OK, my D7 DAT finally died... so can anyone offer advice, please, on these new fangled Flash recorders?

I need it to record wild ambience and birds etc, really only to my own standards (not for pro or broadcast) and it would be nice if I could continue to use an existing Sony MS microphone, and an in-ear binaural mic - both needing 3.5mm socket, and one needing plug-in-power.

What is there, please?

You'll get a lot of definitive advise on this from the Wildlife Sound Recording Society.

I find the Olympus LS-10 very nice for a portable - batteries last ages.

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John - Sound-Link ProAudio
President - Federation Internationale des Chasseurs de Sons

Thanks, I hadn't seen that model - and was even wondering if I'd be able to get away with a DS-50, which seems to marketed as a 'voice recorder', but so is the LS-10.

No gimmicks with the DS-50 (I don't need them) so maybe OK with the external mic?

I was looking at the WSRS - they didn't review anything 'less' than the H4 and H2 - but, yes, good advice there.

Quote John Willett:

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I find the Olympus LS-10 very nice for a portable - batteries last ages.

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+1. And bought after reading the positive reviews on this forum. The LS-10 is great for this. I recorded bird song in Japan using a standard camera tripod and the Olympus.

ken

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I'm All Ears.

Thanks both of you, looks like the LS-10 is the one to aim for.

Quote baron_de:

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needing 3.5mm socket, and one needing plug-in-power.

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Most such recorders have 3.5mm mic input, with plug-in power. The LS-10 certainly does.

Thanks - I wasn't sure if the higher end recorders had a 3.5 PiP or not.

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As it happens, yesterday I managed to scrounge the use of an Olympus DS-50...

I can say that it records birdsong and 'ambience' to my satisfaction, but in compressed WMA audio and so not for purist use.

This is with it's detachable microphone; the sound is coloured (peaking towards voice) but subjectively comparable to recordings I made with the D7 as it was failing, normalised in Adobe Audition and played through my Hi-Fi.

Big problem for me is that it doesn't like inputs from microphones that already have power - such as my Sony ECM-909A, an unbranded stereo mic, and two Tandy PZMs ganged to a 3.5mm plug... They are WAY too quiet and I'm not yet sure what to do about that.
It is fine with home-made binaurals (ie two mic inserts stuck in my ears!).

It's good enough for now, but I definately want an LS-10!

Sometimes, I hate being an amateur ;-)

Quote baron_de:

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Thanks - I wasn't sure if the higher end recorders had a 3.5 PiP or not.

--

As it happens, I managed to scrounge the use of an Olympus DS-50...

I can say that it records birdsong and 'ambience' to my satisfaction, but in compressed WMA audio and so not for purist use.

This is with it's detachable microphone; the sound is coloured (peaking towards voice) but subjectively comparable to recordings I made with the D7 as it was failing, normalised in Adobe Audition and played through my Hi-Fi.

Big problem for me is that it doesn't like inputs from microphones that already have power - such as my Sony ECM-909A, an unbranded stereo mic, and two Tandy PZMs ganged to a 3.5mm plug... They are WAY too quiet and I'm not yet sure what to do about that.
It is fine with home-made binaurals (ie two mic inserts stuck in my ears!).

It's good enough for now, but I definately want an LS-10!

Sometimes, I hate being an amateur ;-)

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I wasn't going to suggest the H4, but it works very well with a pair of Tandy PZMs.

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Battle flags are flown at the feet of a garden gnome.

Quote Richard Graham:

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Quote baron_de:

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Thanks - I wasn't sure if the higher end recorders had a 3.5 PiP or not.

--

As it happens, I managed to scrounge the use of an Olympus DS-50...

I can say that it records birdsong and 'ambience' to my satisfaction, but in compressed WMA audio and so not for purist use.

This is with it's detachable microphone; the sound is coloured (peaking towards voice) but subjectively comparable to recordings I made with the D7 as it was failing, normalised in Adobe Audition and played through my Hi-Fi.

Big problem for me is that it doesn't like inputs from microphones that already have power - such as my Sony ECM-909A, an unbranded stereo mic, and two Tandy PZMs ganged to a 3.5mm plug... They are WAY too quiet and I'm not yet sure what to do about that.
It is fine with home-made binaurals (ie two mic inserts stuck in my ears!).

It's good enough for now, but I definately want an LS-10!

Sometimes, I hate being an amateur ;-)

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I wasn't going to suggest the H4, but it works very well with a pair of Tandy PZMs.

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The H4N is a big improvement on the H4, ergonomically and technically. It offers XLR/Jack inputs with 12V/48V phantom power; as well as allowing you to bypass the onboard mics with a minijack mic with plugin power. Well worth a look...

Just to report back that, in the end, I compromised and bought an Olympus DS-75 (sadly I couldn't justify the price of an LS-10, but could run to £105 for the DS-75).

I was impressed enough by the borrowed 50, but the DS-75 is an updated version, with a manual record option (defeating the AGC) and it records in 44.1Khz 16 bit uncompressed PCM (.wav).

It does not have line-in, and only works with it's own mics, and with my homemade mics based on capsules powered by PiP.

Given all this, quality and ease of use are pretty damned good - certainly good enough for my birdsong fetish, and the system outperforms my old DAT + Sony mic.

Thought I'd mention it.