My recent attempts to record wildIife with a MD have left me
disappointed and I guess this is the best place to take my problem.
First, as a newcomer, let me say I am in awe of the expertise shown
in this group and appreciate the helpfulness of the replies given on
topics ranging from A/D converters to stomach rumble. Anyway, after
amusing myself for a few months recording birds and insects here in
northern Thailand with a camcorder (Sony DCR-PC100), I decided to
try and get better recordings so I bought the only Sony MD I could
find here (MZ-R701 ) plus a Sony ECM 957 mic with Shure matching
transformer. I figured that any MD must have a better preamp etc
than my camcorder, which has no manual gain setting or audio line
input. Since I anticipated making other sorts of recordings as well
I also got a SPM-6 mic plus a preamp from Sound Professionals. So,
armed with my new gear, I set off to record soundscapes, mainly dawn
choruses. I'm far from happy with the results. Whether I use
automatic or manual recording (the latter is a real pain on the
Sony) and whatever combination of mics and preamps, mic input or
line input I use, the recordings I make on the MD are marred by
excessive hiss on the original and on the .wav files I make from
them. It's not possible to get rid of it in CoolEdit without
destroying the sound quality. The bird calls themselves are just too
faint in comparison. (Normally I have the recorder on automatic
record but when I have used manual things were no better. Soft calls
were drowned by the hiss and as soon as a bird sat near the
microphone and shrieked, the recording was ruined.) I then went back
to my camcorder, trying it with my new microphones. The results
amazed me. The gain (without corresponding background hiss) was way
above what I get with any of the MD setups. The best results come
from the Sound Professional mic which, without needing a preamp,
delivers crystal clear sound with acceptable hiss levels. Bird
calls, especially anything higher pitched, stand out with amazing
sharpness. In terms of gain alone I get the best results from the
gear I started out with, my camcorder plus a baby Sennheiser MKE-300
(mono) and there's certainly much less background noise (hiss, self
noise whatever, sorry I can't be technical) than with any
arrangement using the MD. (The Sennheiser with the MD is virtually
inaudible). This morning I recorded some wild peacock in
neighbouring woods comparing the MD/ECM 957 /Shure with the
camcorder/SoundProfessionals. The MD setup was actually about 100
yards nearer the birds than the camcorder but the superiority of the
camcorder/SP's in gain and clarity is outstanding. The Sony ECM 957
on its own is also OK with the camcorder but with the attenuator
cable you definitely get a loss in the clarity of the sound and with
the camcorder I don't need the extra gain it gives.=20
So, should I throw out my new MD or am I simply not using it right?=20
I'd really appreciate any thoughts.
Thanks and apologies for introducing another John Moore to the group
(and for the length of this message)
John Moore=20
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