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Questions & Answers

Lennox J : Hello I'm thinking of getting this, how far can this recorder be pick up voices?Allison S : I've used this recorder for interviews and focus groups, most of which have been fairly close. Across a conference table is the furthest I have needed. I will say that it does a great job of recording even very quiet voices and in the recordings I have been able to easily understand voices over background noise. I feel like if I can hear the person, the recorder will have no problem picking it up. I hope this helps!JOSEPH K : It works well within a foot or so of a speaker but picks up other sounds in the room quite clearly.Austin F : If they are in the same room of a house and the recorder is in a good location it picks it up.
Shopper : Can you do live listening as recording?FATHIMA AMEENA N : No, I don’t believe you can as that is a protective feature of the recording.
VALERY R : Can you plug a microphone into this?Allison S : Yes: there are microphone and headphone jacks on the bottom of the recorder.NANCY R : No you cannot. It comes with 2 built in Mics. Go to Olympus website for Demo.VICKY H : Yes. There is an outlet for an external mic and one for ear phones.LANGSTON J : yes. There are two outputs - one for a microphone and headphonesKRISTIN C : You can, it has a 3.5mm jack input.JIM W : Yes you can.

Reviews about this item

Review Summary

2022-03-01T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Tough Recorder

I am assigned the Olympus WS-852 for my work as a Detective of a Police Department. I admire the quality of the recorder, and ease of downloading files to my Cases. The most important thing that happened to me today was that I left the recorder on top of my vehicle during an interview of a suspect. I forgot that the recorder was on top of the car, and I drove off. While traveling 50 mph, I heard the recorder fall off of the roof of my vehicle and I observed it hit the concrete and tumble down the road. I turned around and got out of my car to retrieve the recorder. Before I got to the recorder, I observed another car run completely over the recorder (tire rolls over the recorder itself), in which the recorder fly's into the air and hit the pavement again. I observed that one of the batteries had come out of the recorder. Yes the recorder was scratched up after the incident. I replaced the battery and the recorder works perfectly!!!!! I believe that this is amazing!!!!.. Great Job Olympus on a damn tough recorder!!!!!

chuck

2020-01-28T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Top Performance

Have used the recorder for sailboat races and it performed to my expectations. Loved the built in USB to transfer the recordings to my computer, rather than having to hunt for the right cord.

Chuck

2019-11-22T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

A sound purchase!

Small, easy to use, great sound quality! I bought this to record samples of songs I have written, and this works like a charm! Although, obviously not studio quality, it is more than fair to say it captures what is needed for my purposes. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a similar solution.

JoeG

2019-09-27T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

A dynamic little DVR.

The WS-852 is awesome. I was out of town but I showed a friend how to use it and she recorded a meeting (12-15 present) in a grade school class room set to the default settings and worked great even for the soft spoken speakers. Took a little bit to figure out the filing system but basically turned it on, pressed record and done. Loading on to PC was easy as well. Large files had to be uploaded to Google drive to share in gmail.

Don

2018-07-30T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Simple to use and great audio output

Really easy to use and portable but a bit thick. Gets the job done without a hassle.

danny

2018-06-20T09:14:51

Rated 5 out of 5

Olympus WS-852

I really like this voice recorder. It is compact, very good controls, and it is priced reasonably. The recorded sounds are very clear and playback is excellent. Good buy, good tool.

Denis C.

2018-06-07T08:35:20

Rated 5 out of 5

Great and Versatile

We have many of these digital recorders, and they are the best. Great sound quality, and versatile in that it can record to internal memory or MicroSD, which is hard to find. Super easy to use also.

Courtney K.

2017-09-26T01:23:36

Rated 5 out of 5

Olympus WS-852 is easy to use, has good quality recording

Olympus Ws-852: easy to use, good quality recording, has a display for the number of remaining hours left on the battery so you can change the battery before running out of power. Nice recorder, good replacement for earlier models.

TERESA H.

