Review on 🎙️ OM Digital Solutions DS-40 Digital Voice Recorder: Capture Crisp and Clear Audio with Cutting-Edge Features by Richard Payne

Mine is only 2 days old and so easy to use it makes me feel like a pro. Just plug in the included USB cable, go to "My Computer" and copy your audio files to your hard drive. It is so easy! I'm using Windows XP and there are no drivers or software that came with it to install. I haven't even opened the CD that came with it and everything works great. I was also able to copy mp3 music files from my hard drive to the recorder without any problems, and the sound is actually quite good! The sound quality and microphone sensitivity are excellent. You can adjust playback contrast and volume, which can actually get a bit loud given the small speaker (the speaker is on the back). It uses .wma file format which doesn't work with freeware Audacity, but I found a freeware called WinFF that batch converts .wma to .mp3 and works great. Be sure to download the .pdf online manual as it is much more detailed and informative than the paper manual that comes with it. My device came with earbuds and 2 universal AAA alkaline batteries, which is really enough! I get about 6-8 hours of general use and the 3 bar battery indicator still shows it's fully charged. The supplied USB cable is 1.50 m long and corresponds exactly to the type of connector that is also used in digital cameras. The device has a metal case that is cool to the touch when left in an air-conditioned room. In the upper left corner there is a bi-colored red-green LED, which can be switched off completely in the menu settings. It glows red during recording, green during playback, and quickly flashes red three times if you get it wrong. By turning off the LED backlight and voice prompt (the device speaks to you in a British female voice) via the menu settings. you can make the device completely invisible, so you can use it to secretly record someone in your pocket. It's about the same size and thickness as a Nokia phone, except it's narrower so it's quite small and will easily fit in your pocket. After pressing the record button, you can flip the power switch (bottom right) to the HOLD position, which locks the device so your recording doesn't accidentally stop while it's rustling in your pocket. However, this rustling can result in very loud noises being picked up, requiring you to sit still! The plastic stereo microphone is detachable and another permanent microphone is located on the top right of the recorder. Both the stereo microphone and the permanent microphone are equally clear and sensitive. Sonically, I couldn't tell any difference, and since the stereo mics are so close together, there's really no difference between right and left audio. But the stereo microphone looks pretty cool. Pros: Ease of use, battery life, sound quality, compact size, recording time, I could go on forever. CONS: High price, .wma file format. The display uses a small, thin print that is difficult to see. The contrast doesn't seem very clear no matter how you adjust it (don't believe the pictures. It's just a product display sticker that you take off). The backlight is pretty dim and should be twice as bright. Most cell phones these days have nice and bright backlights with sharp, high-contrast displays, but this recorder lacks those areas. It would be nice to increase (or even optimize) the backlight off time. My unit arrived with a noticeable dent on the lower front that said "DS-40 DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER" on it. The detachable stereo microphone feels flimsy and cheap. The 1/8" stereo jack that sticks out wiggles, and even with a stereo mic plugged in (plugged in) it still wiggles a bit. One day my unit accidentally got stuck in slow motion mode (which makes people sound very slow and drunk leaves) and I was really struggling to figure out how to get out of this mode and back to normal!