Review Olympus has quite a pedigree in the compact, tapeless voice recorder market, yet the introduction of the LS-10 Linear PCM is a distinct departure from all this.

While both types of recorder share the ability to easily transfer audio files to computer over USB, the LS-10 takes itself very seriously, proffering uncompressed audio recording at different sample rates and resolutions, up to 96kHz at 24-bit. To emphasise its semi-pro pretensions, two sizeable microphones, 90° apart, stick out of the top like teddybear ears and are channelled through much higher quality analog circuitry than its cheaper voice-oriented siblings.

The device itself is roughly the size of a cordless phone, has a metal casing and comes equipped with two foam windshields - mufflers for those ears - a carry case, strap, USB and audio cables, but - surprisingly, considering it’s also an MP3/WMA player - no headphones. Even some cheap, crappy ones would come in handy but, given that underneath the LS-10 there are two tiny, tinny speakers, Olympus, no doubt, assumes this is sufficient for monitoring needs.

Powered by two AA cells lasting up to 16 hours and featuring a 2GB internal memory, the LS-10 can record over 68 hours of audio in low-fi WMA 64Kb/s mode and, at the other end of the spectrum, 96kHz/24-bit WAV which will las a mere 55 minutes. All in stereo, of course, but if there were a mono mode - and why not? - you could double those times again.

All is not lost, though. On the left side of the unit below the earphone jack socket and the volume control is an SDHC card slot, which accommodates capacities from 512MB to 8GB, giving a maximum recording time of around eleven-and-a-half days, which should be enough for most guitar solos.

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On the right side, there are line and mic input sockets, recording level control, high/low mic sensitivity switch and a low-cut filter – the latter helping with wind and handling noise, as well as intelligibility in booming, resonant environments. The positioning of these controls is quite well thought out for handheld use. The transport area below the main screen is similarly set up for thumb operation featuring large Stop and Record buttons with a four-way navigation dial and Play/OK button below. Five smaller buttons: Erase, Fn (function), A-B Repeat, Menu and List round off the front panel.

The monochrome backlit LCD adequately shows most of the functions, with the Menu button revealing an array of preferences for recording, playback, memory selection and power management, as well as zoom mic settings and playback enhancements, including reverb and Euphony spatial dynamics processing. Aural excitement indeed, but how about something useful, like a graphic equaliser?

Having established recording preferences, the List button brings up five folders, labelled A to E, and a Music folder, for MP3/WMA files only. Each of the five folders can record up 200 audio files and recorded files are automatically named LS100001 onwards, plus the WAV, MP3 or WMA suffix, and cannot be renamed. If you’ve used an Olympus voice recorder, the folder system will be familiar. Given the file naming shortcomings, and the fact that fast forward and rewind isn’t audible - so no hunting for soundbites - it soon becomes apparent that Olympus LS-10 is a dressed-up voice recorder lacking some basic functionality that discerning customers would expect.

Using the user-assignable Fn key takes some of the pain out of the LS-10. During tests, record modes were regularly changed, but the playback screen doesn’t display the sample rate or resolution. However, selecting the file and bringing up Property – buried in the System menu, but reassigned to the Fn key – swiftly revealed all. Likewise, during recording the function key was assigned to access the file format options.

Tickets to the Proms say "no tape recorders" so the tapeless LS-10 was obviously immune. Hearing back the live performance of Holst’s The Planets was a sonic surprise, with the LS-10 accurately capturing this dynamic suite in the challenging ambience of the Albert Hall. Thunderous timpanis, twinkling triangles and sensuous strings retained their presence with LS-10 putting in an evenly balanced and remarkably transparent performance. Here, the limiter (volume overload control) had a little work to do at times, but its processing was unnoticeable.

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The LS-10 features a tripod mount, ideal for tests in front of an acoustic guitar. It was here that the muddiness of the low-fi 64Kb/s WMA option became strikingly apparent. Fine as a notepad but for performances the WAV option is always best, with only dogs and small children likely to spot the difference between the various WAV resolutions.

The mêlée that is Covent Garden seemed an ideal place to test out Olympus' DiMagic mic enhancements by recording street performers. Wide mode, while teasing on the ears, was rather thin and gutless. Standard, a much warmer sound, helped contain some of the ambient noise, with Narrow suppressing it further with improved clarity, although dropping in level slightly. Zoom seemed to strip away the crowd but had hints of filtering artefacts. Moreover, choosing Off is an option worth considering in more controlled environments, as these mic settings can’t be undone after recording.

The LS-10 comes bundled with Cubase LE 4 for Mac and PC. For editing audio from the LS-10, it’s overkill, but is an enticement in itself and featured because of its support for 96kHz/24-bit audio files.

Verdict

The LS-10 is a bit of a chimera with designs on the semi-pro market and yet has no dedicated line output, just a headphone socket, and is lumbered with antiquated file handling. Cueing audio is a nightmare and the built-in stereo speakers are pathetic, when one larger unit with more bass and volume would have been more suitable. The reverb option is fine for acoustic noodling, and Euphony playback settings bolster the sound, but the absence of an equaliser is inexplicable.

It seems that the LS-10 falls victim to its voice recorder heritage and has had various off-the-shelf enhancements bolted on and yet some useful ones, such as voice activation, removed to give it credibility. Evidently, Olympus has the potential to make a great portable recorder, but there is still work to be done, particularly on the user interface, as remodelling a dubious design just isn’t sound thinking.