For what you want in the less expensive range the M-Audio 24/96 is
probably the best bet. Its battery is internal however, so you have to
record for long periods of time you will have to buy a USB adapter and
an external battery supply. Incidently, with very few exceptions, these
new recorders are not really quiet enough to take advantage of 24 bit
recording even when it it available as a choice. Stay with 16 bit and
save space. Make sure that the flash memory you buy is compatible. Not
everything that's presently made can keep up.
If your wife has some good recordings, I'd love to hear them. I'm
presently working on a project that, in part, includes cataloging
primate calls. I haven't gotten to that part yet, so I'm not yet giving
it my full attention but I will be actively soliciting, probably in the
new year.
Good luck
Marc
keithruck wrote:
>
>
>
> My wife is in Ecuador, and she decided to collect some vocalization
> data to go with the other data she is already collecting on cebus
> albafrons (white-faced capuchin monkeys). She is new to this type of
> analysis, but knows she wants to do a "bioacoustic spectrogram"
> spectral analysis to compare different vocalizations at different
> times by different monkeys in the group. She plans on using Raven Pro
> for analysis.
>
> She has tasked me with buying her a portable recorder that will
> collect sufficient sound samples for this analysis, while trying not
> to break the bank (we are paying for all the equipment out of our own
> pocket, so far she hasn't been awarded any grants).
>
> I'd prefer something solid-state and preferably something that could
> record to flash memory (like an SD or CF card) but am open to options.
> She does have an external mic, but I don't have the brand/model/specs
> for it because it is already with her in Ecuador- I just know that it
> has a battery in it (gun-type mic) and has an external switch for
> "regular" vs "unidirectional" recording. It has a standard 1/4" plug,
> so if she can use that, great (if not, I'll need microphone
> recommendations as well).
>
> Parabolic mics are unnecessary because she can get within a few meters
> of the animals, and bad because the monkeys are habituated and
> curious- anything they can grab, pull, etc. is less desirable than a
> small mic that can be jammed in a jacket pocket if the monkeys attack.
> They do "attack" regularly if there is anything they are curious
> about, so smaller equipment is better.
>
> The professional equipment I see on ebay and other sites include
> M-Audio devices, the Edirol R09, and the Marantz 660. I also saw some
> personal dictation type devices that claimed to record uncompressed,
> but I don't know what the sampling rate was so I didn't bookmark any
> of those.
>
> So bottom line, I'm looking for any suggestions on equipment,
> preferably on the less expensive end, that will still be sufficient
> for spectral analysis. The animals are close, and I believe that most
> of their vocalizations will be in the human range, since they are
> fairly related (vocal and eardrum apparatus).
>
> Thank you for any advice,
> Keith
>
>
|