Olympus LS-100 24-Bit/96 KHz Multi-Track PCM Recorder, Supports Upto 140 dBspl Sound Pressure, 4GB Built-In Flash Memory, Multi-Track Upto 999 Tracks

2016-05-12T20:00:00

The mic quality is very good on the LS-100 and it has some useful functionalities. BUT there are major flaws which have made me regret choosing this device over other similar ones like the zoom H4n. For stand-alone recording it works fine - though I have found the metronome function to be all but unusable, which is limiting. However, sometimes I want to record through the LS-100 directly into my DAW, so that I can mix and edit quickly and easily while still getting the good mic sound from the LS-100. Not possible - there is a very strange and horrible feedback that creeps in after a few minutes of recording. I had very lengthy email exchanges with some of the Olympus tech support people who were trying to help solve the issue, but at some point they just gave up and stopped trying, which was very disappointing. So I've ended up with a recorder which only does half of what I want it to do. A friend who bought a zoom H4N round the same time uses that with no problem directly connected to his computer. Bad choice on my part to have gone with the LS-100!

Kitty

Originally posted at

2016-04-20T20:00:00

Pros: Typical solid Olympus construction; one which has a professional feel and the controls won’t make you wonder how long it will last. The raised lower edge with a U-shaped indentation was a well thought out ergonomic design feature. It allows you to hold the recorder easily without having to worry about accidentally hitting any controls. Studio grade internal microphones and pre-amps for external sources. Flexible i/o; XLR, phono, and a mini true microphone/line level input which can be set to microphone or line. Phantom power and plug-in power. Separate L/R recording level controls that are exquisitely designed. They are ganged within one knob and require intentional effort to offset them. Dedicated phantom power switches. This allows both quick access as well as extended battery life if for example you wish to use a condenser microphone in one channel and a guitar or line level source in the other. It also eliminates potential noise due to phantom power running on an input which is not using it. Dedicated erase button to quickly erase a file as well as setting markers to erase a section. Both are quick and easy. Voice guidance system. This is a godsend to a blind person such as myself who has been documenting, notating, and memorizing invisible menus since the inception of digital recorders. And I applaud Olympus for being the first (as far as I know) and only company to offer such to the blind community on their mainstream products. To me it’s a very sweet icing on a delicious little digital cake. Finally the fun factor has truly returned to mobile recording for me. Cons: The internal microphones are extremely sensitive to the slightest of air movement. And given that there is no wind-screen included or an optional one available one must conjure up their own to record in anything but a still environment. The entire body of the unit is also very sensitive to air movement. The limiters break the one and only golden rule on limiters; that is, they are not linked when recording in stereo. The result often renders them useless. And at best I can’t use them due to the unpredictable factor. Simply speak into the center of the microphones while recording with either limiter on and snap your fingers next to one microphone. Your voice will be hurled over to the other channel and it will take 5 to 10 seconds for it to slowly slide back into the center position. Now imagine a more practical recording session wherein a loud staccato sound emanates from one side. The entire stereo image will be hurled over to the other side. This is a definite digital doggy downer. But I assume it can be corrected in a firmware update. And my experience with Olympus has been very good in this regard. Multi-track mode is an absolute bare-bones multi-track recorder; record, adjust levels and pan, and bounce down. You’re done. That’s it. No processing available, e.g. EQ, reverb, delay, etc. There is a delay in the headphone output. It’s tolerable but it may be a bit disconcerting and/or distracting to some when monitoring yourself speaking, singing, and/or playing an instrument. Changing playback speed adds a very pronounced flutter to the sound. Conclusion: If not for the cons cited above this would certainly be an across the boards 5 star recorder. And yet, for the price? Still nothing can touch it. To me it’s a rock solid studio quality portable stereo recorder that is truly capable of recording tracks that can be dropped into a mix wherein every other track has been recorded with much more expensive gear. It’s not quite a grand slam, but it’s certainly a home run in portable recorders. Especially when considering the price. And I’m confident that Olympus will improve this recorder with firmware updates.

arnold

Originally posted at

2015-10-05T20:00:00

Simply speak into the center of the microphones while recording with either limiter on and snap your fingers next to one microphone. Your voice will be hurled over to the other channel and it will take 5 to 10 seconds for it to slowly slide back into the center position. Now imagine a more practical recording session wherein a loud staccato sound emanates from one side. The entire stereo image will be hurled over to the other side. This is a definite digital doggy downer. But I assume it can be corrected in a firmware update. And my experience with Olympus has been very good in this regard. Multi-track mode is an absolute bare-bones multi-track recorder; record, adjust levels and pan, and bounce down. You’re done. That’s it. No processing available, e.g. EQ, reverb, delay, etc. There is a delay in the headphone output. It’s tolerable but it may be a bit disconcerting and/or distracting to some when monitoring yourself speaking, singing, and/or playing an instrument. Changing playback speed adds a very pronounced flutter to the sound.

