TacticalGearReview

On my desk is an Olympus DS-330. The unit comes with a nice docking cradle and Olympus DSS Player 2002 software. I have not used it a lot but for recording a couple meetings and permanently saving some voice mail messages off my phone it has done a good job. The controls are not as intuitive as I would like but with a little practice it should become second nature. Playback quality is very good out of the recorder’s speaker, less good out of my PC speakers but still quite good enough. If it matters I’ve seen this one on TV several times where reporters all flock around someone with recorders in their hands trying to get a quick quote so it must play back well for them. The batteries (2 AAA) haven’t needed replaced yet and it’s been on my desk at least a month with moderate use. There is a jack for an AC adapter to plug in and an earphone jack, neither of which have I used. There is also a “hold” switch which effectively locks up the whole unit so you don’t accidentally hit a button and record when you don’t want to or more importantly accidentally delete something you may really need.


The DSS Player software is basically a library for all your recording where you can also do some playback and simple editing. The DSS format appears proprietary so to share the files with anyone else they will have to have DSS Player software (free download I believe) or you can convert them to common WAV files (see attached above) although those are significantly larger (10x to 15x larger).

The DS-330 also comes with a cheaper leather case which offers minimal protection for getting beat up in a carry bag or briefcase and certainly wouldn’t be recommended for belt carry. The unit will operate without being taken out of the case. I was surprised I could find mine from the back of the drawer where I found it. It does appear that this is about the same size as a very small cell phone so finding a quality case for it shouldn’t be a problem if that is important to you.

Based on my brief experience with the unit and its competitive price tag of just under $100 I don’t have any problems recommending this unit if you have a need it will meet.

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