EVISTR Digital Voice Recorder 8GB L53 - 1536KPBS PCM Stereo Audio Recording Device Portable Dictaphone Microphone Gain Controllable Noise Reduction

The media could not be loaded. This is an excellent digital recorder. The build quality is superb with an all-metal construction. The buttons are well placed, logical, and responsive. You can choose from two different folders to store your files. There is a DENOISE option which greatly reduces background hiss. This recorder has very little self noise. If there is a quiet section before the recording starts, I have had to check to see if it is playing. You can delete files and even EDIT files in the recorder without connecting to a computer. You can use the Voice Activated Recording feature or there is even the option of doing recording at pre-set times. There is even a series of pre-set Equalizer setting you can choose from if you use this to play music (which sounds great on this recorder by the way). All this and great battery life too. These features are all very convenient.The built-in microphones are very good. As well, this recorder allows for the use of an external microphone and there is a lavalier mic included. The quality of this mic is okay but there are better microphones available, including one by Evistr. The same with the included earbud. They are adequate but you likely already have better. The advantage of being able to use an external microphone is that you can significantly increase the recording quality by being able to control and improve the sound before it goes into the recorder. This recorder has GAIN controls which allows you to adjust the recording volumes to better suit the recording environment or the microphone being used. This alone is reason enough to buy this recorder but there are so many other reasons. The small size, the great speaker, the solid build and Evistr’s great customer service are also great reasons to buy this device.There are a couple of minor issues and both have work arounds. The L53 does not start recording immediately when you press the RECORD button. There is a delay of a few seconds which is typical of most Chinese recorders I have tried. For what I use it for this is annoying but not a big deal since I normally don’t need it to start recording instantly. If you do need it to start recording instantly to capture every word you can use the AVR mode (Automatic Voice Recording mode). You get the few second delay when you turn on RECORD but once it is on it records instantly when a voice is heard and stops when the voice goes silent while it waits for the next voice. I will sometimes use this mode to record an Astronomy observing session. A four-hour session results in a 45 or 50-minute recording of what I found interesting and note worth.Another thing that is a little annoying is that the screen’s backlight dims after about 30 seconds (you can set it to 10, 20 or 30 second with 30 seconds the default) and you need to touch one of the buttons to “wake” it. When this happens, the button will only wake the screen, it will not preform its function so you will have to push it twice to get it to work. That said, you do have the option of setting the screen to “Always On”. This will of course reduce the battery life somewhat.Neither of these issues take away from the 5-star rating for this digital recorder. This is an excellent recorder, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I have tested this L53 against a professional recorder that is more than twice the price and while there are a few differences in features, I cannot hear a difference in the recording quality. This is an excellent buy.I have included a video that will give you an idea of the sound quality. The audio has not been processed other than to match the volume from sample to sample.

I am a retired ex-musician and ex-audio engineer. I use the EVISTR L53 Voice Activated Recorder to record choir rehearsals , either just sitting it on a chair/counter or hand-held. At the best audio setting (PCM / wav "lossless") I get good quality recordings of the piano, organ and a choir, to learn pieces in choir rehearsal.Even with some background chatter (choir members) and the room ambiance of a large church, the recordings come through clearly and in good quality. Bass, alto and tenor parts, along with piano, come through clearly. This thing would be a slam dunk for anything as unsophisticated as "lectures" without music.Is it a professional studio-quality recorder? No. But I doubt you're going to find anything superior to this for the inexpensive price (e.g. ~$50) I paid for it. I'm picky, and this little guy exceeded my expectations on performance and the audio quality I expected for the price.Pros: size (small, fits in a shirt pocket), convenience, features, and audio quality. Charges quickly (usb from my pc) and I've never run out of a charge during 90-minute rehearsals, not even close. With the included USB cable I upload every rehearsal to my pc, a good 90 minutes of music, with space and power to spare at PCM/"Lossless" audio quality. Includes USB cable for charging and up/download (looks like an external drive to your file manager), adaptor for phones, an additional external microphone (good quality music recordings with it) but the recordings I get using the "built in" stereo mikes on the recorder are fine.Cons: The manual ... needs work. I contacted them and I recommend you goto their website and download the pdf manual. That way you can search the file for the features and functionality you have questions or concerns about.I don't mind playing around with features to figure them out, but if you are one of those people who expect an easy user-friendly interface ... you might be in for a little frustration.Bottom line: if you're willing to invest a minimal amount of time in figuring out how to use this thing (most features imo are obvious and easy)you can't go wrong with this little guy, especially for the price. I recommend it.

Haven't had it for long, but this thing works quite well. Excellent value for the cost with good sound quality, good battery life and even a great stereo mic onboard(it picked up the "record" button presses the first time). Only complaint would be lack of good instructions on button functions(takes 2 presses to bring it back from "sleep" mode, etc.). Quite heavy for its size and of good construction.