Olympus WS-311M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player
By: Oympus Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 23
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 On: 2008-05-06
No elaborate review here.... Just gonna say that sound quality is good and the price is right. Unit has a flimsy feel to it, but it is nice and small and I like that. Worth the price.
On: 2008-05-05
Im a reporter and need quality audio, and this unit delivers. Outstanding quality, even with just the condensor mic! Plus, all you need to do is pull the unit apart and plug it into a usb port and the audio plays through media player. Other units Ive had needed a patch cord and software. Ive only loaded a couple songs on it, but its easy to do and sounds great, even with twinky headphones.
On: 2008-04-27
I find this little gizmo indispensable when I want to record something in a flash. There are so many features but the fat instruction book covers them all and makes it easy to use. Its great that you can just detach the bottom and stick it into a computer, but on my laptop the recorder juts out beyond the base of the laptop so in effect I have to hold the laptop up so as not to put all the weight on the unit. Luckily they enclose a short USB to USB cable that fixes that problem.
It can play mp3s as promised, and the slow-down speed-up feature works for those as well. I especially like that you can set track markers and play certain parts over and over again. Quality is excellent, though it doesnt sound too good coming through the internal speaker. Better to use headphones or transfer to your computer, which is also a cinch.
While I was hoping to pay less, I think the $80 is worth it if you plan to use it a lot. I have not used any of the lower-priced ones, but just by looking at the feature list, I am glad I spent a little more.
On: 2008-04-26
I love it. It works great in a classroom setting as well as a one-on-one interview. A little confusing to use, but I get confused by microwave operation...
 On: 2008-04-23
I purchased this unit in March to record college lectures. Every third time I set it down, the recording mode shuts off temperamentally. When I tried to talk to Olympus today about my problem, I was told Id have to send the unit into them for 4-6 weeks with no other option. Without purchasing a new unit, I would not be able to record the lectures--why I bought it in the first place. They were very uncooperative and were not willing to work with me to find any alternative with an attitude of "too bad its your problem."
Lesson learned...when you buy Olympus, you roll the dice. If the product works as advertised, you win. If not, "Too bad, its your problem."
On: 2008-04-21
I like my WS-311. Very slim and elegant. Sound is great. Easy to use. No headache when transfering file to a PC with the USB. Once you connect it to your PC, the folders are already there, just do copy and paste or drag music/voice file to the folder, connect the battery hub and you are on the go. Reasonable price for a great product. I used to buy cheap stuff, they lasts only for months and I ended up buying other brands.
 On: 2008-04-17
I bought this product for the sole purpose of recording seminars. Poor Variable Control Voice Actuator (VCVA) function ruins this otherwise excellent digital recorder.
VCVA records only when the device senses sound. Hence it helps trim out downtime and is an important time-saving function when listening to recorded material.
What Ive found is that the VCVA is not sensitive enough to work properly unless the lecturer speaks directly to the recorder within about 3 feet. So even when I am sitting in the front row, this device still misses out reocrding most part of a lecture when I set it at the VCVA mode.
 On: 2008-04-16
Easy to use and very easy to transfer files to computer. Just pop out the case and you can directly plug it into usb port. This is my first digital voice recorder, so I can not say how it commpares with other recorders out there but I am extremely happy with this. The quality of sound and we use it for our daughters music class. It picks up other unwanted noices also and hoping high end ones have a feature to reduce it. Best bang for the buck!
On: 2008-04-09
I needed a voice recorder to record some classes I was taking by telephone, and this seems to work great in connection with the Olympus TP7 Telephone Pickup (available at my local Radio Shack). No interference, and the phone call (both sides of the conversation) is loud and clear. Operation is extremely intuitive. I had already successfully used most of the features before I cracked open the manual to see if there were any features I wasnt aware of.
I went to Frys to see if they could help me record a telephone conversation, and the sales person looked at me as if I were talking in a foreign language. Thank goodness a little Internet searching produced this elegant, flexible, and convenient solution.
