Home > Consumer Reviews > Olympus VN2100PC Digital Voice Recorder

Previously I recorded classes using a mini tape recorder. It was an acceptable method but it left a lot of room for improvement. I purchased this model because of the download feature. I record and later download both class lectures and music samples for college classes. The ability to download these recordings and play them on a larger system has greatly enhanced studying, especially for music class.

The recorder is easy to use and set up. The instructions allowed me to have it set up to my needs in minutes. The only problems I have had with it is that the play and record buttons have accidentally been turned on when the recorder was in my purse and also when in my backpack. If you don't have to carry this recorder to and fro, it won't be a problem.

The erase feature on the recorder itself asks you if you are sure you want to delete a file. The software for download does have options to delete files that you have downloaded. I believe in that option it asks you if your sure you want to erase files also. I have not had problems erasing these files with either of these methods.

The software was relatively easy to use and the help feature quickly helped me identify problem I was having with set up. After downloading the files, I simply copy the .wav files over to other folders.

The quality on the mic and the playback is remarkable. It says in the product description that you can get around 30 hours of record time on it. That's true, but it's on the lowest quality. On a quality level that you would actually set it to you can expect about 6 hours of record time. The quality is amazing, the mic is super sensitive, and you can't beat the price.

Had been thinking of getting a digital recorder for a couple of years but probably procrastinated because of the bad impression that I had of the tape recorders I remember from my college days 25 yrs ago.

After researching various recorders I was optimistic about this model but it has exceeded my expectations. I've only had it for a week but use it more and more as the days go by. Really comes in handy at work but also at home and while I'm out and about.

Very well made; small/light enough to keep in a shirt or pants pocket, well thought out controls and excellent battery life. Good sound quality on playback, even when I lay the recorder down on my desk while transcribing notes; even better if you download to a PC and playback thru speakers. The folders are handy and mgmt of folders and recordings is straightforward.

I only use it for dictation and keep the sensitivity set to low to reduce ambient sounds and also use the voice activation feature, which really helps to eliminate dead space if you get lost in thought while speaking. Haven't used the index mark feature except to test it but I imagine they'd come in handy for longer recordings such as meetings.

I doubt if it makes much difference for recording voice but I have mine set for the highest quality sound. This reduces recording time down to about 3 hrs but this is more than sufficient for my needs. Might be a factor if you download .WAV files to your PC; lower quality would reduce file size. If you do download voice recordings and file size is an issue though, just get hold of one of the many free .WAV to MP3 conversion utilities that are available. If you don't care about downloading to a PC, save yourself $15 and just get the VN2100.

Only improvement I can think of would be if the recorder had a backlight but the record and stop buttons are easy enough to find in the dark so I guess I can manage with this one deficiency. Overall though, I couldn't be happier with my purchase and highly recommend this recorder.

I'm a reporter for a newspaper and as such, I sit in town meetings almost every day. These towns are full of mumbly, old, low-talkers that I can't even hear a lot of times myself. I gave the VN2100 its first real challenge, sitting in the second row of such a meeting. I expected this to work better than a microcassette recorder, but when I popped it in my computer (which works flawlessly) afterwards, I could hear EVERYTHING perfectly. And you have no idea how low these men spoke tonight. I can't get over how amazing this recorder is and I can't imagine giving it any less than 5 stars. I expected it to work, but I never expected it to work this well. Buy it.

This is great little recorder. It's a slight upgrade from the VN-2000 with a sleek new body. It's designed better with larger buttons for easier maneuvering. The Extra High Quality setting gives almost flawless sound quality. Plus, it has a PC link for easy uploading to the computer.

My only gripe with this recorder is that it does not have a lock feature to prevent accidental deletion of recordings. I'm also not pleased with the software the Digital Wave Recorder software that Olympus includes with it's smaller USB compatible voice recorders. It needs to be a bit more useful. I will say that it's easy to transfer files into a different audio editing program.

If you're interested in a great recorder, then give this one a try.