Please help find mp3 player/recorder for a trip

[sunny]

Hello, hopefully you guys can help me find something for my upcoming trip to india. I've been researching for over 2 weeks intensively and I'm still stuck!!

Here are the requirements for what i'm looking for:

1. Recording Ability:

Either line in (ala no expensive mic needed) or voice.

I will be recording discussions and lectures from a scholar. The recording will be with just us two in the room, and at other times it will be with an audience listening. I also hope to record live music (this is secondary only) and share both lectures and music on the net. Please note that I am not an audiophile, I just want good clear recordings with no annoying background hiss (I even only use cheap, under $30 headphones, usually stock)

As an example, I consider the voice recorder on Cowon D2 and I7 bad b/c it's too hissy. X5 though is golden but $$$$.

2. Durability:

Will be in India, mostly in one place with little traveling. Still, it's a dusty place, so I'm hesitant to get Clix 2.

3. Cost:

Am on a budget. So am looking for something under $150. Some slightly more expensive units like Clix 2 can be found for this price on ebay.

4. Mac Compatibility

I would greatly appreciate your help. If you have any suggestions for dedicated voice recorders that don't even play music, I'm willing to hear them, so long as I can get them in wma, mp3, wav or other common format. Thanks,

[CrowdAds]

[JK98]

The Samson Zoom H2 looks like a nice portable recorder. It uses 2 AA batteries and records on an SD card. It can record in mp3 with a user selectable bitrate(48 kbps-320 kbps). It has built in mics that are said to be good. This is the lowest priced recorder I have seen that records in mp3 and has decent built in mics. I don't own one yet, but might eventually buy one.

http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Handy-...E5CAV3QRW9NMG2

[Jack4L]

Well Ii've personaly used a Cowon U3, Cowon X5 and an iRiver H300 (with rockbox) to record music, conferences and interviews with a Sony DS70P microphone. They all work equaly well imo, thanks mostly to the Sony mic. I'd wager any device with a line-in input will work well with a good microphone.

Other devices are roughly the same quality, if you get a device with a built in mic, you'll need to be constantly pointing the device at the source of the sound. Even 200$ voice recorders are the same deal, and I've yet to try one that doesn't produce unbalanced recordings for music and conferences. I've had a few aswell, work keeps buying them for me, but I keep turning them down for my own MP3 player ;p least they bought me the mic...

So get a good mic, then find a suitable recorder to use it.

*Edit* Oh and incase you look up the Sony DS70P mic, just wanna let you know that there are alot of people that sell fake Sony DS70P mics on ebay. So if your not paying atleast 50-70$ for it, then its probibly a fake.

[JK98]

Does the Sony DS70P microphone put out a line level signal? If not, how will it work with a line in?

[V3ndetta]

The Sansa Fuze Great Voice Recording nice and cheap too very affordable. 4GB for 89.99 2GB is 79.99

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archi...uze-review.php

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by JK98

Does the Sony DS70P microphone put out a line level signal? If not, how will it work with a line in?

Not familiar with your terminology, but after a quick look up I guess your trying to figure out, how does the microphone get its power to work? The Sony DS70P doesn't use batteries or anything, it relies on the player to power it. That or then an external microphone amplifier I guess...

Aslong as a player mentions that it can record from external mics, its safe to assume there is an external mic recording function (like on my U3). The U3 also has gain control, but setting that yoo high ofcourse increases the background hiss.

Also old Sony MiniDisc players work really well for field recording and such, gave away my old sony minidisc player to a friend and he still uses it for lyrical practise.

[JK98]

Who sells the U3 now? I can't find it. If the player isn't available now, then it won't help her. There are so few players available now that have a microphone jack. Some Olympus recorders have a microphone jack, but record in WMA and not mp3. Most wouldn't be so good for recording music. Did you check the Amazon page for the Samson Zoom H2? the reviews there are quite good, and it compares well with much more expensive Edirol recorders. at $175 the H2 seems like a good buy. It 4 built in mics are said to do a good a good job. One can control the recording pattern(angle), and use 2 or 4 of the built in mics. I am still looking for a good inexpensive solution to make mp3 recordings of lectures primarily, but also wouldn't mind being able to make nice recordings of live music. So far the H2 seems like the least expensive solution.

[JK98]

I have not seen any mp3 players with a small built in mic that will do a good job recording lectures from the back of a room. With most players, one must be very close to the mic to get a decent recording. I may get a Fuze within the next few weeks and try recording with it, however I don't have any hopes that it will do a good job recording lectures.

[V3ndetta]

Ohh.... I'm not sure how far your recording from.... but I tried it at Futureshop and it seems to have a descent recording quality.... I don't really need recording but its cool to have that extra feature :P

[JK98]

I guess it is probably okay to record a memo to yourself, however my guess is that in real world conditions it won't be so good for recording lectures.

[sunny]

I'll take a look at these suggestions, please feel free to keep them coming. Thank you all who have commented.

Just wondering, how good is the Iaudio 7's line-in recording function? It seems like a sweet player...

[JK98]

Sunny, the problem is that the input on the i7 is a line in, and not a mic in. AFAIK, one needs a special mic that puts out a line level signal, or a regular mic plus a mic preamp to use the line in connection. i thought I read something about the D2 providing mic support with an optional adapter. I don't know if a regular mic will work, or an expensive powerful mic that puts out a line level signal(or a regular mic plus mic preamp) is needed.

[V3ndetta]

Originally Posted by JK98

I guess it is probably okay to record a memo to yourself, however my guess is that in real world conditions it won't be so good for recording lectures.

When are you getting yours? If I get mines first I'll try it out for you to know.

