Review on 💪 Compact and Powerful: The Olympus L400 Ultra-Compact Microcassette Recorder by Mark Jefferson

I ordered this from Revain which had the best price online or anywhere. When I received it, I thought about sending it back for a few days. It has its own problems and is a bit "too" small for me. However, I worked through the issues and got used to the device and it's pretty good. First the problems. Someone with really small hands will appreciate it. It may seem too small for others with large hands. Those who are used to holding the tape recorder in a certain way (e.g. thumbs to operate the controls) will have to get used to the small size. The controls on this device are electronic buttons, no manual buttons. But I have to lift the device in my hands to access all the buttons with my thumb. Also, only the rewind function works during tape playback. That means you can't fast-forward without first pausing the tape. Also, they didn't add a separate fast-forward button, but you double-tap the rewind button to go forward. I don't really like this feature. Finally, voice activation doesn't work too well. At least not for me. And now the good news. You can disable button access so it doesn't turn off prematurely when it's in your pocket and the tape doesn't accidentally eject since the eject slide is on the bottom of the device. The speaker sounds pretty good and the recording quality is the best I've seen of all 4 recorders I've had. In general I was starting to like it, but I would make it a bit bigger and use controls that are more like traditional recorders. Update: I've been using this recorder almost daily (at least 3-4 days a week) for about a year and a half. All of the above still applies, but there are other things, some good, some bad. First the bad (or maybe not so good): You MUST use good quality ribbon in the machine. I used all the tapes my company had, some cheap tapes that are probably good for 2 or 3 erases even in a cheap machine. This led to that the device was going crazy - and you could hear 6 beeps when trying to play, record or even rewind. I thought the device was defective and called the helpdesk to ask me to send it to them. Eventually I found that the problem doesn't occur when I use Maxell, Sony or TDK tapes (high quality tapes). The second question is, can't you start speaking immediately after clicking on the entry? I wasn't aware of this until recently, when my secretary always skipped the first few words of sentences. I wondered why until one day I rewound and realized there was a slight delay before recording. It's constant but lasts less than a second or so. Now for the good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I was the problem, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. I only noticed this recently when my secretary kept skipping the first few words of sentences. I wondered why until one day I rewound and realized there was a slight delay before recording. It's constant but lasts less than a second or so. Now for the good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. I only found out recently when my secretary kept skipping the first few words of sentences. I wondered why until one day I rewound and realized there was a slight delay before recording. It's constant but lasts less than a second or so. Now for the good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I do think the device could be a little better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever a problem) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I was the problem, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I was the problem, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I was the problem, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I think the device could be a bit better, eventually you get used to the small size (if that was ever a problem) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. good news: this thing still makes the best sound. Olympus clearly makes the best analogue recorders out there. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I was the problem, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. that the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever a problem) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. that the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever a problem) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. To see if it was me, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. To see if it was me, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. Although I think the device could be a bit better, you eventually get used to the small size (if that was ever an issue) and the controls. I haven't gone back to the voice activation feature yet to see if I have, but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again. but one day I will. Good luck and in 1.5 years I would buy this again.