Side by Side Comparison of: Olympus vs Angel

Admittedly, I haven't used this nearly enough but the little I have it's worked fantastic. I need to figure a way to make better use, especially give that I bought it to have when I'm driving alone, which seems to be when I do some of my best thinking and idea creating. If I can't remember to keep this one me more consistently, it'll be one of the more valuable purchases I've made in some time.

I used this for my college lectures so that I could listen to the classes again when studying for exams. It also allowed me to just sit and listen to everything the professor was saying instead of scrambling to write everything down. It was easy to use and stored a lot of audio! It was also very sensitive. I could sit at the back of the lecture hall and still hear my teacher in the recording.

First you need to down load the manual, as the that comes with recorder has little print, hard to read. I like on my tabler as it is easy to look at it. Had Doc appointment, hadrecorder in my shirt pocket, we was about 3 ft appart once 5 ft apart and recorded her voice very clear. This might be small and light but it is very powerful recording. Will worth the money.

With my failing memory, this little recorder has become indispensable for me. It fits in any pocket and it is so handy to make notes to myself when I am out walking. Also, I am a birder and this recorder is perfect to keep track of sightings, whether on daily walks or on birding trips to new countries. No more pencils that break or pens running dry. No more soggy note pads on rainy days. I lost my first Olympus recorder in Florida last month and when I got home, ordering a new one was tops on my to-do list. Just be aware when setting it up that recording volume and playback volume are two separate things. I set my recording volume and was distraught when I could not hear anything on my first recording. Read manual carefully. LOL

This is a great little unit. Maybe rare that people still use digital recorders that cannot be connected to a computer, but this is really handy and works for me. Very similar to the last Olympus I had (for a LONG time). I'm giving it 5 stars, but do have one "con" to report: it used to be that if it wasn't on standby, it was "on", but this one has an energy-saving feature (which I guess is good) that puts it to sleep after a while. But then it takes several seconds to "wake up" and I don't like this waiting period. Yes, yes, I know, a "1st World problem"--- but I guess that goes to my point. This is the only thing I don't like about this unit.

This recorder is very easy to use as it has only two large buttons, one for Stop and one for Record. There is also a toggle wheel that allows skipping back and forth through recording and a button in the center that serves as an ENTER button for message prompts. So it's easy to grab and start recording and to hit Stop when finished. Battery life is excellent, the delete recording button is small and you get a verification prompt before deleting so you will never accidentally delete a recording. Usage is very intuitive and I started using it without reading the instructions. The LED readout is not backlit and that is a downside and this is the model that does not allow uploading the audio files to computer (which I did not want or need). So the only improvement would be to backlight the LED readout but then that would shorten battery life. I'm very happy with the simplicity of use, the uncluttered ergonomic design and layout of controls, it's very light weight even with batteries, and it's small size that fits nicely in shirt pocket.

I teach recorder class and order these all the time. Decent quality. They usually loose the bag and just carry around their recorder. Great price. I'll continue to order these for the class.

Had fun giving four of these to the grandkids at Christmas! These are good quality!

Go to Utube and look up: Emotional Titanic Flute. My teen who has taken 6 years of music was very interested in duplicating thisvideo with bad flute playing. A bunch of people at his school (8th grade) were doing it also. So they bought this flute and it workedgreat for that purpose. haha. He managed to play bad on purpose to get it to sound just like the video.

Bought this recorder since my fourth grader started studying and playing recorders in music class this year. It is a great basic instrument that I don't mind letting him tote around all over the place since at this price point it is easily replaceable if he breaks it or anything of that sort. They offered him an instrument through the school music program but I kept forgetting to send him with money and missed the deadline. The instrument feels like a very nice solid piece of equipment. The sound quality sounds the same as the ones they have at the school for all the students to play. My son has been toting it all around the house and the park for the last couple weeks and it is holding up very well. I will definitely be repurchasing for when my next child needs one.

