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Date: Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:34 am ((PDT))
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I am after a sound recorder capable of capturing good quality audio of the =
sounds of nature (mostly bird calls.) Ive heard some good recommendations f=
rom various websites and from members of this e-mail list.
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Mitch: "Second bit of advice, you mentioned a mini-disc recorder. The mini-=
disc is
a bit of technology that has fallen by the wayside and been replaced in the=
market place by the new digital PCM recorders. I doubt you will find any
new mini-disc recorders on the market today."
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I=C2=A0believe Sony currently produce one Mini Disc model but I wouldn't be=
buying such a device brand new. There's something that I should have menti=
oned in my introductory post. Money is tight so I'm on a very=C2=A0small bu=
dget. I'd be willing to spend up to $120 on the recorder although I may be =
tempted to=C2=A0spend a little more if I'm tempted by someone's particular =
recommendation. I have read on the=C2=A0Wildlife Sound Recording Society's =
website that Mini Disc recorders are a good option for nature sound recordi=
sts on a small budget. Though they do have some inconviences that one has t=
o put up with!
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I would be particularly interested in the Hi-MD models as they record audio=
that is uncompressed. According to the WSRS, some models have very low noi=
se mic preamps though they don't specify many models that have such a techn=
ical refinement. Can anyone here list some particular=C2=A0Mini Disc models=
that have good mic preamps? Of course some models don't have manual record=
ing levels or mic inputs so that would also be something to look at.
There is a link here about the testing of one particular Mini Disc recorder=
's mic preamps but unfortunately, most of it is over my head - way too tech=
nical for me!
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http://www.wildlife-sound.org/equipment/himd/himdmyths_meas.html
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Switching the topic to PCM recorders, I admit that i was tempted by the US$=
99 retail price of the new Zoom H1 Handy Recorder. The H1 sounds like quite=
a versatile and impressive recorder. Ive listened to some sound clips reco=
rded by the H1's built in mics and they sound very clear. Though I did read=
that another Zoom recorder model has poor mic inputs and that using extern=
al microphones invited unwanted noise. Not sure if the H1 has this problem =
but would definitely be something to be cautious of. I'll leave the discuss=
ion of microphones to another post.
--- On Wed, 23/6/10, Mitch Hill <> wrote:
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