Hi Dave
I have not been around for a while so apologies for not answering your quer=
y earlier, I expect that the others were also busy - I don't think you were=
being ignored on purpose.
First up what Sony minidisc recorder do you have, as they are all in fact '=
digital' recorders. Now the models before they introduced the Hi-MD range o=
f machines did not have that brilliant a mic amp in them. That all changed =
when they brought out the Hi-MD which saw Sony go from pretty mediocre mic-=
amps to quite amazing ones by comparison. In fact they compare very well wi=
th some of the best around take a look here at Rob Danielson's pages:
http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/HiMD/index.htm
Linked from that page is a comparison of a Sony Hi-MD costing a couple of h=
undred dollars and a Sound Devices product costing thousands of dollars!
http://tinyurl.com/6jck9u
So even today the best bang for buck is still probably the Sony Hi-MD which=
the current model is the MZ RH1, there is a review of it here:
http://www.wildlife-sound.org/equipment/himd/rh1.html
The thing to remember is that the Sony Hi-MD's don't supply phantom power a=
nd the majority of microphones around today require phantom volts to work. =
All is not lost as you can get battery powered phantom power boxes such as =
the Rolls or Art Phantom II. So armed with one or two microphones a battery=
phantom power supply and an MZ RH1 you would have a very good recording ki=
t.
It has to be said that by the time you add up the cost of a MZ RH1 around =
=C2=A3220 GBP and an Art Phantom II around =C2=A345 GBP it gives you a tota=
l of =C2=A3265. Now for around =C2=A3370 to =C2=A3400 GBP you can get the n=
ew kid on the block the Fostex FR2 LE which is quite exceptional for the pr=
ice and this does supply phantom power so no need for a second box to carry=
around. Google the various items and see what price you can come up with, =
as I am from the UK I do everything in pounds sterling I am afraid.
A review of the Fostex can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/3w8xot
Now both of these would allow you to download your recordings to your compu=
ter where you could then use the freeware sound editing software called Aud=
acity.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
This will also allow you to record into your computer with no limitations a=
s well, apart from the size of your hard drive that is!
With the Sony Hi-MD you need Sony's own software called Sonic Stage to down=
load to the computer, which comes with the MZ RH1.
[The MZ RH1 will also allow you to download recordings made on previous MD =
machines and convert these into wav files for you as well. So if you have a=
lot of stuff on MD it can be worth getting this unit just to be able to do=
that, it is only the MZ RH1 that will allow this by the way!]
There are many other recorders out there for instance you may find the Zoom=
H2 does what you want:
http://tinyurl.com/4gwdhe
Also check out the Olympus LS 10 and the Sony PCM D50
All these units have built in microphones which while not being 'brilliant'=
may offer what you are after. It really depends at the end of the day what=
'quality' you are after attaining and what price range you are looking at.=
If quality is all important then the H2, PCM D50 and LS 10 are probably no=
t for you and something like the Sony or Fostex may be better suited to you=
r needs. If you are after the very best then look at the Sound Devices rang=
e as you will be hard pushed to find anything much better.
There are many recorders out there all of differing qualities and abilities=
it really depends on what you want at the end of the day?
I would not recommend anything that connects to your iPod as offering any s=
ort of quality when it comes to recording.
Of course if you go down the Sony MZ RH1 or Fostex FR2 LE route you will th=
en need to think about microphones as well and you will need to add these i=
nto your budget.
Something like the Sennheiser K6/ME66 combo is used by many people around t=
he world for recording bird song. It is a short shot-gun mic and offers som=
e directionality. This also has the advantage that it can be battery powere=
d using an AA sized cell in the K6 module so does away with the need for a =
separate phantom power box, so can be used straight into the Sony MZ RH1 fo=
r instance. It would also double as a microphone to record voices with as w=
ell. You can often find these on ebay for a lot less than they cost new, so=
worth checking out.
Also do a search through the Nature Recordist group messages, entering any =
of the above items and you will find a lot of info there.
If you need any more advice please post back and we will not ignore you, ho=
nest!
I hope some of the above helps.
Sorry again we did not get back sooner.
Phil
----- Original Message ----
From: dalston27 <>
To:
Sent: Wednesday, 9 April, 2008 9:23:19 AM
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: Digital recording device
Not one reply to my query. Thanks a bunch!!
--- In naturerecordists@ yahoogroups. com, "dalston27"
<davehickson_ > wrote:
>
> Hello. Can anyone give me some advice about buying a digital
recording
> device.. At present I use a sony Minidisc recorder , is there a
digital
> equivalent?. I have heard about a Belkin Universal microphone
adaptor
> for use with an Ipod MP3 player . Does anyone know if it is any
good or
> not. I am recording mainly bird song and also human voices for
later
> use on digital video or AV slideshow presentation. I also need to
get
> hold of some software to capture the sound onto my computer . At
the
> moment I have been using Windows sound recorder but this seems to
have
> a limit of 1 minute of recording time. Sorry alot of questions but
can
> anyone help me?
> Thanks in advance
> Dave
>
=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
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