Review on 🎙️ OM Digital Solutions DM-520 Digital Voice Recorder by Robert Pierce

As a member of a large, growing professional choral organization, I bought this tape recorder to replay our rehearsals and record my piano part in a friend's voice. I used to use a laptop with a computer headset mic and an old plain Olympus voice recorder. None of them offered enough sound quality to do what I needed. I've thought about buying a better mic for my computer, but a good enough mic costs about 66% of that purchase price considering most mics need a mic amp when plugged into a computer. . So I decided to get a voice recorder and I'm very glad I did. When I demonstrated the difference in sound quality between recordings made with my previous method and 520 recordings, everyone was shocked. I don't really compare apples to apples, but my favorite comment was "What!?!? This entry was made on THIS!?!? Sounds like a studio recording! It's really amazing how clear the recordings are. For my personal recordings, I simply put the 520 in a case and hung it on the book on my piano music stand while my friend played and sang. For our rehearsals I just put it in front of the chapel, which we use as a rehearsal room. Grips everything easily. I have no real experience with anything like this, but I didn't expect such impressive results. For all my recordings I use the automatic settings recommended by Olympus for music recording and use the uncompressed PCM format for the highest quality. The DM-520 is very easy to use once you get used to it. Pressing and holding the center OK/Menu button opens a menu where all settings can be adjusted. The display is very clear, crisp and easy to use. The keys have a nice feel and are spaced far enough apart that there's no risk of hitting the wrong key. I've included some photos here so you can see the case and get a better idea of its size in your hand. I'm 6ft tall with average sized hands so you can get an idea of his height. The device feels very solid, like it's a solid block, and it's a good weight. The case is made of plastic, but very robust. Again, I'm very impressed with the build quality. The battery feels like it lasts forever. I have a CLOCK recorder with fully uncompressed wave file (PCM) and it still shows full load. The built-in 4G storage can record almost 6 hours in the same uncompressed format or 1042 hours in the most compressed format - and anywhere in between depending on the quality needed. Tons of space. I had a small 2G Micro SD card that I put in to see how it works. I didn't have to format it or anything. It was easily recognized and worked flawlessly. I doubt I'll use it, but I'll leave it just in case. As for software and computer compatibility, I don't know why there are any complaints. I'm using Windows XP so the Sonority software works on my PC but I don't use it. I prefer to move the file myself. I plug in the USB cable and the computer recognizes "mass storage". I then use File Explorer to copy or cut the files and paste them wherever I want. Also, I prefer Audacity for editing files. It's a free program that's easy to find on the web and works great. I think it's a mistake to base the decision to buy a recorder on the software that comes with it. Sonority works fine but I don't like this freeware that anyone can get. Will I buy a Sonority? Of course not. Would I skip this recorder because it doesn't have a better program? Absolutely not. I doubt any recorder comes with a program that is good enough to overcome the base product's shortcomings. You can also use Windows Media Player to move files back and forth. I recommend you visit the Olympus website to download the full manual. It comes with a very abridged user manual as well as a small accordion quick start guide. I didn't print the complete manual, but I left it on my computer and refer to it if I need to know anything. I haven't used it since the first week. This little device is quite remarkable. I absolutely recommend it. UPDATE: I am often surprised by these reviews. 99% of good reviews are written in the first few days of ownership. It says nothing about the durability of the product. So after almost a year I'm back to tell you that I still love this recorder. Still works great, still sounds great, still perfect.