[Lexicog] Audio devices suitable for language data collection

[Norbert Rennert]

Hello All,

I'm looking at purchasing an mp3 recorder which can serve as a field
language data collection device. I have the following minimum requirements:

- bit rate recording must be over 128 kbs
- have an external microphone jack in addition to built-in mic
- be able to play back a user-defined segment in a loop
- preferably usb 2.0 transfer mode

So far in my research I have found that the IRiver MP3 Flash players fulfill
these requirements. My questions are:
- Does anyone have any experience with these players or others and can say
if the quality of the recording is good enough to do phonetic analysis?
- I have heard that the mp3 format truncates the higher frequencies. Does
this affect the sounds produced by human speech?
- What is the minimal bit rate you should record at to be able to use the
recording for phonetic analysis?
- is the built-in microphone usable for collecting language data? At what
distance should the microphone be from the speaker to obtain an optimal
recording?

Any feedback from experienced users is greatly appreciated.

Norbert Rennert
Canada Institute of Linguistics

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