On: 2008-04-04
I bought an Olympus W-10 a few years ago. Not a bad device, but when I tried to install software on my new Vista laptop, Olympus told me "Too bad. Your device is just outdated." And, "No, we dont have any plans of supporting your device on Windows Vista". I think that says it all. Unless you want to buy one of these every few years.
On: 2008-03-26
As an elementary music teacher, I often have a need to make recordings. After researching my options, on a limited budget, I chose this digital voice recorder to record my grand piano playing vocal parts. At first I was very disappointed, until told to listen through the ear buds, not the speakers on the tiny device! What sounded awful at first, ended up being the best piano recording I have ever heard from a portable device, which used to be a cassette recorder! The cds turned out great.
Today I recorded a saxophone soloist as I accompanied his piece we are preparing for a state honors concert in a few days. I just sat this small recorder on my windowsill and I am absolutely amazed at the sound quality! It sounds as good as when the band director brought all of his equipment and large microphones to my studio!
Often middle school or high school musicians are required to make a recording for seating or auditions. I would highly recommend this WS-311M to do the job!
On: 2008-03-26
I was impressed that it was really easy to use. I read the manual (100 pages) in a very short amount of time. I only read it to find out what features were available. I dont think I can record to mp3 but hey it makes up for that with the ease of use and quality of the recordings. I give it a 4 because i have to live with the wma format unless i convert it on my computer to something else :-( . The fact that it plays music too is a big plus. Easy to carry around. :-)
On: 2008-03-26
Small, easy to use, very sensitive microphone, logical controls, long (AAA) battery life. Olympus quality throughout. Was a little hard to find this model, but well worth the effort. MacOS X and Windows compatible.
On: 2008-03-25
Ive owned this for several weeks now, replacing an older Panasonic recorder. What can I say? Excellent battery life, GREAT recordings. It has settings for different types of recording, but is very intuitive. And the recording time on the highest quality setting is a little over 8 hours! I use it primarily for recording lectures. And one of the best features is that it records WVM files - just transfer from the recorder to your computer. No conversion necessary! Get one!
On: 2008-03-23
This is a nice product. It is small, has a long battery life on rechargables and does well what it was designed to do. I find it easy to operate and to use the navigation menu. When plugged into my laptop it functions like any other external storage device. (I have not used it as a music player.) For someone wishing to have multiple and/or extended voice recordings and wants to preserve then on their computer, this is an excellent choice.
On: 2008-03-20
Great product. I have been using it for learning Mandarin. Very easy to use. Great recording quality.
On: 2008-03-12
Wow, this item cost me a lot, but it is certainly MORE than worth it.
It is a very small (so small that I dont know what would happen if you drop it... hehe) and sleek voice recorder. There are several models of this WS series, and this was the most suitable for me because it has a lot of memory and it is actually quite cheap (funny thing, the previous model to this one -WS-300 I think- is more expensive, so youd be paying more for less memory).
Concerning memory, this little and amazing thing has 138h 30m when its in its lowest recording mode (LP). In the next mode (SP) it has 69h 40m, then in HG 35h 25m, in ST SP the same as the latter, in ST HG 17h 40m, and finally in ST XQ 8h and 45min. In my opinion there is a wide difference between the LP (worst) and ST XQ (better) modes. In the latter the quality of the audio is really amazing, you can definitely hear how good it is (lots of depth). In the former the quality is amazingly good, so if you record 138h 30m you will have 138h 30m of VERY good quality. The difference with the 1st mode is still a lot, but both modes are nothing short of amazing. The mode that I recommend using is the HQ or the ST SP, which gives you 25h 25m of very good quality recording but stlll with enough space for recording a lot.
I really liked that this model is basically a Voice-Recorder USB key, hence it is compatible with MAC! That i s the main reason why I chose this model, because since I have a Mac I obviously needed a (digital) recorder compatible with my computer, and it works perfectly. I just connect it to the port in my keyboard and voila, it appears!
