thread can be inserted which is necessary so I don't drop it. But I am very satisfied with my new voice recorder. I hope it lasts as long as my old one!

I used the Olympus Digital Voice Recorder for the first time a couple nights ago and it worked flawlessly. The aspects of this recorder that I like are: 1. The easy-to-select settings - like conference, telephone record, dictation. These are like pre-sets (they call Simple Mode) and I've found that the conference and dictation work wonderful and were easy to select/program. 2. I like the size of the recorder itself - small enough not to be cumbersome or obtrusive like the old cassette recorder was! 3. I LOVE that it has the USB right in it - press down on the button and slide it to pop the USB out, then plug it straight into your computer. No wires to fuss with or keep track of. I had our meeting uploaded and saved as an MP3 to my computer within seconds of the meeting being over. 4. I like the size of the data capabilities. Difficult to find 8GB in any recorder anymore. The recorder comes with a case and rechargeable batteries. You put the batteries into the recorder and plug it into your computer to charge. There is a small charge on them to begin with, but it took around an afternoon to get them to fully charged. 5. Finally, I TRULY appreciated the fast and easy shipment from this seller. I actually had ordered this exact same recorder from another online company back in June. Just about weekly I would receive a message the delivery was delayed. When I got the message that it wouldn't be delivered until September (and in reality, it probably would have been delayed more) I got irritated and went to Amazon and Bluetek to order the same thing I should have been using since June. I had it in my hands in 2 days!!!! Can you tell I was irritated with the delay from that other company?! Now then, the CONS. 1. The instruction book leaves a little to be desired. It has pictures/diagrams and writing - in 24 languages! - but even being a "follow the directions" kind of girl, I still had to fiddle with the recorder on my own to get to where I wanted to go. It's not difficult, but the instructions don't really get you through all the final steps...especially if you have to back to change something. 2. The only other con I see...and this can be a big one...is that this recorder is an older model and therefore, will only work with Windows Vista,/ 7 / 8 / 8.1 and Mac OS X 10.5-10.10. I don't know much about Mac, but I do know that Windows is more advanced than 8.1, so keep that in mind when ordering.

I purchased the identical product over six years ago - this rating is based on that recorder. I use it primarily to record my Sunday sermons which I upload to a web page. About a month ago, the USB connector gave signs of internally failing - the device was not recognized by the computer. After some insertions, finally was able to get it to work. A call to Olympus tech said this is the usual mode of failure. Fortunately, was able to work long enough to download the previous years messages still on internal storage to computer. I then began to record to the Micro SD card until I received the new one and transfer from card to my PC, etc. I could just keep using in this mode except for the bother of moving card in and out each week. That leads to first suggestion - would be a nice feature if could transfer on the recorder from internal storage to SD card. Also, the recorder does not recognize a card with storage over the 32 GB - no big deal. Would also like it to have a back lit screen - it does not. The menus, if you don't change settings often, are a little onerous, but has good instruction. (Thus the 4 star for easy to use - it ain't rocket science though) Since I set the recording feature for close up recording, I usually keep in my shirt pocket, I don't know how well the other conference settings work in record mode. One other good feature is the option to record on one of five folders. All in all, a great device with good bang for the buck. I will give the old device which should have many years of service left to someone else to use with proviso to record on card . Another suggestion to extend life of USB connector as I am now doing is to use a short extension cable to PC to more gently make the connection.

I have a need to record certain podcasts for about 2 hours daily. My iPhone recorder application works fine but I need a backup. I tried a Sony, but I quickly got a "memory full" notification and couldn't get rid of it. I also tried a couple of different SD cards but couldn't get them to work on the Sony. I also bought a Tascam DR 05, but the recorded sound was poor. So far I find the Olympus WS-853 to be a superior product. It is small in size. The recorded sound is great. A 32 Gig SD card works great. When the SD card is inserted the recorder asks if you want to use the external SD card for memory. I has a retractable USB connector which works great. The USB connector also doubles as a means of recharging the AAA rechargeable batteries. I haven't used it long enough to determine battery life. The controls are easy to use. I find the screen easy to read. The speaker is small and delivers average sound, but this is a small unit. One cannot expect the speakers to be great. However earphones connected to the unit work great. In short, a most impressive unit. I may change my mind in a few weeks, but so far so good.

I used it immediately for a series of in person interviews and also for phone interviews with the phone on speaker mode. Sound quality is fine for my needs, and works fine in a room with 3-4 people being recorded for an interview. The manual is pretty much useless, but the controls are easy to figure out. It uploads recordings to my iMac or MacBook Pro via the built in USB connection. What is really cool and useful is that when I plug it into either Mac I can name the files with the name of the person interviewed and that name stays with files that stay on the recorder and those I transfer to the Mac. There may be a way to do this on the device itself but it is very easy to do on the computer. The supplied rechargeable batteries do a fine job and charge when the device is plugged into the computer. I have no sense of how long they last but I carry a spare set of batts anyway, so battery life is no biggie.

Great little recorder. Easy to use and setup. Voice activation is near perfect. Stays on indefinitely. Only complaint is that it goes to standby after 1 second. This creates some "chop" in recording conversations. Battery life was outstanding. Charged it before my wife's trip to Vegas. She had it on voice activation mode for 3 straight days and it came back nearly fully charged despite capturing 11 hours of audio. BTW, it picked up all the juicy bits I hoped, even when the sounds were across the hotel room. Great for surveillance if that's what you want, like me. But I wouldn't recommend it for covert surveillance. There are other products out there better suited for that purpose. Bottom line: easy to use, crisp audio, super long battery life, easy transfer to PC via USB, and small enough to be carried around in your wife's purse or her friend's back pocket.

A professional quality stereo voice recorder. I purchased this to replace a Sony ICD-PX312 DVR which had failed about one week out of warranty. I could not be happier with my new unit. Operation is easy, flexible, and logical; sound quality is quite good; the speech recognition rate with Dragon Naturally Speaking is excellent. Overall, I expect this device to last a long time; unlike the Sony, it is solidly constructed--it's like a little brick. Its controls are solid and positive, unlike the Sony's--the Sony's broke even though it was hardly used at all, and then used gently. It's very well designed. It offers a male USB connector you can plug into your computer; using it you can recharge the recorder's batteries as well as transfer files directly to applications (like Dragon) on your system. Speech recognition is automatic (and very accurate); just drage a dictation file to Dragon and the rest is automatic. Finally, this has an owner's manual you'll never lose. It's stored as a PDF file in the recorder's memory. All in all, an extremely thoughtful, and very sturdy design.