Topic: Olympus LS12 / LS14

[TimeBandit]

www.getolympus.com/us/en/audio/ls-12.html

LS12 = 2 GB internal memory
LS14 =  4 GB internal memory

[flintstone]

"Successor to the LS-7" says the advertising literature.  Coming in November.  LS-12 MSRP $150, LS-14 MSRP $200

I wonder if this is another USA-only model.  The European LS-11 and LS-5 have a better pre-amp than the USA-only LS-7.

The LS-12 has a new mode dial on the front.  Set the dial to simplify the menu choices, or to see the full menu.  It looks like the "auto" and "manual" settings on a camera.  That's OK in principle, but there's a trade-off.  To make room for the new dial, the large four way navigation dial has been moved from the center of the recorder's front face to the left side.  That will make it harder to control for folks who like to hold the recorder in their left hand.  We'll see when the recorder is available next month.

Flintstone

[dallman]

It also appears the flywheel used for setting the recording level is gone so it may now be menu driven by the new navigation dial. For those that prefer the flywheel, this may not be as easy to adjust on the fly.

[flintstone]

The LS-14 adds a third mic, like the LS-7 has.  It's an omni pattern, designed to improve the recorder's ability to capture low frequencies.  With the center mic turned on, the specs say you can capture sound down to 20 Hz ( again, same as LS-7). Turned off, the number is 60 Hz.

[rjp]

Fortunately, the LS-12 has a line input jack, according to the specs.

Then again, my LS-10 is still working flawlessly... and these days I usually use it line-in with the Littlebox.

[LikeASong]

Excuse me in advance, but... I'm so fed up to see that most recorders are awfully cheaper in the US than in Europe, both new and used. Damnit!
/rant

[John Willett]

Excuse me in advance, but... I'm so fed up to see that most recorders are awfully cheaper in the US than in Europe, both new and used. Damnit!
/rant

The US is a big market an US and Far East products tend to be cheaper there.

However, European products can be quite a bit more expensive in the US than they are in Europe.

[mpj]

The Olympus America Twitter feed (@OlympusAudio) says these two are coming out this week. Has anyone preordered one? Is anyone planning to test them?

I'm currently trying to decide between the PCM-M10 and the (European) LS-5, and am leaning towards the former, but with these coming out, I feel I should wait until someone has had a chance to try these.

Just going by the price (LS-14 == LS-10S, LS-12 ~= LS7) and the fact that the new models seem to have a few extra features, it seems likely that some corners have been cut. Build quality? Preamps? Specs are a bit sparse, but hopefully once the units are out we can see some user guide PDFs too.

Olympus have also uploaded a couple of (not very useful) audio samples, with manual and
"smart" level settings.

[F.O.Bean]

I would go with them10 before an Olympus product. No reviews are out for them and the m10 has been proven to be very reliable, even if it is more expensive

[jbell]

Roland R-05 would be a good choice if you want to save money!

[TSNéa]

Excuse me in advance, but... I'm so fed up to see that most recorders are awfully cheaper in the US than in Europe, both new and used.

I had my LS-5 in France for 148 Euros  + shipping a few months ago... And they sent it overseas.
http://digixo.com/audio-mp3/enregistreur-numerique/olympus/p268660-ls-5.html
Fwiw.

[John Willett]

I would go with them10 before an Olympus product. No reviews are out for them and the m10 has been proven to be very reliable, even if it is more expensive

The Olympus products are very well made, reliable and very ergonomic.

I have had the original LS-10 since it came out and I also now have the LS-20M.

recommended. 

[F.O.Bean]

I would go with them10 before an Olympus product. No reviews are out for them and the m10 has been proven to be very reliable, even if it is more expensive

The Olympus products are very well made, reliable and very ergonomic.

I have had the original LS-10 since it came out and I also now have the LS-20M.

recommended. 

Well then I retract my last statement, sorry guys!