As you might guess, it's like an omnidirectional 360 degree mic., except with right-left differentiation. So, it doesn't really have a front or back.

It's sound on my voice is sweet & airy, compared to my larger stereo mic for cameras.

It doesn't have pronounced "proximity effect" that you might expect from two cardioid-directional capsules, where if you're close the voice becomes bassy. I'm talking 9" close. This may be due to the bass rolloff it has.

So, I think it has some optimizations for voice.

If you're in a noisy environment, the stereo helps alot, because a noise might come from a different direction than your target. In mono they would combine.

After messing around with mounting it in a bag, I noticed that the 2 stereo head covers are a tiny bit loose -- you can rotate them ever so slightly. I'll be real careful now!

Mine came really fast, by USPS, in a big box with bubble pads in it.

I got this mic specifically for my GoPro HD Hero 2. The added stereo sound is nice, but all the audio has a constant hiss (especially when shooting a quiet setting -- probably due to some amplification or the like), for the most part, it is removable in post, so it isn't that big of a deal. The over all quality of audio is miles beyond what GoPro has supplied in their product. It's also a bit quiet in certain situations.

Another problem is that if someone breaks wind in the room next to where you're recoding, the microphone pops and cracks (obviously a bit of an exaggeration here), but that to say, there is exactly zero pop filter on this, and any air movement will pick up immediately on it. I purchased the smallest wind muff (a dead kitten) I could get to put over the top of this for the majority of it's use.

Overall, for this price range, it does a pretty good job, and with the addition of the dead cat/kitten it can suffice in many settings.

This Olympus ME-51S Stereo Microphone was purchased for use with an Olympus DS-30 Digital Voice Recorder to record my college lectures to be offered on my Website and via podcasting services, including Apple iTunes, Yahoo! and PodBlaster. I wanted high quality audio recording equipment to give a professional sound to my presentations, and the DS-30 had already been doing well with its own, built-in stereo mic. Unfortunately, some of the rooms in which I lecture have the acoustical qualities of a haunted house, complete with unfortunately troubled, noisy souls dedicated to howling incessantly.

Hence, I bought the microphone to clip onto my tie so I could attach the recorder to my belt with a belt-clip case available from Olympus. The DS-30 has three recording modes: "lecture hall," "conference," and "dictation." (The DS-30 also has four recording quality levels, including "XQ" stereo, which I always use.) With the microphone, I was able to take the gain down from "lecture hall" to "conference," which cut the ambient noise level considerably. I was somewhat worried that the microphone being so close to my tie would cause occasional rubbing sounds as the mic hit the fabric, but in more than 50 hours of recording so far with the mic I have noticed that only twice while preparing the lectures for broadcast.

The microphone comes with three feet of lead wire, so there is plenty of cord to loosely wrap the wire to the back of a tie, drop it down a shirt, and then bring it back out at the bottom to take over to where the recorder is attached to the belt (if you want to do it by such a complicated method to avoid having wire flapping about).

I was also concerned that the microphone would not have the same audio quality as the built-in mic, but that has not been the case: the quality of sound being recorded with the ME-515 is exactly the same as that from the original, built-in mic, which detaches with a simple pull, allowing the jack from the ME-515 to be inserted with ease. I should caution that, even though the jack goes in easily, make sure it has gone in all the way. Once, I apparently didn't push hard enough, and the jack went in only partially, so I ended up with a really weird audio recording that ran mono instead of stereo, with the mono switching randomly from left to right.

In summary, the Olympus ME-515 is a wonderful complement to any of the better Olympus stereo digital audio recorders with which it is compatible, including the WM and DS series. The microphone is unobtrusively small, lightweight, smoothly attractive in shape, durable, and ready for use right out of the package. I have used it now in well over 50 hours of recording, and I carry it in a simple little pouch alongside my Olympus DS-30. If you want a stereo microphone for your better Olympus recorder, this is the one. You will not be disappointed with the audio quality you get from it.

I bought these to record my Mustang GT's exhaust on the track while using my Go Pro. I also purchased the eBoot 5 Pack Furry Outdoor Microphone Windscreen Muff to help with the wind noise and it all works great. I ran an audio cable from the windshield mounted Go Pro through the cars interior out the trunk and zip tied it to the license plate which is centered between the exhaust tips. I am very impressed with the sound quality through such an easy setup. Highly recommended!

I purchased this with the intention of hiding it on my person because I was working in a rather chaotic environment where people would say one thing to set you up then deny having given that order when it was time to answer for whatever negative outcome was caused. This comes with a clip and I ran a wire from it to my Tascam DR-05 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OU2IQG/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_33) and was very pleased with the results. This microphone was so sensitive that I was able to pick up on things people said under their breaths. The maximum radius, where I could always obtain crystal clear recordings was around 6ft; Anything over that tended to need to be filtered as it would include some varying amount of ambient noise.

I ran the wire under my clothes and clipped it to the neck of my undershirt. Even from beneath all that fabric, I was able to pick up conversations without interference. When what I wanted to later record was important, I would run the wire through my lapel and hide the microphone within a flower or tucked into the top of my outer suit breast pocket, while wrapped up in the handkerchief I keep there.

For personal yet discrete recordings, this is the device that you need. It would be a good idea to use Audacity when filtering and before you make copies. Always keep the original but clean up the copies. That way, if anyone accuses you of sound splicing, you always have the original to fall back on.