Our reviewers have just concluded testing the Olympus DR-1200 (pushbutton), DR-2200 (slider control) and DR-2300 (barcode scanner) handheld USB Microphones with NaturallySpeaking. In order to properly test these new Olympus microphones, we additionally revisited the Dictaphone PowerMic II, Grundig Digta SonicMic II and the Philips SpeechMike III.

For over a decade, Philips has remained unchallenged but shortly after Grundig and Nuance released handheld USB microphones, Phillips upped the ante by releasing improved models including wireless and even an antimicrobial surface. Unfortunately, Phillips also raised their prices by an average of $100.  

Although we found all 4 lines of microphones performed exceedingly well with NaturallySpeaking, we were most impressed by Olympus's introductory pricing which is significantly lower than the competition. The 1 caveat is that Olympus is not currently including instructions or a configuration utility for programming the buttons which in our opinion would normally be considered a showstopper. Fortunately, we have downloaded the Olympus Directrec configuration utility and loaded it onto a DVD which we are including with this new line of microphones. As with most of the microphones on our website, we are also including a pictorial step-by-step on how to program the buttons along with utilizing the new Olympus microphones in NaturallySpeaking.

If you would like to see how all of these handheld microphones compare against each other, check out our new Battle of the Handheld Microphones review.

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Click KB 2012 REV D to Download a 30 Day Evaluation of KnowBrainer 2012 

 

 

 

Recieved Olympus DR-1200 yesterday and tried it. Some what disappointed, it feels lighter and cheaper than Digta mic. Does not have a feel of durability. Main flaw is the few seconds of (electric?) noise that follows when I turn the mic on by pushing the record button. I can not dictate any thing during those few seconds, I have to wait until the mic settles down. During my work I have to turn the mic on and off frequently and this few seconds delay is frustrating. I own a Digta sonic and it works flawlessly. As for the speech recognition, Olympus is on par with Digta Sonic. Lunis in your review you did not mention this flaw and I am wondering if there is something I can do to get rid of this noise.

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MQK

DNS Medical 10.1

I core 2 duo P7550, 2.6 ghz, 6 gig RAM

We didn't run into anything like this in our tests so we passed your results through our Olympus contact and they ran 2 more tests (1 with Windows XP and 1 with Window 7) and couldn't duplicate your results. Would you mind rerunning the Audio Setup Wizard and pressing the Play button in the last stage to listen to the playback to ensure that we have a clear signal and if we do, contact us off-line at Support@KnowBrainer.com so that we can issue you an RMA and test your unit.

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Click KB 2012 REV D to Download a 30 Day Evaluation of KnowBrainer 2012 

 

 

 

This is a follow up on Olympus directrec 1200. After repeating mic check I am getting much better results. In fact it is as good as Digta mic. I do get a few seconds delay in the appearance of dictated text on the screen( soon after turning the mic on) but text is accurate. After that initial delay it works fine. I have found that Digta button set utility has more options for setting up various buttons to Dragon commands than the Olympus. For example I can set the Digta Adapter server utility to turn the mic on and off with the same button by using Dragon commands but in Olympus I have to set it through the hot key. I like to use the same key for turning the mic on and off instead of using two separate keys.

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MQK

DNS Medical 10.1

I core 2 duo P7550, 2.6 ghz, 6 gig RAM

Now that I have been using the Olympus microphone for the past couple of months, I have noticed a few other minor inconveniences,

1. When using the microphone on remote desktop with dictation box, it takes anywhere between 2 seconds to 5 seconds for the transferred text to appear into the remote desktop window. 

2. When dictating short phrases, it is difficult to use the microphone on and off button. It takes a few seconds for the dictation to start appearing and if I turn the microphone off before the dictation starts appearing, no text is transcribed. 

3. The buttons on Olympus microphone are too close to the microphone mouthpeice and slightly noisy. Pressing these buttons may produce unwanted text.

I have also been using Digta Sonic microphone from home as well as in the office.  I prefer using the Digta Sonic microphone when dictating into remote desktop because, when turned on, microphone starts responding instantaneously. Further, when transferring the text from the dictation box into the remote desktop window, it takes less than a second every time.

Considering the price difference between the Olympus and Digta Sonic ( Digta costs $50 more) I think it is worth to pay $50 extra and get the more functional microphone.

I will be interested in knowing if some one else is having same issues with Olympus when using RDP connection.

 

 

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MQK

DNS Medical 10.1

I core 2 duo P7550, 2.6 ghz, 6 gig RAM