Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM recorder

Can dictation devices do music?

The LS-10 features a tripod mount, ideal for tests in front of an acoustic guitar. It was here that the muddiness of the low-fi 64Kb/s WMA option became strikingly apparent. Fine as a notepad but for performances the WAV option is always best, with only dogs and small children likely to spot the difference between the various WAV resolutions.

Tripod-mountable for studio recording

The mêlée that is Covent Garden seemed an ideal place to test out Olympus' DiMagic mic enhancements by recording street performers. Wide mode, while teasing on the ears, was rather thin and gutless. Standard, a much warmer sound, helped contain some of the ambient noise, with Narrow suppressing it further with improved clarity, although dropping in level slightly. Zoom seemed to strip away the crowd but had hints of filtering artefacts. Moreover, choosing Off is an option worth considering in more controlled environments, as these mic settings can’t be undone after recording.

The LS-10 comes bundled with Cubase LE 4 for Mac and PC. For editing audio from the LS-10, it’s overkill, but is an enticement in itself and featured because of its support for 96kHz/24-bit audio files.

Verdict

The LS-10 is a bit of a chimera with designs on the semi-pro market and yet has no dedicated line output, just a headphone socket, and is lumbered with antiquated file handling. Cueing audio is a nightmare and the built-in stereo speakers are pathetic, when one larger unit with more bass and volume would have been more suitable. The reverb option is fine for acoustic noodling, and Euphony playback settings bolster the sound, but the absence of an equaliser is inexplicable.

It seems that the LS-10 falls victim to its voice recorder heritage and has had various off-the-shelf enhancements bolted on and yet some useful ones, such as voice activation, removed to give it credibility. Evidently, Olympus has the potential to make a great portable recorder, but there is still work to be done, particularly on the user interface, as remodelling a dubious design just isn’t sound thinking.