Photo by Ariel Zambelich/Wired
If you’ve got a smartphone, you’ve got an audio recording device with you. Anytime you want, you can fire up an app and record a conversation, a bit of a concert, or an audio snapshot.
The results are often only so-so. The crappy mono microphone at the base of you smartphone isn’t very forgiving, the allowed length is limited, and smartphone apps rarely give you much control over the nit-picky stuff: the recording quality, the input levels, or the resulting file type.
But it’s the nit-picky stuff that really matters if you want the best sound. A dedicated hand-held audio recorder like the Olympus LS-100 gives you the desired level of control, producing awesome (stereo) recordings that far surpass what you can capture with a mobile handset, even if you’re using a fancy accessory microphone. It’s great for recording bands, or performances of any kind. But what makes Olympus’ portable recorder really stand out are the multi-tracking features that transform the device into a bona fide pocket studio for musicians and songwriters.
At $400, the LS-100 is twice as expensive as like-minded models with fewer features. So the high cost mostly makes sense for working musicians or serious audio hobbyists who will take advantage of the advanced features. But if you’re in this camp, this is one of the best — and best-sounding — portable audio recorders you can buy.
Source: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/07/olympus-ls-100/
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