Help I don't know what to buy

[allisoncrotwell]

I am having a baby and want to be able to record audio. What device is best for me? I would be a beginner and would only use it to record my child as it develops. Please take pity on me and offer advice on what to buy, this is all very overwhelming!

Thanks

[bobt]

Hi Allison,

Welcome, and congratulations on the baby. My advice would be an MZ-nh-700 or 800, they are dependable and have a mic input. You will also have to go with Sonicstage 3.4 or 4, which are available here.

With the software there are no limits on uploads of your material, and with the newest you can also make cd's of what you upload.

Good luck,

Bob

[A440]

Ditto on bobt's recommendation of the NH700. You can find them for $180 at http://www.minidiscaccess.com , and might find lower prices elsewhere, like Ebay.

You will also need to get a microphone with it, because it doesn't have a built-in microphone. A one-point stereo mic--two little capsules in one unit--would be something you could point at the offspring.

Something like this would be good:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...?item=SP-SPSM-1

That's certainly not the only choice, but I would trust it over the widely available Sony DS70P, because it's probably quieter.

That's an omnidirectional microphone. Another possibility would be a cardioid microphone, which only picks up sounds in front of it rather than all around, in case you live in a noisy place.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...item/SP-SPSM-16

Another microphone supplier is www.microphonemadness.com .

The cute little microphones that have a plug coming right out of the mic and are often pictured sitting plugged into a minidisc recorder are not good. The disc makes noise as it spins, and a mic that close will pick it up. Make sure you get a mic on a cord.

[allisoncrotwell]

Ditto on bobt's recommendation of the NH700. You can find them for $180 at http://www.minidiscaccess.com , and might find lower prices elsewhere, like Ebay.

You will also need to get a microphone with it, because it doesn't have a built-in microphone. A one-point stereo mic--two little capsules in one unit--would be something you could point at the offspring.

Something like this would be good:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...?item=SP-SPSM-1

That's certainly not the only choice, but I would trust it over the widely available Sony DS70P, because it's probably quieter.

That's an omnidirectional microphone. Another possibility would be a cardioid microphone, which only picks up sounds in front of it rather than all around, in case you live in a noisy place.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...item/SP-SPSM-16

Another microphone supplier is www.microphonemadness.com .

The cute little microphones that have a plug coming right out of the mic and are often pictured sitting plugged into a minidisc recorder are not good. The disc makes noise as it spins, and a mic that close will pick it up. Make sure you get a mic on a cord.

Thanks so much for your help

[A440]

There are also non-minidisc possibilities.

You might want to look into little recorders like the ones made by iRiver, which have a built-in mic and record onto flash memory--no discs.

The red iRiver T30 has a built-in mic, holds 1GB and will record for a very long time in .mp3--you can choose the quality. It's a little fatter than a tube of lipstick and triangular shaped, so you can set it on a table with the microphone pointed at your child. Make sure you get the red one; there's another T30 that holds only 512 MB.

They're not made any more but you can find them on Ebay for $100 or less--check the seller's reputation, make sure the unit is not all beat up, etc. Refurbished from one of the regular dealers is fine.

Caveats: There's some startup to be done with the T30. You need to do a one-time upgrade of the firmware (download a program, connect USB, click a few buttons, about 10 minutes max) so that the computer will recognize it as an external disc drive. And you need to get used to its buttons. But you can leave it set so that all you have to do is push one button and you're recording.

It doesn't take an external mic, but the built-in one is fine for voice recording.

And of course, it only holds 1GB, so you need to upload recordings out of it on your computer and burn them to CD (or whatever) when it fills up. But uploading is simpler than SonicStage--just drag-and-drop.

Minidisc with an external mic will give you slightly higher quality recordings, though you'll either end up with a stack of discs or find yourself uploading to the computer anyway. The pluses of the T30 are convenience and ultra-portability.

[Sparky191]

I am having a baby and want to be able to record audio. What device is best for me? I would be a beginner and would only use it to record my child as it develops. Please take pity on me and offer advice on what to buy, this is all very overwhelming!

Thanks

Buy a digital camera with a movie mode? Unless you want to record hours of audio. But why would you want to do that?

[Richard]

Unless you want to record hours of audio. But why would you want to do that?

C'mon, I think she already stated she wants to record audio, why do we need to question why?

[Sparky191]

C'mon, I think she already stated she wants to record audio, why do we need to question why?

To look beyond the obvious.