Sep 022013
Olympus VN-702PC Voice Recorder
- 2Gb Internal Memory, With Micro SD Card Slot
- USB Connectivity To Email, Edit And Archive
- Mp3 & Wma Recording
- 823 Hours Of Recording Time
- Built-In Stand
Olympus–VN-702PC audio recorder, captures stereo sound with an external condenser microphone and can record in both MP3 and WMA formats, 2 GB of internal memory resulting in over 850 hours of recording and has a microSD card slot with the potential to hold up to 32 GB of additional memory.
List Price: $ 59.99
Price: $ 39.00
Great product,
I have purchased over 20 of these for field recordings. All 20 have worked right out of the packaging with no problems.
- I love that these will record directly to MP3 so they are Mac friendly.
- Battery life (AAA) on these is quite good.
- Recording quality is great for what it is designed for. If you are looking for awesome quality use the Olympus LS-7 Linear PCM Voice Recorder (142670) but for everyday recording use, this is a great option.
What is it designed for? Classroom use, office use, dictation, and portability usage.
What is it not designed for? Professional recording.
***** UPDATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2012 *****
I have now purchased over 45 of these units. I have not had any failures in any of the units. We have used them with people of all levels of technological abilities and all have picked up quickly. Great little recorder for voice recording.
Was this review helpful to you?
Environmentally Friendly,
I have used this recorder a few times, outside and in. Several research partners have used it as well. Regardless of the setting or voice tone, the recorder works remarkably well. Whether in labs or outside near heavily used doors, the quality of the recording is great. Better than I ever could have expected. Set-up and of the manner features is a breeze.
Was this review helpful to you?
+6 recorder, -2 for wrist strap holder,
UPDATE 3/22/13: I’ve used this recorder now to make hundreds of audio recordings. Its batteries have gone out many times, due to so much use. Only once did I lose some of the recording, and that only a tiny part at the end. The sound clarity is good, even on the smallest file settings (like 48kbps). Am really surprised. Initial review, follows below the line.
—————————
UPSHOT: right now as I type, this is the lowest-priced and best Olympus recorder in Amazon – if you buy it from Amazon. There are other sellers of this unit advertising via Amazon who sell the 702PC for up to twice what I just paid for it (I paid less than $50). So compare prices, here in Amazon. I would have been willing to pay up to $80-90, but why do it if you don’t have to?
I fear even the Amazon-sold 702PC won’t remain cheap for long; but I feel duty-bound to say all this, after seeing how my older models are selling for 3x more than I paid for them, today here onsite. I made reviews on my other recorders, the WS-110, 960PC, and 1800, here in Amazon, so you can compare. All four models are sitting on my table as I type. ‘Mike’ did a review after mine here. You might want to read his review, before reading mine. He brings up certain points which aren’t wholly relevant to my usage, but might be important for yours. So what he says, I don’t cover in this review.
MY USAGE, so you can decide whether to keep reading: I intend to use this unit primarily as a portable storage device, plus to record lectures, make memos; and especially, to do voiceovers for my ‘brainouty’ Youtube videos.
So: I Just got this 702PC from Amazon. It is my fourth Olympus recorder; I’ve been using them for years, and all of them still work — well, on 7/17/2012 the 1800 died because I left the batteries in it for too long. With these recorders, you should remove batteries if you’ll not use the unit for awhile. Else the batteries can corrode the contact wires, or the long storage makes the software go crazy. You don’t lose your recording if you remove the batteries, for it’s all stored on a chip. You only lose the date and time, and maybe some of the other settings for the recorder. But you can’t lose, the recordings.
This 702PC has special features the others — even later models — don’t have.
================= PHYSICALITIES ======================
This unit feels more substantial, comfortable in the hand, versus the other models I have. It is about the thickness, width and heft of three AAA batteries (it holds 2 which ship with the unit), about the height of a CD jewel case. Big, convenient buttons. Optionally big letters on the LCD screen. Too much glare from the face plate. Contrast levels also don’t seem to make any difference. Try to pick the lowest size of letters and the lowest contrast to conserve power, especially if you’ll record a long lecture.
POWER ON and OFF is a slider toggle on the left side of the machine. Slide it down to turn on, and again to turn it off. Or, slide it up to HOLD and make it go into sleep mode. The screen stays on, when in sleep mode. You bring it out of sleep mode by moving the slider to the middle position. If you do nothing, it shuts down after five minutes, to conserve power.
================ COMPARISON and SALIENT FEATURES ================
This recorder differs from, say, the 710 and 700 models in a few key respects, and that’s why I bought this one, rather than those:
1. This recorder has PLASTIC buttons. I got sick of the slick metal buttons on my otherwise-beloved WS-110, with which I’ve made hundreds of voiceovers for videos.
2. This VN 702PC recorder has a STAND. Yes, you can pop open the stand at the back of the recorder, so you don’t have to hold it. So the recorder sits on the table at an angle while you talk. Hands-free. Don’t bump the table.
3. This recorder has two EXTRA BUTTONS, one for MENU and another for SCENE/CALENDAR. Handy features! MENU makes it easier to handle the recorder options (which are arcanely named), enabling you to scroll (by + and – buttons, with >> side of the wheel, as entry INTO a menu).
4. When you connect the recorder to your computer and rename the files you made, the recorder stores those files AS the date made, still; but the new name given, is retained. You can actually READ THE FILE NAMES in the recorder’s calendar, now. So you’re no longer stuck with folders and message numbers. Just scroll through the calendar. Also, after you’ve renamed files, when you scroll through your folders, each renamed FILE is at the very top of the screen! That’s a big improvement. Or of course, plug the thing into your computer to see file names, just as you can do on prior USB (usually named ‘PC’) models, going all the way back to WS-110.
5. This recorder allows a 32GB microSD…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?