Voice Recorders

[stearman65]

Hi All
I am on a budget so looking for a bargain priced spoken voice recorder with rolls royce quality. I live in the UK so would like to buy here.

[steve]

I thought you had a Zoom H2?
You'll not get better quality than that without paying a lot more money.

[stearman65]

Hi Steve
I have just finished a voice over to a sailing lecture I have produced, the contrast between the music and my voice is quite marked. So I posted to see if anyone had found anything superior. The Samson H series have been on the market for some time now and technology is advancing fast. I intend to do some more tests with my H2 on different settings. At the moment I'm a bit disappointed.
Stearman65

[steve]

I find that surprising, I'm delighted with my H2. Of course it's not up to the same quality as my Neumann's, but it's a couple of grand cheaper. I only wish I had one back in the days when I was using 4-track cassette recorders

Check your recording levels, and check your recording format - I generally use MP3 VBR for general stuff, and switch over to WAV when sound quality is more important (I picked up a nice 2GB flash card very cheaply while I was on holiday, so recording in high quality does not pose a space problem).

What exactly is wrong with the recordings you are getting? Perhaps we can offer some tips. Could you upload any short samples of your recordings and post a link?

[stearman65]

I find that surprising, I'm delighted with my H2. Of course it's not up to the same quality as my Neumann's, but it's a couple of grand cheaper. I only wish I had one back in the days when I was using 4-track cassette recorders

Check your recording levels, and check your recording format - I generally use MP3 VBR for general stuff, and switch over to WAV when sound quality is more important (I picked up a nice 2GB flash card very cheaply while I was on holiday, so recording in high quality does not pose a space problem).

What exactly is wrong with the recordings you are getting? Perhaps we can offer some tips. Could you upload any short samples of your recordings and post a link?

Hi Steve
My recordings were WAV converted to MP3 when exported to my laptop. On the first half I had the gain set to medium and the recording level around 125 and my H2 around 12 inches away. the first recording on medium is better than the high one. Thinking about it later, I am listening through my laptop speakers, so tomorrow I will do some tests and use my show speakers and see how that is, will let you know the results.
Stearman65.

[WhiteFox]

Talk about low budget and my ears perk right up.

I too have very little extra dollars to spend on such things, so I purchased the following: Its made by Olympus Model VN-4100PC Digital voice recorder. The device has 4 folders and can record about 11 hours before it fills up. about 1/2 a gig. It has a USB connection to any PC, so the files can be downloaded directly into the computer and then dragged and dropped into Audacity as required. It is monoral of course and designed a sa voice recorder. It is digital so you do not get motor sounds as you would with a mini tape recorder. For the money (about $30.00 or so as I remember) its a good option.

[stearman65]

Hi All
Done more tests on my H2 and re-set a number of the features to what they say is best for spoken voice. Downloaded a sample to mediafire and got a report back that the recording suffered from excessive clipping, I know this can be ironed out in Audacity but it still leaves the underlying problem. So tomorrow I will have another go with the H2 still set to the new criteria, but positioned further away from my mouth to kill the clipping at source.
Stearman65

[steve]

"Excessive clipping" is caused by having the recording level set too high for the sound that is being recorded.

Catching the microphone with your breath can also cause similar problems, usually sounding like loud "pops", so you need to avoid that - if using the microphone close up, a thin sheet of material between you and the microphone can be used to protect the microphone from being inadvertently blown on. This is called a "pop shield". http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may05/a ... hields.htm

The classic DIY pop shield is to get an old pair of ladies tights (not fishnet - just ordinary nylons) and stretch them over a wire coat hanger.

[stearman65]

Hi Steve
I have the AGC set on the H2 so the recording level can't be set, it's automatic. I also have the foam shield in place so popping isn't present.
Stearman65

[steve]

AGC is ok for quick 'n' dirty recordings, but if you want good quality, turn it off and set the level manually.

The foam thing will help stop pops (not as good as a separate pop shield, but I agree it's more convenient - also offers a little protection if you drop the thing, which of course you want to avoid).

You don't need to push the levels too close to the 0dB, leave yourself some headroom - the noise level on the H2 is nice and low, so you will be able to push the level up when you get the recording into Audacity. Even if it's only peaking to -6 dB, you still have enough dynamic range to get a really nice recording. It's much better to have the recording a touch too quiet than too loud - too loud will cause clipping that will really mess up the recording.

Do you have a microphone stand? That little table stand thing is again convenient, but it's better if you use a real stand. The trouble with standing it on a table is that you will pick up vibrations and reflections from the table that will muddy the sound. If you must put it on a table, put a pillow or cushion on the table, then put a house brick on the cushion, and then stand the H2 on the house brick. This will give it a solid (enough) platform to stand it on, but will help cut down on vibrations and reflections. Hand-held is the last option - you want to avoid handling noise as much as possible.

The location that you choose will make a big difference as well. With cheaper voice recorder, the quality is low enough to not really pick up the ambiance of the room, but the H2 will. For a clean professional sounding recording it is best to have lots of soft furnishings so as to avoid echoes and reverberation as much as possible. Thick curtains, coats, sofas, mattresses and so on are all good absorbers of unwanted sound reflections. Of course you will want the recording location to be somewhere quiet as well.