I have a small question for you all. I want to read some books onto an audio recording that is meant for distribution among my extended family. What would be most suitable for this?
There are mostly two items I have been checking out; the AT2020 usb from Audio Technica and the Zoom H2n recording device. What I am worried about with the AT2020 is that maybe my computer fan will be heard on the recording. I have a laptop and it is usually not very loud but it varies from time to time. And some people say the Zoom is very flimsy and eats upp batteries but maybe that has been remedied in later productions.
Is there anything else you might recommend that I haven´t thought of?
I cannot speak for the Zoom H2n but I have the older Zoom H4 and I wouldn’t say that this model eats batteries. Also, the H4 came with a mains adapter. I presume the H2n does, too? Computers were never designed to be open-mic recording devices. They are too noisy - both electronically inside and electro-mechanically outside. I would recommend you choose a digital sound recorder, mount this on a mike stand or a camera tripod and drive it with mains power. Then transfer the files onto your PC/Mac via either the devices own USB hook-up (if it has one) or by removing the card and using a USB card reader.
A separate recorder will allow you to sit in a nice quiet, echo-free room for the recording. Doesn’t the Zoom series have a stand socket on the bottom? You can get a simple mic stand like this…