Robert

Originally posted at

2015-09-10T20:00:00

This is a nice product to purchase.The sound quality is incredibly good. I have a few ($) mics and very nice preamps to go with them and the built in mics hold their own against almost anything. The multi track is not usable for me due to the monitoring delay. It is something like .2 second or so. I'm not sure, but it's a lot. Maybe this is something that will improve as they refine the software. The overdub function works fine. You can lay a stereo track right into an existing one and end up with a file that is a mix of both.

Robert

Originally posted at

2012-06-20T20:00:00

I originally had an issue with latency on the multitrack side, needing to overcome this issue, I decided to change the record rate to 16bit to see if this would correct the latency issue and suprisingly it did. I made severval recordings at this rate and they seemed perfectly in sync. Later that evening I decided to switch back to 24bit only as a test. The 24bit rate now appear to be syncing with my original playback tracks. if even using only 16bit in multitrack mode solves my issue, then I ask that my previous review be canceled and give this unit 5 stars.

WebbSonz

Originally posted at

2012-03-24T20:00:00

The sound quality is incredibly good. I have a few ($) mics and very nice preamps to go with them and the built in mics hold their own against almost anything. The multi track is not usable for me due to the monitoring delay. It is something like .2 second or so. I'm not sure, but it's a lot. Maybe this is something that will improve as they refine the software. The overdub function works fine. You can lay a stereo track right into an existing one and end up with a file that is a mix of both. It would be sweet if you could record using the built in mics and also the aux inputs. Then you could put a couple of spot mics on things and do some amazing stuff on the fly. This also seems like something they will add as soon as processing power allows. It's very easy to get the files on to a pc. Overall the design, build quality and the sound are just so spectacular that I have to give this machine 5 stars. The user interface is very clear and easy to get around on. The menus are fairly intuitive in comparison to other like products.

Hanssc

Originally posted at

2012-02-24T19:00:00

Pros: Typical solid Olympus construction; one which has a professional feel and the controls won’t make you wonder how long it will last. The raised lower edge with a U-shaped indentation was a well thought out ergonomic design feature. It allows you to hold the recorder easily without having to worry about accidentally hitting any controls. Studio grade internal microphones and pre-amps for external sources. Flexible i/o; XLR, phono, and a mini true microphone/line level input which can be set to microphone or line. Phantom power and plug-in power. Separate L/R recording level controls that are exquisitely designed. They are ganged within one knob and require intentional effort to offset them. Dedicated phantom power switches. This allows both quick access as well as extended battery life if for example you wish to use a condenser microphone in one channel and a guitar or line level source in the other. It also eliminates potential noise due to phantom power running on an input which is not using it. Dedicated erase button to quickly erase a file as well as setting markers to erase a section. Both are quick and easy. Voice guidance system. This is a godsend to a blind person such as myself who has been documenting, notating, and memorizing invisible menus since the inception of digital recorders. And I applaud Olympus for being the first (as far as I know) and only company to offer such to the blind community on their mainstream products. To me it’s a very sweet icing on a delicious little digital cake. Finally the fun factor has truly returned to mobile recording for me. Cons: The internal microphones are extremely sensitive to the slightest of air movement. And given that there is no wind-screen included or an optional one available one must conjure up their own to record in anything but a still environment. The entire body of the unit is also very sensitive to air movement. The limiters break the one and only golden rule on limiters; that is, they are not linked when recording in stereo. The result often renders them useless. And at best I can’t use them due to the unpredictable factor. Simply speak into the center of the microphones while recording with either limiter on and snap your fingers next to one microphone. Your voice will be hurled over to the other channel and it will take 5 to 10 seconds for it to slowly slide back into the center position. Now imagine a more practical recording session wherein a loud staccato sound emanates from one side. The entire stereo image will be hurled over to the other side. This is a definite digital doggy downer. But I assume it can be corrected in a firmware update. And my experience with Olympus has been very good in this regard. Multi-track mode is an absolute bare-bones multi-track recorder; record, adjust levels and pan, and bounce down. You’re done. That’s it. No processing available, e.g. EQ, reverb, delay, etc. There is a delay in the headphone output. It’s tolerable but it may be a bit disconcerting and/or distracting to some when monitoring yourself speaking, singing, and/or playing an instrument. Changing playback speed adds a very pronounced flutter to the sound. Conclusion: If not for the cons cited above this would certainly be an across the boards 5 star recorder. And yet, for the price? Still nothing can touch it. To me it’s a rock solid studio quality portable stereo recorder that is truly capable of recording tracks that can be dropped into a mix wherein every other track has been recorded with much more expensive gear. It’s not quite a grand slam, but it’s certainly a home run in portable recorders. Especially when considering the price. And I’m confident that Olympus will improve this recorder with firmware updates.

TKO

Originally posted at