AXOLOGY: Olympus LS-10 Brings Pro Audio to Handheld Recorders

phase-correct recording.

Like most other handhelds, the LS-10 can record in MP3, WAV and WMA formats. Unlike most other handhelds, it can also make studio-grade PCM recordings at up to 96kHz/24-bit quality. (That means “really good” for those of you a few bits short in the digital music department.)

The LS-10 runs for up to 12 hours on two AA batteries, and it has a 2-gig flash memory, enough to record, say, two gigs at the CD-standard 44.1/16-bit recording mode. Should you need more memory, the LS-10 accepts those postage-stamp-sized SD memory cards.

While the unit sports a tiny speaker and earphone jack, most users will undoubtedly want to transfer their recordings to a computer. For that, the LS-10 has a USB 2.0 connection and even comes with Cubase4 LE sound-editing software (though the files can be edited in any digital-recording or wave-editing application).

All in all, it’s a serious package with a serious price tag: $449.95. Obviously, some of us will have to continue hating cassettes a little longer.