Olympus TP-8 Telephone Pick Up Microphone

* Physical This microphone allows clearer recordings through telephones to be made. This is when a microphone connected to a digital voice recorder that gives power to the mic such as Olympus own brands for example. This TP-8 is a otherwise identical to the previous TP-7 Microphone. This microphone allows good quality telephony recordings to be made with it. This microphone sits in your ear and when you turn the device on, you can talk to the other caller and both your voice and the other caller voice can be clearly heard. It works both with landlines and mobiles no problems. * Tips This microphone has a 3.5 mm jack on a meter long cable designed to be inserted into the 'MIC' port on your recorder and the microphone end in your ear. I would like to add if you can, please choose between 'voice' and 'music', and go for 'voice'. This means you can alter the quality of your voice telephone recordings .Also consider the 'Menu' selection of your digital recorder and choose its 'Rec Mode.' This means you experiment and select one that has enough recording quality for your needs. I recommend you try them out in turn and select one that's right for you, but (i.m.h.o) 'HQ' (Hi Quality) is great for this type of recording. And Microphone sense 'Mic Sense' to 'Dic' (dictaphone) can help too. Just a thought, if you have not used your digital recorder for a while, and its battery has run down and it seems dead even after fitting a new battery, try connecting the recorder to a USB port on your computer and it may come back to life again. This repair worked for me! * Summary This microphone works well, gives user variable quality to recordings; the bigger the files, the better the recording quality. The price of this is great and is cheaper than the TP-7 it replaces.

It works very, very, very well. And would have got 5 stars if the cable wasn't so flimsy up by the mic. I'm not heavy handed and treat it very carefully but for the price it needs to be better reinforced at that point.

Last week I went to a local branch of a national electronics chain, to find something to allow me to record both sides of phone calls, and was advised to buy two separate gadgets by their adviser, who assured me these would allow me to record calls on my cordless landline (one was the small 'retel' box type device, which plugs directly into the phone line; the other was an amplifying device, a basic suction cup, to stick directly onto the phone - total cost of £28). Having spent 2 days testing them over and over again, only to discover that neither worked, at all. The caller's voice was completely inaudible when recording were played back, so I returned them for a refund. Their tech guy said the gadgets they'd sold me "work perfectly well for other customers" (!!), and when I offered to replay him my recordings, to prove the caller's voice was completely inaudible, he declined, then told me the fault was "not the gadgets", but the fact I had a "BT Cordless phone" (!), even though, as I pointed out to him, one of the gadgets was clearly labelled as being "suitable for all cordless phones". Anyway, that's why I ended up on here searching for something for easy and clear recording of both sides of 'phone calls. I opted for this gadget, partly due to the reasonable price, and also having already had to return one of the retel box type recorders, as already explained. I'm glad I did, as this little gadget has proved to be an excellent and affordable solution (I use it with a Sony PX333 Voice Recorder. It's so easy to use, and is great as I can also record calls to my mobile just as easily as to the landline, and it is portable (can take it out with me to use with mobile if necessary). The caller's voice is (so far!) recording perfectly and clearly. I did initially hesitate before buying this, as thought maybe wearing the earpiece when using the phone might be a bit cumbersome or uncomfortable, but it's not at all - having the earpiece in my ear is no problem, even on lengthy calls (there are three different sized adaptors included). Forget the more expensive gadgets, this little gadget is simply brilliant... and affordable too.

I like this, it fits in your ear and you put the phone to the same ear, it has a through and through mike so it plays the call into your ear and at the same time down the wire to whatever recording device it is plugged into (I'm told they even work with PC's though I haven't tried it yet. I'm not sure how it picks up your side of the conversation but it does. Only drawback is if you move the phone around you get that plastic on plastic clunking in your recording when it hits the mike/speaker. Apart from that it's as good as you would expect, perhaps overpriced though.

.....UPDATE 25 March 2025: I am really struggling to understand why Amazon (who are usually so on the ball) has not yet fixed the UK ordering issue. It remains (for over two years now) impossible to order these in the UK, despite the (what clearly appears to be a tech glitch) issue being reported directly, and a number of reviews all highlighting the same issue........ Such a good product, and usually such a reasonable price on this listing, but the lack of sales - due to being unable to order - surely should be flagging the issue up the chain......? END OF UPDATE. ……UPDATE 19 Oct 2024: ………..For those who are still looking for this item, the exact same item can be found on Amazon here https://amzn.eu/d/6chJO1a. ………. END OF UPDATE UPDATE 17 OCT 2024: Since my review below, over a year ago, I have tried many times to add to the one (my very last one) I already have. It is over a year old now, and in use daily, several times mostly. I do not expect it to last another full year. but I will need to look elsewhere though, as it is still impossible on Amazon….grrr END OF UPDATE. ….I have used these since 2010 (model tp-7 first, then tp-8). They work really well with my various dictation / voice recorders. They are used daily, often multiple times, they do last only a couple of years before needing replacing though - they suddenly stop picking up sound, so I usually always have a spare set to hand. I think for how often and long I use them for, they are very good value My immense frustration is that although Amazon list them for sale, with Amazon as the seller, as soon as one tries to check out, the check out page says, they are not available to be shipped to your address! GRRRR! Have contacted Amazon live chat several days ago, and was promised it (must be some of tech issue on the part of Amazon, as there is nothing wrong with my location) would be sorted within "25 hours". Nothing was sorted though, I still can't order - I try several times daily as my last set have just broken, and now using my last spare set. This seems a long term and intermittent common problem, having now looked at some of the other reviews...... Amazon CS is usually so good, I cannot understand why Amazon is dragging its feet on this matter and allowing it to keep happening........? Come On, Amazon, Please Get it Sorted.....

This works really well. When I first tried to use it I had no joy -the earpiece/mic was plugged in to my recorder (Roland R05) in the mic jack, and sitting in my ear with the phone against it, taking a call. Nothing was recorded! I thought I might have to buy another compatible recorder after reading some of the more negative reviews, but the solution is a simple one. You need to make sure your digital recorder is set to PLUG-IN POWER (I found this under 'input settings' on my device).This setting allows power to the microphone, which enables it to work. Don't give up on this handy little mic before trying it. Really am very pleased with the quality and ease of use. The earplug that sits in your ear doesn't block out any noise as you make your phone call -it doesn't get in the way at all and is very discreet. Worth the £12. It's simple and effective.

The product failed to live up to what was advertised. Olympus UK did not even have one in the UK. I gave this rating as I could not hear or make out the telephone conversations I tried to record. The digital recorder itself is great though.

Nice item for the money but my colleague found there was too much noise still getting through that she could here clearly.!