The only comparable unit I have is a Zoom H2 so I’ll use that as a baseline.

Compared to the H2, the LS-5 feels better to use, is less bulky and overall has the impression of being better quality all round.

In the box

In the LS-5 box, the unit, a set of batteries, foam windshields (which nicely click on the mic caps), a strap, a USB cable, a copy of the Olympus file manager ‘Sonority’ and printed manuals. The packaging is good and seems like Olympus are copying Apple to some extent. I did notice that the manuals are heavier than the unit.

In the H2 box (as far as I remember), the unit, a set of batteries, a stand, a mic holder adapter, a mains adapter, some printed manuals and a USB cable.

Start up time

When trying to capture a sound and the unit is off, startup time is of the utmost importance. The LS-5 takes about 3 seconds to start from cold, whereas the H2 takes around 15 seconds with an 8Gb SDHC card. The start up time on the H2 seems to depend on the SD card capacity – the higher the capacity, the longer the start up. One feature the LS-5 does not have that the H2 does, is a pre-record buffer.

Pressing the record button

Both units start promptly but there is a very slight delay on the H2. The LS-5 starts immediately as far as I can tell. The H2 has membrane buttons which are almost silent when used. The LS-5 has mechanical buttons which you can hear has a click at the start of each recording. The ending click on the LS-5.

Pressing the stop button

Stopping a recording is often overlooked. The quicker you can stop, the quicker you can restart. The LS-5 has almost no delay between stopping and being ready for restarting. The H2 does pause for a second or two after stopping and finishing writing to the disk.

Holding the unit

Again, often overlooked is how to hold the recorder. With the H2 mic arrangement I was never sure how to point the mics for best capture and it was certainly more convenient to hold it horizontally that vertically (which was probably the best orientation). Handling noise is about the same for both units.

Sound quality

Without the benefit of a scientific approach the LS-5 sounds ‘better’ and more ’rounded’. The mics seem less sensitive than the H2 (my H2 was used mostly on the mid gain setting at 100 recording units). Best overall setting on the LS-5 seems to be low mic sensitivity with recording gain at about 9.

Other features

The H2 has a 4 channel setting which the LS-5 does not. I’ve tried to use this in the past but with not much real success – post production being the main issue.
Both units have playback effects, not much use I would say.
The LS-5 has 2Gb of internal recording capacity and ‘zoom’ mic settings, although the zoom settings are not compatible with higher bitrate and resolutions.
Both units can record at a variety of resolutions and bitrates, and also MP3 (the LS-5 has the addition of WMA compression too).

Price

2 years ago, the H2 was bought at £150, the Ls-5 at £179, both from high street stores.

The LS-11 / 10 is 30% more expensive than the LS-5. As far as I can tell, you get the same unit but with less internal memory (that the LS-11), no DAW software, no case and no remote control. Apart from the remote control, the rest of these items is of negligible use.

LS-5 Sound recording samples

First sample is a train horn. Recorded using inbuilt mics, on low sensitivity with gain set at about 8/10.

Second sample is of 60163 Tornado steam locomotive. Recording settings as above. Train passed within about 30 feet of the recorder.

Both samples are untreated.

H2 Sound recording sample

For comparison, this recording is of another steam loco, A4 ‘Bittern’, using the Zoom H2 from a similar position to the recordings above. The H2 was set to Medium mic sensitivity with gain set to 100.

Olympus LS-11

Visually similar to the currently popular LS-10 but with more in-built memory and longer claimed battery life.

More information from Olympus here.

Zoom Q3

This new Zoom shares build with the H4 series but adds a camera.

Zoom Q3, in a colour that looks like something Dr Manhattan would come up with

Not sure if that is a good idea or not.

Zoom says, “The Q3 uses the same microphone capsules as our industry-leading H4n Handy Recorder and is perfect for recording anything where great audio and video are a must. From live musical performances and rehearsals, interviews, conferences to video podcasts, journalism, education, recitals, weddings or sports, the Q3′s pristine audio quality takes your videos to another level. Designed with everything you need to make your movies right out of the box, the Q3 includes HandyShare software for editing, and a 2GB SD card for up to 1 hour of video recording time. And the Q3 will also accept up to 32GB SDHC cards for a staggering 16 hours of moviemaking”

Details from Zoom here.

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Sony PCM M-10

This looks like the best of the bunch to me. A smaller model than the D-50 and much cheaper than the D-1. This model adds the ability to record to MP3 on the device, apparantly not available on the D-1 or D-50 (never used one).

An article on Sound on Sound here.

Nothing on the Sony pro site with information on this.

Sound on Sound say, “It’s capable of recording 24-bit audio at sample rates up to 96kHz, and it can also record straight to MP3, a feature not found on Sony’s more expensive portable recorders. (The D1 and D50 come with computer software that lets you convert the recorded PCM audio into a variety of formats, including MP3.)

Other features of the M10 include on-board DSP processors that can alter the pitch and speed of audio during playback, so you can slow down a recorded guitar solo to learn how to play it, for example, and there’s a limiter that can be engaged to prevent the input signal from distorting.

Clever recording functions include a five-second buffer, and there’s the option to install a removable flash memory card, which can be used for computer-less backup and for extending the total recording time of the device (a cross-memory feature spreads a long recording over both the on-board memory and the flash card). Computer connection is via USB and it’s powered by conventional AA batteries.”

A Quick-and-Dirty Comparison of (Some) Handheld Digital Audio Recorders Matt Blaze 17 July 2009

From a post on the naturesounds list, another good comparison of handheld field recorders, Nagra ARES-MII, Sony PCM-D1, Sony PCM-D50, Olympus LS-10, Zoom H4n, from Matt Blaze. Also included is a baselined recording using a Sennheiser MKH-800 Mid-Side pair into a Nagra VI. These recorders could be considered to be towards the top end of the handheld, built-in mic range.

Well worth the time listening and comparing as they are being used in typical environments for this kid of gear, urban. Probably easier to compare if they were mixed together in a single track.

More links

Information and specs PCM D 50, Thomman

Information and specs PCM D 50, Sony

Review PCM D 50, O’Reilly

Review PCM D 1, Harmony Central

Information and spec PCM D1, Sony

Information and specs LS 10, Olympus

Information and specs LS 10, Thomann