2017-04-08T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Easy-to-use

This is my second Olympus Voice Recorder for personal use and I am not disappointing (although I lost my first one while on a trip). It is easy-to-use and functional for needed audio recording. Overall gets the job done.

Lance

2017-03-23T11:29:54

Rated 4 out of 5

Testing

Easy to use and so clear

Dena M.

2017-02-07T09:30:37

Rated 3 out of 5

Good recording

I've only used the recorder a few times, but it is easy to use, recording quality is good, and it does a good job of cancelling out background noise. What I do not like about it is that it isn't rechargeable and requires AAA batteries. It turned on a few times in my bag (not a problem I've had with other recorders) and used up the battery power quickly without me noticing. This is annoying and inconvenient.

Allison S.

2016-07-21T08:25:15

Rated 5 out of 5

WS852

Works fine

Michael K.

2016-07-04T08:39:01

Rated 2 out of 5

It's okay. Wish I had gotten rechargeable batteries.

This is tiny! Wish I had gotten an external microphone and one that was rechargeable. The battery cover was almost impossible to remove and now does not stay on properly. For the price, it's okay. Already looking for another option and using this in the interim. My original was stolen. So, as a back up, will do.

LEE T.

2016-06-09T12:43:38

Rated 5 out of 5

This recorder is a very good tool to be used for various recording applications

This recorder is a very good tool to be used for various recording applications, It is pocket size, and has all of the larger sized and more expensive recorder's features.

THOMAS S.

2016-04-18T16:46:56

Rated 4 out of 5

Obviously not serious sound equipment but a nice addition to your camera bag.

I purchased this to record bird calls and forest sounds to include in my "slideshows and I-Movies. works surprisingly well, simple to use and sound quality good for what I intend to use it for. Very easy to load Mp3 fils into your iTunes library . Obviously not serious sound equipment but a nice addition to your camera bag.

STAN K.

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Olympus WS-852 Specifications

  • Microphone sensitivity

    Hi/Lo/Auto

  • Voice activated recording

    VCVA/Voice Sync.

  • Internal microphone frequency range

    70-17,000Hz

  • Stereo/Mono (Built-in microphone)

    Stereo

  • Recording format

    MP3

  • 44.1kHz/128kbps

    Approx. 65hr.

  • 44.1kHz/64kbps (mono)

    Approx. 131hr.

  • 11.025kHz/8kbps (mono)

    Approx. 1040hr.

  • Internal memory

    4GB

  • External memory

    microSD (Max.32GB)

  • PC connectivity

    USB Direct

  • Playback speed control

    2.0X - 0.5X

  • Forward skip

    (File skip, 10sec, 30sec, 1min, 5min, 10min)

  • Reverse skip

    File skip, 1sec to 3sec, 5sec, 10sec, 30sec, 1min, 5min)

  • Recording & playback scene select

    Only recording

  • Index mark

    Max .99

  • Power requirements

    AAA alkaline battery x2, or AAA Ni-MH rechargeable battery x2

  • Battery life - Recording

    Approx. 110hr.

  • Speaker /Maximum output

    Built-in 20mm round dynamic speaker/ 250mW

  • Microphone jack

    3.5mm (impedance 2k)

  • Earphone jack

    3.5mm (impedance 8 or more)

  • Dimensions (HxWxD)

    111.5 x 39 x 18mm

  • Weight (including batteries)

    77g

  • UPC Code

    050332189737

About Olympus WS-852

FEATURED REVIEWS

A sound purchase!

By JoeG

Small, easy to use, great sound quality! I bought this to record samples of songs I have written, and this works like a charm! Although, obviously not studio quality, it is more than fair to say it captures what is needed for my purposes. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a similar solution.

Tough Recorder

By chuck

I am assigned the Olympus WS-852 for my work as a Detective of a Police Department. I admire the quality of the recorder, and ease of downloading files to my Cases. The most important thing that happened to me today was that I left the recorder on top of my vehicle during an interview of a suspect. I forgot that the recorder was on top of the car, and I drove off. While traveling 50 mph, I heard the recorder fall off of the roof of my vehicle and I observed it hit the concrete and tumble down...

