Review on Olympus Digital Dm 720 Voice Recorder by Brockington Zuniga

I bought the Olympus DM-720 because it has a few key features that my 10 year old DS-30 was missing. Things like an expandable SD card slot and an integrated USB port for connecting/charging from a computer. Sound Quality: Very decent for the price. At some of the most sensitive microphone recording levels, I can hear a slight "hiss" in the background, but the voice and audio recording is still clear and intelligible. This is NOT a device to match the audio fidelity of a $300+ professional audio recorder from Tascam, Zoom, or Sony, but for everyday use I'm happy with it. This thing has a list of features. Everything from menus with voice prompts (which like everything else can be turned off if you don't need it, from LED backlight to LCD backlight), the ability to record in any .WAV format (high quality uncompressed files that take up little space) . ). . The case is mostly metal with plastic switches and side panels. It looks stylish and weighs less than my previous recorder. mainly because it takes one AAA battery (the DS-30 takes 2) and a quarter of the internal parts of the case are basically the retractable mechanism of the USB port. Very handy to carry around all day. However, there are a few things that have disappointed me. The start up time when the recorders are powered up shows that the older DS-30 has about 2 seconds less time to reach readiness than the newer DM-720. This appears to be the opposite, although it may be because I've set the SD card as the primary storage for the device. The DM-720 takes about a second to access the card, while the DS-30 relies entirely on internal storage for faster access. Also, while both recorders can use rechargeable NiMH batteries in addition to alkaline batteries, only my old DS-30 can be plugged into a wired DC power supply via a wall outlet adapter. it could SHOW. There's no power source on the DM-720 other than a USB port, and while the Olympus website ticks 'plug-in power' as a feature, the manual seems to get around this, while you can charge the battery via the USB port is faster than connecting to a computer with a special adapter (model A514) plugged into a wall outlet. This can charge the battery and potentially allow recording, but there's no cable length. The recorder is simply mounted on the adapter directly into a wall socket. Nothing I've found so far indicates that you can plug this model into some sort of wired adapter and run it from your home network if I'm not mistaken. At least I haven't come across any real Olympus products yet. I've seen third-party adapters online from various companies and under various model names that look like they can plug directly into USB jacks, but they all seem a bit sketchy to me. Does anyone know of a suitable Olympus adapter. I might have missed it, let me know in the comments! Of course, according to Olympus, this recorder can last over 24 hours on a full battery - so it might not matter to most people, but it does seem a little strange. However, as with other recorders they make, it's fairly easy to plug it into your home's outlet via a standard round outlet with a long cord with a wall adapter at the end, and place the recorder on a countertop or desk. Moving on: The battery compartment deserves a mention. While my old DS-30 has a sturdy, spring-loaded door that can hold 2 AAA batteries, this new DM-720 has possibly one of the thinnest battery covers I've come across. Basically it's a thin metal plate that you can detach with a button, it's fully detachable and attached to the recorder's body with what appears to be a flexible piece of plastic, like a miniature cable tie or something. in terms of durability. I would have preferred a swivel mount, maybe a slide rail. It's just bad and looks bad. Of course, since you probably won't need to use the battery case all that often, with rechargeable batteries and all, it's likely to last a long time. Additional note: If you wish to use the snap-on clip/stand that came with the recorder, you will need to detach it each time you want to open the battery cover as the clip will cover the cover release button when closed. on the registrar. Another silly design detail to watch out for. Speaking of nonsense, that micro SD card slot I mentioned earlier? That was one of the main reasons I bought this item. As great as the DS-30 is, it only has a meager 256MB (MB!) of internal memory. With expandable memory, the DM-720 is perfectly suited as a music player/portable hard drive. That was my thought. Unfortunately, the DM-720 is also stuck somewhere between 2006 and 2010 when it comes to SD cards, as it only accepts SDHC cards, limiting its capacity to 32GB of maximum extended memory. That's a bit inadequate for a modern music player/portable hard drive, as the manual advertises what it's capable of. the ability to expand external memory up to 32GB with SDHC cards. For that reason, I don't specifically blame Olympus. but I still wonder why SDXC isn't the more popular standard for many dictaphones with SD card slots. Transferring files back and forth between the recorder and PC/Mac via the USB connection was very easy. No surprises. Some people have mentioned that due to the physical size of the recorder itself, the USB plug can cover more than one port on your computer. or that this might be a problem for people with USB ports only on the back of their desktops. Revain sells USB extension cables (I have the 3ft USB 2.0 model) and this solves this problem. Plug one end into your laptop or leave it plugged into one of the USB ports on the back of your desktop, plug the other end into the DM-720's USB port and it will charge the battery/transfer files. up: Overall, I'm a bit disappointed with this product, but not entirely dissatisfied with it. As a normal voice recorder, it is very suitable for this type of use. I bought this based on my experience with the DS-30 and am happy with the sound quality and features it has for a voice recorder. It's really handy for dictation and meeting notes and other language-centric recordings. The physical construction seems solid enough, although the clicking battery door still doesn't work for me. The only major downside I have to this recorder is the limitation when using SDHC cards, which as I mentioned means you can't cram more than 32GB of extra storage into this thing. If you're thinking of using this as an extra music player or portable hard drive, I'd look elsewhere. But I think that's what smartphones and iPods are for. To tell the truth I bought this Olympus because my old but great running DS-30 has proven itself and I believe this recorder should be something I will enjoy just as long.