I still havent managed how to open the aufio files with iTunes or to convert them to MP3, but hopefully Ill somehow manage.
Overall, I cannot stop recommending this to my friends, it is assuredly a useful and amazing digital voice recorder, and you most certainly wont regret buying it!
Cheers!
On: 2008-02-19
Tons of space. I use for lecture recording. Even the lower quality settings sound ok, with which you can hold literally hundreds of hours.
The only negative is that in higher quality/reduced storage mode, you would expect the recording to be very clear, but it really isnt that much better than the lower quality/high storage settings, which have that "watery, metallic" sound (if that makes any sense).
I wouldnt use it for "jotting down" a guitar lick because it wont sound good, but is very good for normal voice recording, even at a distance such as with a lecture - you have no problem understanding what people are saying on the recordings and it connects easily to computer with no wires required.
On: 2008-02-09
I have found the ws 311 m to be far better than I had expected- sound quality is excellent, the built in mic is effective for voice, and the controls for noise etc simply briliant to the ear. To say I am satisfied is too much an understatement! I know it is no i pod, but it also does far more of what I wanted-a voice recorder, and still gives me so much versatility with music that I am stunned. I am older perhaps, but I found this technology to be awesome...would I buy it again? I am looking for another to use as a backup. I can record all the trash talk in my office or even important notes to myself--all with one AAA batery, and a built in usb plugin that is just incredible. Go Olympus!!!
On: 2008-01-26
This unit has a "music" mode, that allows for playing MP3 files. I use the unit to play podcast (netcast) voice audio. The purpose of this review is to let readers know about how the "fast forward" and "rewind" functions work on this unit. I have not experimented with playback of voice files, but I presume its the same.
The large plus-shaped control you see on the front of the product allows you to initiate fast forward / skip forward and rewind / skip back. Pressing the right side of the control starts fast forward (FF). As you press and hold FF, nothing happens for a moment, then the unit beeps, then silently begins advancing through the currently playing recording. The longer you hold down the FF button, the higher the RATE of advancement. There is a nice "progress bar" on the screen that shows you the fraction of the recording that has passed. You can effectively position yourself to begin listening anywhere within the recording in just a few seconds. For instance, if you hold the FF button 5 seconds, youll advance 45 seconds. Hold 10 seconds for a 5 minute advance, 15 seconds for a 20 minute advance, and 20 seconds will take you over an hour into the recording (the rates seem to be about 10 seconds per second for seconds 2 through 5, 48 sec for 6-10, 240 sec for 11-15, and 480 sec for 16-20).
Instead of skipping forward, this unit also has the ability to playback at 150% speed. Of course that doesnt get you very far if you really want to advance ahead, but its great for podcasts that have clear speech, like professional radio, but not so good for less professional podcasts because theyre less understandable to begin with.
Another fact not described in the literature is whether the unit "saves your place" within a track if you have to stop listening. The news is good here: if you stop in the middle of a track, and "power off" (actually called "hold" from some strange reason), then "power on", you will start at the point you left off (not at the beginning of the track). You DO "loose your place" if you plug the unit into your computer via the USB port, or even switch to the voice mode, but are able to change the battery and still keep your spot.
In summary, this unit is great for the podcast listener who doesnt mind plugging in every day or so (its only got 512MB -- if you need more check the WS-331M). The FF controls are effective to skip commercials in podcasts and you can set it down for an hour or a day and when you hit play, you pick-up where you left off.
On: 2008-01-21
This recorder is easy to use, and has great recording clarity. I highly recommend it!
On: 2007-12-03
Excelent device for maintaining a brain memory in the pocket, connection to PC by USB and power to file any kind of document.Best quality stereo sound.
On: 2007-11-29
We bought this recorder for our sons music class, which requires very good recording quality. This recorder is definitly living up (and exceeding) our expectations. It is easy to record, play, move files to computer and into our iTunes library. We love it. Only minor gripe is that the product did not come with a strap and a carrying case. It costs a fortune to buy those separately.
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