Comparison Olympus VN-731PC vs Olympus VN-8700PC

The capacity of the voice recorder's own storage. The larger the built-in memory, the more material can be recorded on the recorder without the need to free up memory or use additional cards. This parameter is also important if you want to use the device also as a portable flash drive (many modern models allow this).

— Built-in. In this case, it is understood that the recorder can only use its own built-in microphone when recording; Connectors for connecting an external microphone are not provided. This reduces the size of the device, simplifies the design and eliminates the confusion with wires. At the same time, built-in microphones usually provide slightly worse recording quality than external ones.

— Built-in / external. Such a voice recorder can record both from its own built-in microphone, and from an external one connected to the appropriate connector. This expands the possibilities of using the device: when compactness and maximum convenience are important, you can use the built-in microphone, and if the high quality of the recorded sound is critical, an external one is connected, which usually provides noticeably better volume and intelligibility. An external microphone is usually not included; on the other hand, it gives you the opportunity to choose a model for specific needs.

— External. Dictaphones without a built-in microphone with the ability to connect an external one. This allows you to choose the right type of device for specific needs and change them as needed. Refers to professional activity.

— MP3. The most common digital audio format today, supported by the vast majority of digital audio devices, regardless of size. Provides medium quality compression and medium sound quality. When saved, it compresses information with loss of quality, but these losses are almost imperceptible to the ear, especially when recording speech from a non-specialized microphone.

— WMA. Format developed by Microsoft. It surpasses MP3 in terms of data compression capabilities, providing good quality at a low bitrate and, as a result, a small file size, but is less popular, in particular, due to sensitivity to errors in the file. At the same time, it is very common in digital audio equipment, it can be reproduced on computers without problems (it is a standard audio format of Windows OS).

— WAV. Technically, it is not a format, but a "container" into which you can "pack" sound processed by any codec; however, it is most commonly used to store uncompressed PCM audio. Thus, WAV provides the best sound quality comparable to Audio CD, however, such files, usually, take up much more space than in the above-mentioned formats. It also plays on a computer without any problems.

— Own. Some voice recorder models record audio in their own format, which is different from common standards. Technically, a proprietary format can provide a good r...atio of recording quality to file size, however, listening to such materials often causes inconvenience: you either need to listen to it on the recorder itself, or install a special player or codecs on your computer, or convert it into one of the "generally understood" formats with possible quality loss.

The maximum continuous recording time for the voice recorder. It depends primarily on the amount of memory (see "Built-in memory", "Memory card slot"), it is also directly related to the recording quality: the higher the quality, the more space the material occupies and the shorter the maximum recording time. In this regard, manufacturers usually indicate in the specifications the maximum possible recording time, that is, the recording time with minimum quality; with higher quality and time will be less.

The range of sound frequencies that the recorder is capable of perceiving and recording. A person is able to hear sound on average from 16 Hz to 20 kHz, but the range of the actual human voice is much narrower — approximately 100-3500 Hz. Therefore, if you plan to use a voice recorder to record speech, these frequencies will be enough. If the purpose of the recorder is not limited to this, you should pay attention to models with a wider range — and in this case, the wider it is, the fuller and richer the recording will be.

— Change microphone sensitivity. The ability to change the sensitivity of the microphone allows you to optimally adjust it to the surrounding conditions. So, with a low level of extraneous noise (for example, at a lecture or a press conference), sensitivity can be set to the maximum in order to guarantee that everything that is needed is recorded, and in a noisy environment (for example, an interview in a cafe), on the contrary, it can be reduced in order to reduce outsiders noise to a minimum.

— Change the quality of the recording. Possibility to change the recording quality (usually the bitrate of recorded materials). The volume of the file is directly related to the quality: the higher the quality, the more space the recording takes up. Thus, this function allows you to achieve the optimal balance between sound and memory occupied: for example, for loud intelligible speech without extraneous noise, you can use low quality, in a noisy environment, on the contrary, increase it in order to achieve maximum intelligibility; if there is not much memory left, and nothing can be deleted, lower the quality of the recording, etc.

— Voice activated recording. When using this function, the recorder only records when its microphone captures a significant level of sound — in principle, this can be any source, but since human speech is most often recorded, the name of t...his function refers specifically to the voice. With such a recording, the recorder does not record long pauses, which saves both the occupied memory and time (and sometimes nerves) when listening to the recording. The disadvantage of this feature is that activation takes some time and the first sounds may not be recorded on the recording.

— Setting record labels. Ability to assign a unique label to each file. This can be either a number or a time and date, or both. Tags organize entries and make them easier to access, making it much easier to find the right file.

— Recording timer. The timer allows you to set the start time of the recording; when it occurs, the recorder will turn on automatically. Thus, you will be able to record the material you need (for example, a speech or a lecture) from the very beginning, even if you will not be there by the time you start.

— Ring record. The name of this function comes from its resemblance to recording on a magnetic tape closed in a ring. In this mode, the recorder can record regardless of the amount of free memory: new materials are simply recorded instead of the oldest ones. This eliminates the need to clear memory manually and can come in handy if your records quickly become out of date — for example, if you have to take surveys by phone and process the results on the same day. At the same time, this function requires caution, as increases the likelihood of accidentally erasing necessary, but old records.

— Li-Ion battery(lithium-ion). The most common type of battery for portable electronics today. Such batteries have good capacity, are not subject to the memory effect (reduction in capacity when charging an under-discharged battery) and are easy to use, because are equipped with their own control circuits. From the point of view of the average consumer, they have practically no disadvantages, because They are associated with specialized maintenance and long-term storage. The fundamental disadvantage of any built-in battery is the impossibility of quick replacement; The only option is to charge the battery, which sometimes takes a significant amount of time.

— Li-Pol battery(lithium polymer). In fact, they are a modified version of lithium-ion batteries (see above). They have the same advantages, in addition, they are more compact (from 1 mm in thickness), which allows them to be used in miniature models. At the same time, lithium polymer batteries do not perform well in the cold.

— AA battery(or several batteries). Powered by a regular AA battery(s), commonly known as “finger-type” batteries. The advantage of such power supply is the ability to quickly replace a “dead” battery: if you have a spare one, this operation is performed in a few seconds, and buying additional batteries in reserve is usually not a problem - they are sold everywhere. The main disadvantag...e is the need for financial expenses to purchase batteries, while high-capacity ones are expensive, and cheap ones quickly run out. On the other hand, there are rechargeable batteries in the form of AA batteries; If the voice recorder is used frequently and a lot, the purchase of such batteries may well pay off.

— AAA battery (or several batteries). Powered by a battery or AAA batteries, commonly called “pinky”. They are smaller in size than “finger” AA (see above), making them better suited for portable equipment, incl. voice recorders, otherwise completely similar.

— Coin-cell battery. Powered by a replaceable compact battery shaped like a tablet or button. Such batteries are the smallest option available today, which makes it easier to create compact devices for them. In general, they are similar to AA and AAA (see above), but they have a number of differences, except for the actual form. In particular, there is no single standard for “button” batteries - there are a great variety of them, in different sizes and voltages, which can cause difficulties when finding a replacement for a “dead” battery. In addition, they are much less common.