MZ-NH700 any good for recording interviews?

[smilingcrow]

I’m looking at buying either a MZ-NH700 (or 800/900) or an iRiver HD140 as a portable digital recorder. I want a lightweight device for recording interviews in situations where a laptop isn’t convenient.

The iRiver is more appealing in many ways, but until I determine the quality of recordings it makes, I thought I’d check out the new Mindiscs as they seem to be the only competition at this price and weight.

How good is the microphone pre-amp and the AGC on these units? I don’t suppose you get any metering on these units! The other option would be to use a battery powered external pre-amp (possibly with metering) and input at line level to the Sony.

Anyone tried either of these scenarios and can you recommend a portable pre-amp?

I’d rather not go down that road but will do so if I need to. With the iRiver I could use an external mic to S/PDIF converter box and still have complete access to the file as well, which is appealing.

I’m grateful for any input as I’m new to portable audio recording.

Regards

Crow

[smilingcrow]

Sorry, posted in wrong section. Will a moderator please move this to the Find your Minidisc in the Knowledge Centre.

Thanks

Crow

[aeriyn]

Moved it for you. :happy: Welcome to the MDCF.

Also, the NH700 is quite capable of recording interviews. The display does have a levels meter. The mic pre-amp is... well, it's probably better to ask Dex about this stuff, since he owns an NH700 and has far more live recording experience than me.

[smilingcrow]

Thanks Aeryin,

Good news about the levels meters. Hopefully Dex will show up and dish the dirt, or otherwise

Crow