The shipping was so quick, it made my head spin! We received this recorder the very next day after purchase. My daughter is in 3rd grade, and her school's music program is teaching recorder for the end of the year. I wanted my daughter to have her own recorder to make her feel special, and also so that she has something to practice on at home. This recorder is beautiful, and looks just as pictured. I tested the tone against my flute (also a C instrument), and it sounds lovely. Not the best tone quality, but fabulous for the price. Very happy so far with this purchase!

I bought this product on a whim even though had no previous background in music because I wanted to start to learn. After a mere week I was already playing great songs with this. Essentially, it's easy to play and the sound is just as you would expected for a regular soprano. I works definitely recommend this to all beginners.

Got this for my wife to record the classes she takes. She uses the recorder to play back the classes for study purposes. It does what she wants it for.

This is perfect for all those classes with that one instructor who drones on & on & onnnnnnn, leaving you unable to maintain focus bc they lecture using a monotone voice. Haha no but really, this recorder comes in handy. Most of the time instructors fly through lectures & its nearly impossible to write everything down fast enough. I use this to review what was said in lecture & it really helps when studying. My only complaint is that when I plug in earphones, the recording is only played in one ear which I find hella annoying. Also, don't plan on uploading your lecture recordings for other students if they miss class, bc there is no way to transfer the recordings to any device. Other than that, would recommend!

I bought this device with the intention of recording Foley sound effects, yet I neglected to see that it has no means of sending data to a PC. I did find a workaround by using a 3.5mm cable from the device's ear output to my PC's line in and can document audio like so. The audio quality from my view is alright for its purposes, and can be digitally improved for mine. As for the device itself, it's handy to have while recording, and, in tandem with my shotgun mic, records nicely. When recording to PC, I had to adjust line in volume so that the audio wouldn't clip at every sound, but I can call this buy a happy accident.

This is a really good machine. I use it to record interviews for my school newspaper. It does a great job in canceling out background noises. You can't really connect it to a computer, so you should prepare to manage your recordings on the machine itself only. Battery life is incredible, still working after half a year on packaged set.When plugging in the earbuds sound only came out of one side which is sometimes a bit annoying, but without earbuds the recordings sound great. A nice feature this recorder has is that it allows you to mark certain spots in a recording for easier access. No need in rewinding or forwarding to find that crucial spot, get back to it with a click of a button. I also recorded a lecture once and it sounded pretty good.This is a good option if you don't want to edit recordings on computer or share them with lots of people. Great for personal use and easy to carry around.

So far, very good. I miss a couple of the features of the higher-end Olympus recorder I got a refurbished version of, but turned to this after that one's technical problems resurfaced. I use this for work and it does a great job of capturing the sound in meetings, except when it's so bad you figured there would be a problem. A good buy for the $.

Pros:The build quality of this recorder is great and it records a lot of audio.Cons:I have two major issues with this recorder, but since it's a budget recorder, I realize the limitations and I'm only taking off 1 star.Issue #1: It cannot plug into a computer to pull the audio file off of the recorder.Issue #2: There is no way to lock the device from input on the buttons. Often when putting the recorder in your pocket, you will inadvertently press a button and stop recording.Small Issue #3: There should be a way to put some kind of blanket lock on the device to prevent access to be able to delete any files.

My son loves it

Kool!

Hi, my name is Ashley and I am a mm of a recorder student..... This product is the absolute worst thing you could ever buy your young child. It produces beautiful sounds when played correctly, but 9/10 times, children do not. I would not recommend this product before 3rd grade, but don't you worry your little pea pecking heart, school will be sending your 8 year old home with their own soon enough. I will pray for you then.

Love the recorder. Easiest to play in tune of any I've used. I always buy Angel. The new packaging, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Each comes in a clear plastic case with a cheap loop closure. The case label has imprinted on several of the recorders, so my black recorders have silver flecks on the fronts.

Cheap price, slightly cheap sound.

