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Olympus LS-10 Digital Uncompressed Audio Recorder
Published by Matthew Jeppsen September 5th, 2008 in News 
Just noted this sweet little Olympus LS-10 digital audio recorder via a Tweet by Stu Maschwitz.
The sub-$300 LS-10 is a relatively low-cost option for on-set and event production recording at 24 bit/96kHz. And it does it straight into Linear PCM WAV format, which should satisfy those that aren’t happy with MP3 compression on other audio recorders like the Zoom H2. Not to be left behind, the LS10 also offers the option of recording in compressed MP3 and WMA formats, so you have plenty of choices to work with in the field. The PCM WAV recording of the LS-10 should may solve the potential sync drift issues that some low-cost compressed audio recorders seem to be plagued by.
I’d love to check this recorder out personally, having reviewed the Zoom H2 for DV Magazine earlier this year. Finally, both the Zoom H2 and the Olympus LS-10 are also available from Amazon if that’s your preference.
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The Zoom H4 is only $244 from Amazon though, which gives you uncompressed or compressed recording (up to 24/96 wave), plus the option of XLR or quarter-inch inputs with or without phantom power.
If Olympus could sell this for $119 or so, that’d be a bit more reasonable. Otherwise you’d be crazy not to go with the Zoom H4 (in my opinion).
Colin, if you are in need of XLR and the price is paramount I’d have agree with you. But it’s worth noting that there are plenty of applications where the built in-mics are sufficient, or where the 1/4″ input jacks are sufficient. Not to mention that the Zoom H4 is fairly bulky, that’s a major consideration for some (consider the event videography market). The LS-10 appears to be about the same height as the Zoom, but slimmer. 131.5mm x 48mm x 22.4mm vs 152.7mm x 70mm x 35mm for the H4.
Another issue that is more important IMHO are the sync issues noted by Zoom H4 (and some H2) users. I personally did not experience major sync problems with my Zoom H2 review unit, but the H4 userbase is pretty vocal about it. There’s some analysis in this DVinfo thread: http://www.dvinfo.net//conf/all-things-audio/103461-determing-sync-offset-zoom-h4-h2.html Now in my experience the H2 was not off by as much as 9-frames per hour, perhaps I was just fortunate.
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that this LS-10 unit won’t have the same sync drift issues. I suppose there’s only one way to know though, review one. I’ll see what we can do. If any FreshDV readers own the Olympus LS-10, we’d love to hear their thoughts on the unit!
-Matt Jeppsen
Matt,
I haven’t had a chance to review the LS-10. I’m leaning on this article at the moment to give me the info. So, am I to understand that the LS10 doesn’t have a way to adapt to XLR?
Another use I foresee with this type of unit is being able to record off of a FOH mix board at major concert productions where we”l be shooting guerilla style and will sync the audio back in post. Audio that I want to capture from the board’s mix.
keith
Keith, it looks like the LS-10 only offers stereo 1/8″ inputs, similar to the Zoom H2. In my use of the H2 I captured audio off several boards at live events, just using a 1/8″ to 1/4″ adapter (or 1/8 to XLR). For short cable runs it’s not an issue.
-Matt Jeppsen
Thanks Matt!