Olympus’ new LS-P4 looks like a great portable recorder for the money
Olympus has introduced a new portable recorder, the LS-P4. Up to par with competing offerings from Roland and ZOOM, the LS-P4 records audio in 24-bit, 96kHz lossless .FLAC format and boasts a frequency response that, supposedly, reaches all the way down to 20Hz. The device is equipped with Olympus’ TRESMIC 3 microphone array and captures audio at sound pressure levels of up to 120dB.
A noise suppression system is included, along with internal normalization. The recorder comes with 8GB of storage, a microSD slot, and USB port. It has integrated Bluetooth for wireless connectivity with other devices, such as headphones and speakers. As an added bonus, there’s a free license for Steinberg Wavelab LE where you can accomplish some rudimentary editing.
All in all, this seems a solid package and a good offering to those who want the portability of a smartphone but demand better audio quality. Olympus is a well-known brand with a long legacy in creative technology such as recorders and cameras, so we believe the LS-P4 will be a successful product.
Price & availability
The Olympus LS-P4 is being sold now, priced 199 EUR in Europe. That’s a pretty good price for a capable, modern portable recorder like this. The competition from Zoom and Roland is pretty strong, though – we’re talking big corporations with marketing and technological resources that equal Olympus’ and also have strong products with plenty of features for the money. Perhaps the ability to record in .FLAC – a first in this price range, if Olympus is to be believed – can tip the scales in the company’s favour. We’ll have to wait a few months and see how it goes for the LS-P4.
More information
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