I really do like this recorder and I have had fun trying to play different tunes on it. It feels a bit sturdier and looks much more professional than the recorder I remember playing when I was a kid.But the extras that come with it are not very good. Now I know it's a bit nitpicky to pick on extras, but I thought fellow amazonees might appreciate it.The blue plastic case came with tear in the side of it already. It had this tear because the paper with the fingerings on it was pushing right against the seam. It also comes with a cheap feeling cleaning rod, but it does not provide a cleaning cloth. It just says to use a microfiber cloth, but I'm not sure how big the fabric should be since the cleaning rod is almost as thick as the recorder hole.

This device works well but I was expecting it to sleep when in "standby" mode. It doesn't, and the batteries only lasts a day. I would suggest buying a power cord if you want this to monitor your call and wake when the phone rings without you having to turn it on every time.

its okay

Great recorder but no way to extract the audio to a computer

While this is adequate for occasional recording purposes it is a bit lacking in that the volume doesn't get very loud. But then, it was pretty cheap. Wish I had sprung for a better one though. It is ultra small however if that would be a plus for you. Very tiny, hardly weighs anything.

The Olypmus Digital Voice Recorder has me offering up mixed opinions. I needed a digital voice recorder for a press trip I was about to head out on to meet Meryl Streep(find the post on my website). I quickly purchased this Digital Voice Recorder and while I love the functionality, as it is so easy to use, I totally dislike the 'warbly' voice recast it provides. This is just a basic digital voice recorder, and perhaps my expectations were too high, I am glad we had transcripts because the sound was not good on replay.

unit has a delay time before you can record as it sort of wakes up and gets ready for use. I have gone through many of these recorders and this is a first. I don't really like it. just a personal preference.

My son broke his recorder he got from school so we purchased this one off Amazon. It works it just doesn't sound as nice as the one we had. The sound is kinda rough. Not really a smooth sounding instrument. It works but I would look elsewhere and pay the few bucks more for a better one.

Item is okay. However, it appears recorder has been glued together since it won't come apart to clean.

The finger holes were too far apart, and my fingers could not reach them properly.

this is a fairly nice recorder, but impossible to clean. I liked our last one better because it was two pieces so we could take it apart and clean it!

The product shipped quickly but we noticed cracks in the instrument and it looked slightly dirty.

it works okay for a recorder but it is smaller than i thought it would be but it works okay not the best but as for recorders it is average, and that includes the hard to get the right sound out of it from the start... its average and okay not the best but i am no expert on the subject... but if you need one this is okay.

I ordered this for a back up to the one I have now that I love. It's my fault but I didn't realize that this one is not USB compatible. I can make all the recordings I want but there's no way to get them off the recorder. It just sits in a drawer now and at some point in time, I'll order another one that has USB properties to save the files to my computer.

Product's described ability to connect to a computer is incredibly misleading. The only way to connect is through actual audio playback, and utilizing a separate 3rd party sound recording software to record via the audio output jack, but any actual file transfer is impossible. This is not an acceptable mode of transfer considering the thousands of hours of potential recording capacity that are advertised.

Somehow, I expected it to be 2-3 x bigger than it was. When I tried to understand the directions, they were not understandable ( seems like someone who did not understand American-English was attempting to write directions). Then, what I could get didn't seem to be accurate. I will keep it and work on getting the understanding of how to use it by working on it. I really think it is good quality product, just, not very clear and very small printed instructions. I will need to work very hard to be able to use it, my hands are large, and I'm 94 so my eye-sight is not so good.

I bought, tested and returned this product within a matter of days. The VN-7200 worked as advertised but it wasn't suitable for my use. It included no micro USB or regular USB connection; the only way to transfer audio from the recorder to a computer is in real-time with a 3.5 mm male-to-male cable. That's a lot of work if you have audio interviews of 2+ hours.I returned this and bought the Olympus VN-722PC, which is about $10 more than the VN-7200, and the extra functionality (connecting it to my computer's USB port) is well worth it.

I bought this based off of its great reviews. This is a great product, but you have to jump through quite a few hoops to get your recording onto the computer. Even if you buy the cable, you have to listen to the recording while you are putting it onto the computer. I really wanted a tape recorder that could put the MP3 files onto my computer in seconds. I invested in a more expensive recorder with great features. This is a good product if you do not want anything fancy and are not planning on putting the recording on the computer. If you want to put the recording on the computer, I suggest buying a nice model.

