Recommendations for head-mounted microphones

[Bartlomiej Plichta]

Dear Amanda,

As you noted yourself, there are several important factors that come into play when deciding on a head-mounted microphone for research purposes. I have reviewed 11 head-mounted microphones and posted the reviews on my website. I have also reviewed the Marantz PMD 660 and given suggestions on which microphone might work best with it. As a general rule,  you need an omnidirectional, condenser microphone that is self-powered, say, with a AA or LR44 battery (it lasts tens or hundreds of hours). Such a microphone is going to give you the best acoustic and electrical performance for your needs. The headband, on the other hand, is a personal matter. Different manufacturers use different designs, from a very sturdy (e.g., Shure Beta 53) to a very lightweight (e.g., DPA 4066), and a few variants in between. Please, take a look at my reviews, and let me know if you have any further questions.

http://bartus.org/akustyk/reviews.php

Best wishes,
Bartek Plichta



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Web: http://bartus.org




Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:04:52 +0800
From: panikata at wangkamaya.org.au
Subject: Recommendations for head-mounted microphones
To: r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au



Hello, all! I’m looking for recommendations for head-mounted microphones.  Here is a description of how the mic will be used: 1.       Purpose: for collecting high-quality, single-speaker field recordings, some of which will be used for phonetic analysis.  Noisy background environments are likely.2.       Portability:  Should be relatively portable, though sound quality takes precedence to an extent.  Electrical outlets will not always be available.3.       Recorder: for use with a Marantz PMD 6604.       Price range: up to $300 for the whole package5.       Other: ideally, the microphone should also be as easy to wear and unintimidating as possible (insofar as a head-mounted mic can be, I suppose) Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated! Thanks,Amanda P.S. We’re also going to be looking into buying new, non-head-mounted microphones for single-speaker and group-based field recordings sometime in the near future, so any incidental recommendations on that front are welcome too!  Thanks!  Amanda Hamilton - LinguistWangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre PO Box 2736, South Hedland 672267 Throssell Rd(08) 9172 2344 (ph)(08) 9172 2355 (fax)www.wangkamaya.org.au  		 	   		  
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