Olympus WS-883 Digital Voice Recorder, Linear PCM/MP3 Recording Formats, USB-A Battery Charging, True Stereo Microphones, Low-Cut Filter and 8GB Built-in Memory (Black)

I got this for my 96 year old mother as my Tascam and my brother’s Zoom were too difficult for her to operate. It’s perfect for her. Preset for room recording and simple menu (not lecture hall) and she can operate it with one switch and two buttons. More than that and she gets a bit lost. It comes with 8gb internal memory, but I put a 32gb card in so she doesn’t have to think about it. I love the charging circuit for NiMh batteries and the maligned usb-a connector is great in my book. Do I wish all recording was LPCM and at a higher stereo sampling rate? Yes. Is my mother able to use it without fighting with the control software? YES. Could it replace my Tascam field recorder. No. Is it tiny and tough? Yes. If you don’t need higher sampling fidelity (or XLR connections or phantom power, etc.) this is an impressive little device.

Olympus quality. Sharp & clear sound. I've only used Olympus since I started court reporting 23 years ago. Always trusty & reliable. Very affordable.

Ease of use, durable and good price.

I bought and used the Olympus WS-803 for 11 years. It finally just died, wouldn't charge the battery anymore and when I put in fresh batteries it wouldn't stay on. I loved that recorder. So I did some research and found that some people considered the Olympus WS-883 the upgrade I needed. I ordered it from Amazon. It came fast. No issues there. But...after using it I find it to NOT be the upgrade to the WS-803 I wanted for two reasons. Let me Review! First, the Pros of the Olympus WS-883: Its ease of use and set up is just as good as the WS-803. I didn't even need the Instructions. All the buttons and functions were familiar, although some were in different positions or locations. The sound quality is awesome. When I present I always use the Lecture feature and the sound comes out crystal clear. I love that you can record to MP3. It makes it easy to edit, when I have to, using the software editors I already have. Its size is a little bigger, both height and depth, than the WS-803. But it seems to weigh almost nothing. The slider for the hidden USB is at the top, while the USB on the WS-803 was at the bottom. That took a little getting used to but wasn't a big deal for me. It actually is tighter and locks in place better than the WS-803. That was one of my cons for the WS-803. So a USB that locks in place and can get into hard to move-in drives is a plus! Second, the Cons of the Olympus WS-883: When you turn the device to the On position, it doesn't stay On until you turn it off. It must have a battery saver that I haven't been able to disable. I am a preacher and for 11 years was used to setting up my podium ahead of the services, including turning on the Voice Recorder, and then finding it still ready to hit the Record button around 20 minutes later when I took the podium for the lesson. The first time I tried that with the WS-883, when I came up to the podium it was OFF, and it took a few seconds to have to slide the switch to the Off position then back to On before I could hit Record. I rolled with it and now I keep it with me and turn it on as I walk up to the podium. A minor thing but it threw me off my groove! The second con for me is it doesn't light up when you hit the buttons. It lights up when you first turn it on. But I liked being able to see how long the recording was at a quick glance when I would hit the Stop button on the WS-803, since it lit up. Now I hit Stop and it remains dark so I either have to carry it off with me, which I am not used to doing but have done a few times, or wait until after the services. Again, not major cons, just annoyances to me and my habits. But I am forming new habits and hopefully this will serve me for another 11+ years! If those cons don't bother you, I recommend getting it. Because it wasn't a complete upgrade I gave it 4 stars!

So far so good. Holds the battery and has a lot of memory. I didn’t have to even buy an external memory card. I like that it is rechargeable. Also the voice recording quality is phenomenal and built in speaker is decent if you need to quickly play it back. I wish I could name the voice files though.

As a (voice) court reporting student, this was something I had to buy and am so glad I did. Fairly easy to use, has a built in USB plug so you can recharge it on your computer or even a cube, and rechargeable batteries. Doesn't seem to have volume control or at least what I can find, but I may be mistaken. All my dictation is recorded via my face mask and saved onto my computer in MP3 format. It works, and this was less expensive than other places. It's a good name brand and a worthwhile investment for students and others who need one.

This product broke on me two days ago. It is cheap and not worth the price. It lasted only 3 1/2 months.

In my humble opinion this is a really good Recorder, but for my personal needs there are 2 important un-met needs: 1. My unit has no Back-Light for the Display Screen. Therefore using it in a poorly lit area is heartbreaking. 2. It takes about 19 Seconds for my unit to initialize the Memory and come ready, each and every time I turn it on. This happens with the internal 8GB Memory and/or with my added 32GB SD Card. Probably not a problem if you don't need it to quickly come-ready when powered on.

For those curious, this device boasts a variety of recording options, including a versatile "rec scene" mode. This combines conference mode for wide and distant sound capture and dictation mode for clear close-up recording. I haven't delved into the other options yet, but the potential is promising. The sound quality is genuinely impressive. I initially planned to test this device and possibly upgrade to a Sony PCM A10 or higher-end model. However, after further use, I find no immediate need for an upgrade. For casual use, it's truly outstanding. It even handles MP3 playback well, with audio quality arguably surpassing an iPhone. That said, it doesn't quite match the level of a dedicated music player like a Samsung Galaxy player, particularly in bass definition. For the price, worth every penny.

Nice size to carry

i've tried several times as a senior to understand all this recorder has to offer i just cant get the understand it

not as good as original...but ok