The quality of this device seems good, and the battery life and recording space is nice, but it has a huge fundamental flaw: no USB or card support. The most you can do is make recordings and listen back on the device. It severely limits the usability of this product, and it's only a $15 difference to upgrade to one with USB.

The recorder had blemishes all over it. Functionally it worked well (as well as a recorder can sound) but looked like trash.

my fingers are much too short for me to comfortably, or easily play any one piece recorder.I like the Yamaha YRS-302B Soprano Recorder - Baroque 3 Pc. very much. Try it!

Ultimately, this proved to be way too hard to play for our 5-y.o. son. Mostly, the result was a high-pitched non-note that is the result of blownig into the mouthpiece very strongly without covering any of the holes entirely/correctly. I probably could have spent a bit more time teaching him, but even I had trouble getting good notes out of this thing.

I have owned half a dozen or so olympus digital voice recorders of various model numbers. I use them on a daily basis. they live in my pocket and come out repeatedly, often for hours at a time for recording inventory, notes, etc.first of all, I was confused that they had reversed the direction of the hold switch for this model to the other 3-4 olympus digital voice recorders I have owned. that was annoying and took some trail and error getting used to, often thinking I was recording but it would end up being on hold.secondly, and more importantly, the stop button began to misbehave within a couple weeks, and i would need to press it very hard in order to work. lo and behold, without warning, the button quit on me altogether today. This was brand new a couple months ago. Again, usually I get at least a couple of years out of these before they quit. Very disappointed in the poor quality of this item. perhaps it was just a lemon.

Does not work. Period. Unfortunately I took this device with me out of the country doing a 3-month trip and I did not open it before I left the US border. Out of the box it never worked!

Purchased but not used for 2 months. Put in new battery. Unit didn't work. Difficult to change functions and the desired function showed the wrong result. Couldn't change files without dumping info. A worthless unit.They wouldn't take it back. 2 months old. So was it supposed to last 62 days?Don't buy from these people. There's lots of recorders out there.

How can "simple" end up being so unreliable? I bought two of these to replace a couple of trusty microcasette recorders. For some reason I still can't understand, after recording a number of separate comments during a long car trip, I found that only the last few were accessible. The rest had . . . disappeared. That's just not acceptable. I know a lot about tech -- but this thing apparently outwitted me.

After I used this recorder 4-5 times, it got completely out of order. Every time I turn on the recorder and starts to record, the battery turns to zero and can't do any recording or listening. I cannot return this item any more because the return period was too short and it got broken right after that period ended. Awful product and terrible service... Never buy this!!!

This digital voice recorder has literally one half of the features that the Olympus VN-5200 PC has. If you drop it, it's done, you might as well get a new one. It is cheaply made and looks it! It would be okay to give a child just starting kindergarten but,if you need something that you can download with this isn't the item. If you are looking for dependability I would highly recommend the Olympus VN-5200 PC ,avoid the VN-7200 like the plague!

I don't know who's making these reviews. I don't have a reason to lie as I am not trying to talk anyone into purchasing this mistake of a recorder. The notes are terrible. Spend a couple more bucks and buy somthing better. I am very upset at how screechy this thing is. My daughter had been playing for a while and was very excited about her new recorder, only for it to be a piece of junk mail. DON'T DO IT!!! YOU WILL REGRET IT!!! 0/5 STARS!!!

My son dropped this on our hardwood floor and the bottom snapped off. Very irritated that I have to purchase a new recorder before he even got to use it. Recorders tend to be used by children, it should be able to be dropped without snapping in half.

Does not work very well

Sounds awful, tried to return it but I never got an email saying I could

It's just cheap plastic. I was expecting it to be made out of sturdier plastic.The black you see on the picture is wrong. It's more of an espresso color.Ours was out of tune. You may not be able to get the same color at Dollar Tree, but you can get the exact same quality at about 1/5 the price!