View full Review

Olympus WS-852 audio recorder, features True-Stereo Mic and two new intuitive modes for effortless, high-quality recordings in small offices, large lecture halls and beyond.

The WS-852 combines enhanced recording capabilities with the new True-Stereo Mic, which positions two directional microphones at a 90-degree layout to capture a realistic stereo feeling that can spatially discern the position of the speaker in meetings and conferences. The new Intelligent Auto Mode function makes it easier than ever to capture clear recordings by automatically adapting the microphone's sensitivity according to the recording environment and the volume of the speaker.

A built-in stand on the back of the slim, ultra-portable recorder props it up for easy display viewing, menu access, and noise reduction of unwanted sound pick-up on the surface.

New Simple Mode is designed with the beginner in mind and presents the most important functions of the device in large font on the LED screen display and limits menu functions to the popular actions. Adding to its ease of use are recording scenes that adjust the device to the optimal recording settings. Telephone Recording and Duplication are new scenes that can be used in combination with optional accessories to easily record or duplicate telephone conversations and dub cassette tapes.

The silver WS-852 features 4GB of internal memory and up to 1040 hours of recording in MP3.

The WS-852 Recorder provides an impressive 110 hours of battery life and connect directly to the computer with a built-in USB for the seamless

Olympus WS-852 Features

  • SUPERB STEREO QUALITY WITH THE TRUE STEREO MIC: The two directional microphones positioned at a 90½ layout enable an authentic stereo experience. Regardless of where the person speaking is located you clearly capture the recording scene
  • INTELLIGENT AUTO MODE AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS MICROPHONE SENSITIVITY: The Intelligent Auto Mode automatically adjusts the microphone sensitivity according to the volume of the sound source, this provides an even level of volume for the listener.
  • SIMPLE MODE, PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS: The Simple Mode supports beginners by having the recorder display only the necessary information in large font. It also limits the functions in the menu tothose which are frequently used.
  • USB DIRECT CONNECTION WITHOUT REQUIRING A CABLE: Save data easily and conveniently with the built-in USB connector.
  • THE BUILT-IN STAND PREVENTS SURFACE VIBRATION: The built-in stand on the back of the body is carefully designed to reduce surface noise.
  • VOICE FILTER MAKES PLAYBACK MORE CLEAR: By eliminating the lower and higher frequency ranges of a voice recording, the speakers' voice is enhanced during playback.
  • LONG BATTERY LIFE YOU CAN RELY ON: With reduced power consumption, battery life is significantly improved. Users can rely on the recorder for over 1,000 hours of recording time.
  • MULTIPLE SCENE SELECT OPTIONS: Choose from one of seven recording scenes and your recorder will adjust to the optimal recording settings. Telephone Recording and Duplication Mode can be usedin combination with optional accessories.
  • FILE SEARCHING IS EASY WITH THE CALENDAR FUNCTION: Find what you're looking for. Fast. Saved audio files are automatically organized by date and displayed in the calendar.
  • DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING RATING "6 DRAGON": The WS-852 was awarded 6 Dragons, for the highest recognition rating when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking software from Nuance Communications, Inc. Dragon automatically turns your talk into text and can make virtually any computer taskeasier and faster.

Key Features

  • INTELLIGENT AUTO MODE AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS MICROPHONE SENSITIVITY
  • FILE SEARCHING IS EASY WITH THE CALENDAR FUNCTION
  • USB DIRECT CONNECTION WITHOUT REQUIRING A CABLE
  • SUPERB STEREO QUALITY WITH THE TRUE STEREO MIC
  • THE BUILT-IN STAND PREVENTS SURFACE VIBRATION
  • DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING RATING "6 DRAGON"

What's in the box:

  • 2 x AAA batteries