Sansa Clip - Clipping on voice recording

[ezlxq]

Hi all, Sansa newbie here.

I use the recording facility a lot, and it's pretty good value for money! Works well in most typical scenarios.

One problem: the ALC doesn't appear to prevent clipping at high volumes. We're talking pipe organ and full choir. Is there a setting somewhere, or clipping indication? Have I missed something, please?

Thanks

[JK98]

i am surprised you are satisfied with the Clip recording quality. Imo it sucks. The Clip series is great as a player, but horrible as a recorder. You should get a decent digital recorder for recording. The Olympus ws700m, or Sony AX412, or UX512 would be good choices. They record in mp3 and have a microSDHC card slot. They have built in stereo mics, and mic jack if you want to use a separate mic.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by ezlxq

One problem: the ALC doesn't appear to prevent clipping at high volumes. We're talking pipe organ and full choir.

I don't think the Clip even has level control?

[ezlxq]

Thanks, both.

It's given me excellent service for voice recording. Mebbe expecting too much from it! I can't justify buying any more technology at present, so off to manufacture a home-made attentuator....

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by ezlxq

... Is there a setting somewhere, or clipping indication? Have I missed something, please?

No there's no setting and you haven't missed anything.

Originally Posted by ezlxq

... Mebbe expecting too much from it! I can't justify buying any more technology at present, so off to manufacture a home-made attentuator....

You can’t expect much from something so small with such a tiny onboard mic and I have no idea how you’ll be able to implement an attenuator into such a tiny mic but if you do please show us. IMHO if you want better quality the only way is to get a dedicated recorder unit like JK98 stated, although they get expensive as the quality goes up. A good friend of mine has the Edirol (can’t remember the model but it’s one of their best) and he finds it easy to use, good onboard mics and nice menu/UI. You can also use external mics with it thus you could implement a microphone attenuator if needed. I haven’t tested it but listened to some of his recordings and they do sound very good.

[skip252]

I ran across a project that added an added an external mic to a Clip+ a while back. No idea if it'll help with your attenuator project but it may give you some insights. If nothing else the close ups of the insides should help.

[WalkGood]

Good find Skip, not sure if I missed something as I only skimmed the article you posted. Not sure how much power the microphone electronics require and how much it would shorten the battery life but that added test would have been interesting to add. As well as recommending some appropriate mics for the power provided.