Digital recorders

[Bartlomiej Plichta]

Thanks for the information on the Zoom. Of course, choosing a recorder is very much a personal decision. There are a lot of intangibles that come into play and having a recorder that one feels confident with is crucial, especially in the field.

In my tests, I am interested primarily in obtaining the cleanest signal that is as rich in spectral detail as possible, for a given microphone-recorder combination. The best "quality" is measured best in spectral analysis rather than by ear. Sure, we can post-process recordings to make them sound great, but we sacrifice a lot of precious detail in the process. Such techniques are perfect for broadcast, but less desirable, I argue, for language preservation.

Getting the optimal microphone-recorder combination is crucial. In the field, we are constrained by size, weight, and battery requirements. We want the equipment to work reliably and simply. My personal preference for a simple field recording setup is the Sony PCM-M10 recorder (fantastic battery life, excellent pre-amps) and a matched small-capsule, omnidirectional condenser microphone, wired for "plug-in" power, or with a dedicated in-line power supply. With proper technique, for about $400 US total, you can get a kit that will rival the best laboratory recordings.

I also recommend microphones that can be used either in a head-mounted or a lavaliere configuration. Some manufacturers make lavs and head-mounted mics based on the same capsule. That's the best option, in my opinion, as you will get consistent acoustics across your corpus. I have a lot of information about that on my website. Some of the best lav/headset options are by Sanken, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic, and Sennheiser. Sanken would be my choice for field use, due to its resistance to moisture and temperature, and excellent protection against handling noise. The COS11-D is the capsule I reviewed. Recently, the released the head-mounted version of it. The problem is, it's expensive.

So if you'd rather have a cheaper option, without sacrificing too much quality, there is a small company in the US called Microphone Madness. Mike, the engineer there, will make a pair of mics for you for about $100 each, and they will be wired to work perfectly with "plug-in" power. He has worked with linguists in the past. This will make a no-fuss kit.

Finally, for a really cheap kit, consider the Audio-Technica ATR 3350. It is a $20 microphone with really decent acoustics, a 3-meter cord, and inline power supply. It will work well with most plug-in power recorders, even the cheapest Zoom and Tascam models. It may not withstand the harsh conditions of field use, but it is a nice piece of gear for the price.

Here are some links that you might find helpful:
Sanken COS-11D, my review:
http://bartus.org/akustyk/COS11D

Microphone Madness:
http://microphonemadness.com/

ATR 3350 review:
http://bartus.org/akustyk/3350

Hope it helps.
Best,
Bartek Plichta





> Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 14:58:49 -0300
> From: moore at amazon.com.br
> Subject: Re: Digital recorders
> To: r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au
> 
> Well, in the Amazon region of Brazil the Zoom H4n has held up well-- 
> no problems as yet.  It does have a 'stamina' setting to conserve 
> batteries but we haven't used it.  Its appeal, for the price, is the 
> quality of the built-in stereo mike and the fact that it has XLR 
> inputs and phantom power for professional microphones.  We use is 
> with a headworn Shure WH20-XLR microphone (recommended by a 
> phonetician) when it is necessary to exclude ambient noise and record 
> one person.  The signal on that microphone is a bit weak but it 
> reduces noise very efficiently and the track can be normalized (on 
> the Zoom H4n or via sound editing program) without having much 
> amplified noise.
> 
> -Denny Moore, Museu Goeldi
> 
> 
> At 02:00 PM 6/1/2011, plichtab at msu.edu wrote:
> >Hello,
> >
> >Regarding the recent question about inexpensive digital recorders, I 
> >believe that the Zoom H4n and Sony PCM-M10 are the minumum that 
> >qualifies for a quality field device. Of course, there are cheaper 
> >recorders that can get the job done. Of the two, I would recommend 
> >the Sony PCM-M10 due to its far superior battery life and a really 
> >good microphone pre-amplifier. However, it does not have XLR inputs 
> >onboard, so if you must use XLR inputs, you'll have to use the H4n. 
> >I have tested both recorders thoroughly, with a variety of 
> >microphones. Here are my reviews, if you're interested:
> >
> >http://bartus.org/akustyk/H4N
> >
> >http://bartus.org/akustyk/PCMM10
> >
> >Hope it helps. Please, feel free to email me if you have any further 
> >questions regarding recorders or microphones.
> >Best,
> >Bartek Plichta
> >http://bartus.org
>