Customer Reviews
Does everything it claims perfectly...
I've used my DM-10 for 9 months, and relied on it for ethnographic interviews - it's excellent for this purpose - all the other reviewers are right on. 64M of memory sounds painfully small compared to an ipod, but it works fine for audio notes and meetings... Two things I'd like to point out:
One, I like the fact that you can access your audio files without downloading any special software. Just hook up your USB cable (the kind with a small plug - that the Olympus cameras use...) to any computer and it opens as a flash drive! Brilliant. The Olympus software is good, but you don't need to use it if you don't want...
Two, I'm not crazy about the WMA format for high quality files, but you can download a free converter (e.g. www.jodix.com) to convert these to mp3's...or buy one of the many converters online.
All Things Considered, Good Quality for the Price
The external microphone shown in the picture with the "record" and "stop" buttons Is Not included with your purchase of the DC-10! It does however come with the external ME51S stero microphone, earphones, USB cable and Cradle for connections to your computer, and user's manual. It does not come with a carring case that would be handy as I am a student and would like to protect it from damage (a 4" x 7" padded envelope works great). No DC Adapter.
The DM-10's desciption of recording time was a little misleading. In stero high quality mode (SHQ), which is obtained with the use of an external mic, you only get a total of 2 hrs. and 11 mins. of recording time and that is for all of the combined 5 folers/199 files. HQ mode: 4 hrs. 20 mins. obtained without the external mic; SP mode: 10 hrs. 25 mins. obtained without the external mic; and LP mode: 22 hrs. 20 mins. obtained without the external mic. What I am trying to say is that the only way to obtain the highest quality sound in situations when you need it is to use an external mic and the only possible recording mode with the mic is SHQ=2hrs.11mins. total for all folders! It does alert you on the last 60 seconds of recording time which is worthless unless you have a computer to download the files to before recording any further.
The off button on the DC-10 is the hold switch on the side of the unit to save on battery life. I really like the indexing feature that allows you to set up to 16 index marks in a file that works great when you want to go back to specific topics covered in your recording without having to listen to the whole thing. The DC-10 also includes 15 different sound values; the higher the value the more sensitive the recorder to sounds.
The sound quality is great compared to less expensive tape recorders I have used in the past. I would recommend the DC-10 for smaller recordings or meetings otherwise go with the DC-20 if you want more recording time and can afford the extra 100 bucks.
I would say overall with what things cost nowadays your are getting exactly what you pay for - No more and no less.
DM-10 Great for Meetings
I bought this to use for my church group and work. When put on high quality the sound is of an excellent quality. I found the microphone extremely sensitive and I could hear any one talking in the room even if it was tucked in a pocket with clarity. I am impressed. I would only wish I had additional memory since highest quality only affords you 4-5 hours of recording, but in the lesser sound modes they are still good for 8 hours. I have yet to try the 20 hour level. The recorder is simply to use and downloading to computer of my files was a snap.
