How can I convert a DSS dictation file to mp3?

Question

Am new to using a Mac and my last place of work I used a PC with Speechexec dictation software.  I need to convert some of the old dictation files to play on either QuickTime or iTunes etc.  Anyone any idea?

Answer 1

I would like to validate and recommend the solution mentioned by Mark Dachille. I, too, have conducted extensive Google searches to find software which can convert Olympus DSS audio-formatted files to mp3, only to discover that there is no such animal out there. NCH Software offers Switch, but if you check out the list of formats supported by Switch, you will learn that while Switch is supported for Windows, Switch is incapable of converting Olympus's proprietary DSS audio files to any other audio format. Any attempt to do so will reveal a message that the file is empty, no data is found, etc. But if the Finder shows that your DSS does have data, then all Switch is saying, in effect, is: "Hey, I can't see anything in this file," which would be a more honest and a more accurate message, instead of using misleading language about the file itself.
(As a related issue, which I will not elaborate upon here, I have a problem with NCH Software. I detest their software upgrading policy;  I find their technical software abominable; and I caught them lying in a recent Google search, where their AdWord at the top of the page alleges that Switch "Easily convert dss audio dictations to wav or mp3 on a PC or Mac. Works on Windows and Mac." Don't believe this marketing hype. It is a blatant lie. I wrote them a letter, and I published it as an open letter in the record for Switch at MacUpdate.com, for anyone wanting further details.)
As far as converting DSS files to mp3, I have found no direct route. As Mark points out, the most elegant option is to use the Olympus DSS Player software. Fortunately, version 7.5 works with Mavericks; I just tested it out once again to confirm that. The Olympus web site provides downloads to the previous versions of DSS Player, which accompanied the purchase of an Olympus recorder, but it may not allow downloading of the original application itself to which you can apply those upgrades. However, if you do a deep Google search, you may get lucky and locate the original application.
Once in DSS Player, you import your DSS file(s). After they are listed in file window, you can export them to AIFF files. From there, you can either use Switch or any other audio converter which can convert AIFF files to mp3 files.
I happen to use Switch, because I bought a license years ago, and it does the job quite well, while also working in batch mode to convert many files at one go. But that does mean I recommend buying Switch, for the reasons I discuss in my comments at MacUpdate.com. Be careful dealing with this software company: have your eyes open before you purchase.
NCH Software has had years in which to empower Switch to work on the Mac, but they either cannot code the program to do this, or they do not want to. Either way, they should not lie about saying their program CAN do in their Goggle AdWord, while admitting on their website, if you probe before you buy, that Switch can NOT convert DSS to mp3 after all. I have a bias against liars.
I find it interesting that NCH Software is not above slamming Olympus for having developed, in NCH's opinion, an inferior audio format for recording dictation. Whether that is true or not, I cannot comment for it is a technical matter beyond my expertise. However, I can say that setting your Olympus recorder (in my case, model DS-2, which has worked flawlessly for me for years), allows you to record many more messages before the storage capacity (of about 68 MB on my device) is reached. So, there is an incentive, in my case, to use DSS on the device, but to convert the source DSS files later on to usable formats on my Mac.
My calculations indicate that when you convert a DSS file to an AIFF file via the DSS Player, your file size will increase about 13 times, meaning that a 1 MB DSS file will convert to a 13 MB AIFF file. Converting that AIFF file via Switch reduces that file to about 9 MB, which means that an mp3 file is about 9 times as large as an original DSS file. The vast difference in the file size allows me to record up to 22 hours at DSS (at 200 - 3,000 Hz) vs 1 hour at Stereo High Quality mode, which delivers an AIFF file (at 100 - 17,000 Hz).
I like being able to choose the quality settings, and I like the ability to call upon the DSS setting to record long conversations, interviews, or dictation, without fretting that I will run out of storage space. The ability to convert those DSS files, via the DSS Player, to AIFF, then to mp3 gives me the flexibility of choice.
The key to the whole process of converting DSS files to other audio formats is the Olympus DSS Player software: it is the essential intermediate step for a Mac user, without which you are stuck, unless you want to run the Windows version of Switch. I don't.