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by JK98

Sunny, the problem is that the input on the i7 is a line in, and not a mic in. AFAIK, one needs a speacial mic that puts out a line level signal, or a regular mic plus a mic preamp to use the line in connection. i thought I read something about the D2 providing mic support with an optional adapter. I don't know if a regular mic will work, or an expensive powerful mic that puts out a line level signal(or a regular mic plus mic preamp) is needed.

Basicaly you'd need somthing like this to get a non mic-in player to work: http://www.microphonemadness.com/pro...cbmminminc.htm

Personaly, if I were to take recording more seriously then I do right now. Meaning if I'd want to actualy keep and archive the recordings I take, I'd go out and find a used proper mini disc recorder. Alot of good units can be found for well under 100$ in ebay.

[JK98]

Originally Posted by Jack4L

Basicaly you'd need somthing like this to get a non mic-in player to work: http://www.microphonemadness.com/pro...cbmminminc.htm

Personaly, if I were to take recording more seriously then I do right now. Meaning if I'd want to actualy keep and archive the recordings I take, I'd go out and find a used proper mini disc recorder. Alot of good units can be found for well under 100$ in ebay.

I don't see how this replaces a mic preamp. Why go with a used minidisk recorder, when the Zoom H2 is just $175. With a minidisk recorder, someone will need to buy a good mic separately, then have to deal with the inconveniences of recording on minidisks, and buy blank minidisks. The H2 is much more versatile, and recording on SD cards is much more convenient. Transferring recordings from minidisk to a pc must be a pain. The files will also need to be converted. Recording in mp3 on SD cards is about as convenient as it gets. It also allows many hours of recording(the H2 says 4 hours of recording on 2 AA alkalines, however some reviews mention over 8 hours of recording using 2 AA nimh 2900 mah batteries.

The website you gave a link for has a portable stereo mic preamp, however it is $139! They have a mono one for $119. For $190 they have a mic with a built in mic preamp. That is more than the cost of a Zoom H2!


http://www.microphonemadness.com/cat...rs_stereo.html

[JK98]

I don't know. It might be soon, or it might not be so soon. I guess it depends on how sick I get of my current 1 gig mp3 player, and how ready I am to give in and buy a player with a fixed battery.

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by JK98

I don't see how this replaces a mic preamp.

Well as it says in the description:
Module will power any electret base microphones, mono or stereo!
I have somthing similar, but thats the first one that I came accross that I could show a link to.

Originally Posted by JK98

Why go with a used minidisk recorder, when the Zoom H2 is just $175.

Well, a used minidisc recorder would only cost you about 50$, minidiscs themselves are a MUCH more cost efficient way to store recordings when compared to SD cards. You can just keep buying new ones and keep actual copies of things you record. A good mic wont cost you much more then 25$ if you shop smart, dont need to buy an expensive sony. Also if your at all concerned about recording fidelity, minidiscs record, and capture at a much higher bitrate then that Zoom H2. After looking up a few reviews on the H2 just for fun, as I havn't heard about the device yet (although I have heard good things about Zooms) it doesn't seem like many people consider it much better then a low end minidisc recorder.

Sure the Zoom H2 is a nice, feature rich recording device, and its in a handy package, but even 175$ is 100$ more then you'd need to spend to get a low end minidisc recorder that probibly in the end, records just aswell. (If not better, when you take into consideration the inherit flaws that come with using built it mics, handling noise etc) Is 100$ worth the features on the Zoom H2? Thats up to you to decide.

[JK98]

How much does a blank minidisk cost? How much does it hold? Only 140 meg per minidisk? Only 80 minutes of recording time on a minidisk? Around $1.50 each for blank minidisks? One can get a 2 gig SD card for under $10. Someone who wants to do serious recording doesn't want to use old used equipment. Converting from ATRAC to mp3 will lose quality and is an extra step and waste of time. Recording in mp3 at the desired bitrate makes so much more sense. Shall I go on?

[Jack4L]

What are you, working for Samson? :P If you are, your comming off abit agressive with your arguments there.

Its good to have options in the world, specialy ones that are relativly cheap, and in some cases almost half free... For example I gave away my old MD to a friend because I only used it for listening to music and had already moved on to MP3 players. My friend however wanted it specificaly for its recording capabilities, which I actualy never used, it still works flawlessly for him, even after atleast 6 years of use. Nothing under 150$ is worth the scratch to upgrade.

*Edit* Oh and most MD players can get you like atleast 40 hours of playback/recording off of a single AA battery! Amazing eh?

[JK98]

I don't work for Samson. I am trying to find an acceptable mp3 recorder that is less expensive than the Samson Zoom H2. So far no one has suggested anything that is more convenient, better quality, and less expensive. As for the battery costs, if one uses AA nimh rechargeables, the cost of battery power isn't really a factor. Many already have AA nimh batteries and a charger, and those that don't can buy a charger plus 4 AA nimh 2900 batteries for under $20. For use in the field, a single piece of equipment is easier to deal with than a recorder plus an external mic. The 4 microphones on the H2, plus the ability to choose the recording pattern helps custom tailor the recording(ie. reduce audience noise in live recordings). The mics on both sides of the H2 work out nicely for placing the recorder between two people when recording an interview. The H2 also apparantly has many setting for recording. Besides just sound quality, recording with the H2 vs minidisk or an mp3 player seems much more convenient. The other mp3 recorders are much more expensive than the H2.

If you have any ideas for high quality, inexpensive MP3 recording, I would love to hear them. Recording on a minidisk, then converting the recordings would be a PITA, and would also probably not even yield such great results. It is also a big waste of time.