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- 533 Hours of Recording
- 2gb memory and Micro SD Compatible
- MP3 & WMA Recording
- Built-in Stereo Microphone
- 51 Hour Batt.Life
Product Description
An ultra high-quality stereo microphone steps up to the plate and special sound editing software brings it on home. And in between are a series of features-from 2GB of internal memory, to MP3 and WMA recording format capabilities, to sophisticated user-friendly editing software-that make the DM-420 the recorder of champions.
Allura Janet Adelson
/ July 29, 2010I’m not a very talented person in regard to electronics, but I’ve gotten this to work, to record, to playback, and to transfer to the computer. It works wonderfully!
Rating: 5 / 5
Jitendra Patil
/ July 30, 2010DM-420 is a very good voice recorder with MP3 Player. I have smartphone to play MP3s, but DM-420 plays MP3 better and also runs about 8 hours on a single charge…and that way I can also save battery on my smartphone.I use voice recorder mainly for recording spiritual discourses and songs at temple. I’m satisfied with the recording quality.
Rating: 4 / 5
Daniel R. Greenfield
/ July 30, 2010There are plenty of voice recorders on the market, and this one is certainly not the cheapest. What drew me to this model from the beginning was the microSD slot. I was unsure how much recording I would do, but I felt that 2GB of internal storage might not be enough. The SD slot effectively makes this recorder more than a simple voice recorder, since one is not constrained by storage limitations. This added capacity opens the door to other possibilities, which the software exploits very well: specifically, the ability to store both music and podcasts on this unit. While other reviewers have berated this unit for having these supposedly unnecessary features, the criticism in unjustified, since it is the extra storage capacity that makes these extra features viable. And the podcast and music folders are there if you need them; if you don’t, they may be simply ignored.
Another feature which attracted me to this unit was the relatively large display and the attractive user-interface on the front of the unit. It has proven to be very well thought-out. The same can be said of the basic operating system. One can easily access the various settings by pressing and holding down the button in the middle of the circular dial. One can readily change back and forth between internal storage, external storage, play speed, recording format, etc. The internal rechargeable batteries last a very long time between charges. (Rather than charging from a laptop, I have found a wall outlet charger with USB input works better.) Above all, I am most surprised by the outstanding sound quality and sensitivity of the mics. The quality of the recording (at standard speed) is such that you would swear you are standing in the room, hearing that person speak. Every nuance of the voice is captured; even the slightest breeze or breath drifting across the mics may be heard: that is how sensitive they are!
One minor flaw (for me) has been the Olympus Sonority software that comes with the unit. One many occasions when starting the software on my Vista laptop, the software locks up, has to be force-quit and then restarted. I’m not sure why this happens so often, or whether it is a problem peculiar to Vista. But it has been enough of a minor annoyance for me to subtract one star. Overall, however, I am very happy that I spent a few extra dollars and opted to get the added flexibility this unit provides over one without external storage capabilities. It has given the unit greater value for me, and has resulted in my using my aging ipod less.
Rating: 4 / 5
G. Fineman
/ July 30, 2010I purchased this recorder to record meetings of my civic association. The input comes from four wireless microphones through a base station as mono output. The microphones are cheap and designed for karaoke and very one directional. So, I assumed there would be no input when the person was not talking directly into the microphone. I boosted the output from the base station and the recorder worked its miracle. The automatic sound level controls reduced the high sound levels and picked up the very low sound levels. Now I also use a pair of powered speakers from the output jack to provide feedback to the people using the microphones. I an constantly amazed how something so small can produce such good sound and have so many options.
I have to agree with previous reviewers that the manual requires close reading and some web searches to even understand. Speaking of options, the pod-cast thing does, indeed seem useless and I cannot play wma files that were ripped using reasonable sample rates.
Of course, my expectations were probably low to start with and I am not trying to use it to record music or such. However, if you are like me and want a basic recorder plus lots of features, It is a winner.
Rating: 4 / 5
J.C.L.
/ July 30, 2010For professional reasons, I need sometimes to record interviews and lectures.
I had already an Olympus DM-520 (an outstanding product) and decided to buy this DM-420, which is essentially the same, but with half the recording capacity. If you have to record important interviews, lectures and so on, you should better use 2 recorders at once, to guarantee a backup, just in case: the double recording is far cheaper than the possible loss of data.
The reason for the choice of a DM-420 instead of another DM-520 was the color: the DM-520 is black and the DM-420 is silver, so it is quite easy to identify the recorders. And, as a matter of fact, I think that, for most users, 500 hours or 1000 hours will mean the same. Just remembering: 500 hours mean some 21 continuous days of recording time and the batteries will not last for 1 day.
As told before, the DM-420 and the DM-520 are very similar. They use the same technology, the same microphone (wich is the most critical component of a digital recorder) and the same software. They are, by far, the best portable non-professional digital recorders I’ve ever seen, for several reasons:
1. The microphone is very, very accurate. Other cheaper recorders (including other Olympus models) distort the sound and, in some cases, it is not easy to listen and undestand what was recorded;
2. The rechargeable batteries last for a long time (I’d say some 20 hours of continuous recording);
3. The software is nice. For sure, it could be better, but it is at least ok and represent a huge improvement compared to previous Olympus software releases;
4. They are so light and small, and come with a stylish protective case;
5. The operation is very easy and quite intuitive. The manual is reasonable;
6. The voice activation feature (i.e., the recording is automatically suspended when the speach ceases) is very useful, both for saving record time and for making easy the further transcription of the recorded content;
7. The earphones have superb quality, comparable to those from iPod and similar.
But Olympus made a primary mistake: when I first tried this DM-420, I thought it was deffective. As a matter of fact, it was not, but it came with completely dead batteries. They had no manufacturing problems: they were just discharged, so I had to charge them before the use. When I bought the DM-520 a few months ago, I received it with the batteries fully charged, and I think this is the right way. I think this mistake is not enough to prevent a five stars evaluation, since the product itself is very worthwhile. But Olympus could be a bit more careful about such details.
I do recommend this product, for its excellent performance and very fair price compared to its outstanding quality.
Rating: 5 / 5