Olympus has announced a new portable audio recorder, the LS-11, a follow-up to their LS-10 handheld audio recorder.

The LS-11 can record 24-bit/96kHz stereo WAVs, as well as MP3 and WMA format files.

It’s got the same on-board microphones as the LS-10, as well as rear-mounted speakers for auditioning recorded material.

New features include 8GB of internal memory, instead of the 2GB found on the LS-10, and the facility to work with SD cards of up to 32GB in capacity.

What’s more, the two memory drives are viewed as one storage destination, so the LS-11 can address 40GB of data in total (if using a 32GB SD card).

The LS-11 features a Voice Synchronize Recording function, which extends recording time by recording only when the microphone senses sound at the pre-set level. This function saves time by reducing the need to fast-forward past pauses between songs or in conversation. This function allows a musician to set up the LS-11 to start recording a musical performance before it starts. When the recording is played back later, avoid listening to dead air because it has only picked up the performance.

According to Olympus, the LS-11 offers 23 hours of battery life.

The LS-11 will be available in September 2009 at a price of $399.99.