Posted by: "dan.groebner"
> I'm mostly wondering what quality of recording I should attempt. Do
> I need 24-bit? 96 KS/s?
>
> I'm certain my ears couldn't tell the difference but can the call
> detecting software? Or will more faint calls be more discernable
> (given the gain is already at maximum)?
No, you don't need higher sampling rates. The frequency of the calls is
pretty low. And the higher the sampling rate the less time you can
store. Important in remote recording.
Remember, until fairly recently frogloggers were cassette tape and that
was plenty good enough. And that is easily beaten by 16bit 44k CD
sound. Use 16bit 44k for your recordings, you might even get by at a
lower sampling rate if necessary.
I expect you are not going to have a problem with faint calls since you
will be recording at the pond. You may not even want to set gain that high.
> The Sound Meter looks like it may be the best fit for my budget and
> needs. Does the plug in power sacrifice anything compared to phantom
> power mics?
Just which mics you can use. Higher end mics are mostly phantom powered.
Note on your question on sampling rate, to get any benefit from those
high sampling rates requires those phantom powered high end mics. In
fact there are very few mics that have the response range of the high
sampling rate.
> And I don't understand the impacts of not having a balanced mic
> system. I would like to record one channel in the air and one
> channel underwater simultaneously. Do I need a balanced system for
> that?
For nature recording it generally is not a problem. A balanced mic
system is designed to enable longer cables in soundstages and such where
there is a lot of electromagnetic interference. It's design isolates the
signal from ground. Nature recording is mostly a long ways from sources
of interference.
More than likely you will have a separate power supply for your
hydrophone to maintain. And they use their own cables.
Walt
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