From: "Jeff Kingery" <jeffkingery AT comcast.net>
To: birders@umich.edu
Subject: [birders] RE: Portable Audio Recorder Suggestions?
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:34:28 -0500


I've spent many hundreds, if not thousands, of hours recording bird
vocalizations and other natural sounds in the field in many countries.

For many years I carried a specially-modified Sony TCM-5000 cassette
recorder with a Sennheiser ME-88 "shotgun" microphone and a pre-amp from
Mineroff Electronics.  I affectionally referred to this 6-pound, $1200
ensemble as "The Ball and Chain."  Dedicated photographers will
understand - you don't dare go anywhere without it, because you are
absolutely certain to hear some fabulous bird singing its head off at
point blank range for the *only* time in your life.

In recent years there has been a tremendous proliferation of lightweight
portable electronic audio devices such as the iPod. Unfortunately the
vast majority of these critters are for playback only.  

The best things I have found for recording are the MZ-* series of
MiniDisc recorders from Sony.  I use an MZ-N707, which I bought for less
than $200.  This thing records and plays forever on just a single AA
battery.  For example, I used it throughout a grueling 10-day birding
class in Cuba without ever changing the battery!

These things are smaller and lighter than a deck of cards and very easy
to use.  The mini-discs are small, light and inexpensive, and each
stores up to 5 hours of recordings, depending on the compression setting
chosen.  The sound quality, especially when used with a top-end
microphone, is amazing.  Most of my hundreds of hours of
painstakingly-gathered analog recordings are junk compared to the ones
I've gotten with this tiny wonder.

http://www.minidisc.org/images/sony_mzn707_bigsilver.jpg

Above is a link to a picture of the MZ-N707 as an example of the genus.
Although it may seem big in the picture, it's actually less than 3
inches on a side and perhaps 3/4 inch thick.  The tubular thing at the
top of the screen is the remote, which is about the size of half a
Crayola crayon.  The remote is *very* handy because it allows you to
leave the recorder in a shirt pocket and control it with the remote.

NOTE: Sony has literally dozens of models of these MD Walkmans, and most
of them DO NOT RECORD.  Any of the recording models that come with a
remote will probably suffice, but the newer the better.  Newer models
have more options with respect to audio file compression and format. If
such things sound intimidating, don't fret - you don't have to know any
of that stuff to get fantastic recordings and transfer them to your PC.

As for microphones, I like the Sennheiser ME-66 and ME-67, but these
will run you about $500 by the time you buy power module and cord. You
might start with a cheap one from Best Buy or Radio Shack, and see if
this works for you.

Jeff Kingery