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Author Topic: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED  (Read 35346 times)

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Offline illconditioned

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #15 on: May 14, 2017, 04:35:49 PM »
Thanks for the review.
I ordered one of these as well (via the Kickstarter).
Two years later and it is set to arrive very soon.

Now I'll have to get an android phone to try it out :)

  Richard.

Please DO NOT mail me with tech questions.  I will try to answer in the forums when I get a chance.  Thanks.

Sample recordings at: http://www.soundmann.com.

Offline earmonger

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #16 on: May 23, 2017, 04:51:07 PM »
Wish I could be remotely as positive as Ozpeter. So far the recordings I have done--just TV in my living room--have been garbage. Fadeouts and fadeins every 10 seconds or so. Lots of noise.

Meanwhile, keeping the screen lit through a concert and the app foregrounded is not a real-world option.

If it took them this long to get the thing out there, they really should have taken the extra time and finished the app.

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #17 on: May 24, 2017, 09:56:51 AM »
Are you using an Android device?  They put up guidance for fixing Android problems on their blog site.   Among the things I recall were rebooting the phone, and turning on airplane mode (but of course then turning on bluetooth).  Then run the app.  Certainly I don't get the kind of problems you are describing.  I recorded some Sunday morning dawn chorus (on Sunday would you believe) and at authentic playback levels it sounded pretty good to me - noise not a significant problem.

Offline jmz93

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #18 on: May 24, 2017, 04:21:30 PM »
I won't go into many details here, as this forum is mostly for sighted users, but the iOS app is buggy and has issues for those who use Voiceover, the screen reader function built into iOS. Anthony is promising a fix "soon".

I'm totally blind and always have a white cane handy. Do you think I can get away with telling anyone who asks that this thing is actually hearing aids? :) I'm seeing Tool next week. It's that, or the usual DPA 4060's > Church Audio preamp > Sony PCM-M10 at 24/96.

Even with the largest size silicone tips attached, the right earbud of Hookeverse slips out of my ear easily. I haven't tried the memory foam tips that were in cluded in the box yet.

One issue I and some others are having, is a very high noise level when attempting to use the included cable to run Hookeverse into the mic input of a recorder like the Sony PCM-M10.  I sent Hookeaudio a clip of the noise, and they were skeptical. "Are you sure you were wearing the Hookeverse?" Yes, and here's a clip of me talking, first through the Sony's internal mics, then through HookeVerse as worn on my head. You'll hear the centered Sony image first, then the Hookeverse with much more side information (and noise!).
https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/6tfzwh

Offline jmz93

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #19 on: May 24, 2017, 04:23:49 PM »
Can someone explain the rationale for having the record level lower when one moves their finger up? That seems backwards!

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #20 on: May 25, 2017, 01:45:18 AM »
Re the record level control - I think the idea is that when the level is too high, it goes above where the fader is positioned.  So you raise the fader to the point where the level display doesn't go above it.  Something like that.  It's aimed primarily at people who might not have experience with level setting (I'd say), and it only takes a few uses to become intuitive.  But indeed, it's something completely different.

Re noise into mic inputs - I must get around to trying that.  It would be interesting to compare results with the Roland in-ears that I have.  They have a bit of a problem with cable handling noise - it will be interesting to see whether the Hooke cable connection also has that problem, which is largely absent when used in bluetooth mode.

Re fit at the ear - personally I found the cure for looseness is to try a smaller earbud, not larger, so it goes further into the ear and sticks there.  YEMV (Your Ears May Vary)...

Let's hope the app problems are solved for people with vision impairments.   I'm sure they would if they could.

Offline jmz93

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #21 on: May 27, 2017, 02:31:21 PM »
Can someone varify that the Android app will save in .wav format? It appears the iOS app will only save in .m4A, although perhaps I am missing a setting somewhere?

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #22 on: May 29, 2017, 10:24:38 AM »
.wav, 16 bits, 48kHz - not adjustable.

Offline BlindGuyEars

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HookeVerse in the Wild
« Reply #23 on: June 01, 2017, 04:17:01 PM »
I've had my HookeVerse for awhile now, so here are some thoughts.

The latest update to the iOS app fixed some annoying bugs, and it is now possible to keep recording while not focused in the HookeAudio app, when your phone is asleep etc.

With the level control in the app set to maximum, you'll notice the noise floor if you try recording birds and other nature sounds with this device.

Louder material captured with lower gain settings sounds surprisingly realistic.

Currently, the iOS app only saves to MP3 format, so the fidelity can definitely be improved.

To really torture this device, I wore it to last night's Tool concert in Hamilton Ontario Canada.  Here's what I sent to the folks at HookeAudio.

Anthony:

I tried Hookeverse in a loud arena show last night.  Here's a sample.  You'll notice there are a few dB of headroom in the recording, so the distortion appears to be happening at the microphone end and not in the iPhone app.

Could HookeVerse's performance in these situations  be improved, with more headroom somewhere, or at the very least, a low shelving filter starting at around 100Hz to roll off some of the bass?

Download link:
https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/hewebg

Band: Tool

Song: Opiate

Venue: FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton Ontario Canada (approx. 19,000 capacity hockey arena)

Location: upper seats in line with left PA stack.

The sound is surprisingly clear and reminiscent of what I experienced at the show. I'm just curious to know if anything can be done to prevent severe clipping of this nature.

Chris

P.S. So, currently, I'd say this reminds me of the first rig I started taping with in the 1990's, a pair of Coresound Binaurals (CSB's), battery box, and a Sharp minidisc recorder.

Offline BlindGuyEars

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #24 on: June 01, 2017, 04:23:17 PM »
I've had my HookeVerse for awhile now, so here are some thoughts.

The latest update to the iOS app fixed some annoying bugs, and it is now possible to keep recording while not focused in the HookeAudio app, when your phone is asleep etc.

With the level control in the app set to maximum, you'll notice the noise floor if you try recording birds and other nature sounds with this device.

Louder material captured with lower gain settings sounds surprisingly realistic.

Currently, the iOS app only saves to MP3 format, so the fidelity can definitely be improved.

To really torture this device, I wore it to last night's Tool concert in Hamilton Ontario Canada.  Here's what I sent to the folks at HookeAudio.

Anthony:

I tried Hookeverse in a loud arena show last night.  Here's a sample.  You'll notice there are a few dB of headroom in the recording, so the distortion appears to be happening at the microphone end and not in the iPhone app.

Could HookeVerse's performance in these situations  be improved, with more headroom somewhere, or at the very least, a low shelving filter starting at around 100Hz to roll off some of the bass?

Download link:
https://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/hewebg

Band: Tool

Song: Opiate

Venue: FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton Ontario Canada (approx. 19,000 capacity hockey arena)

Location: upper seats in line with left PA stack.

The sound is surprisingly clear and reminiscent of what I experienced at the show. I'm just curious to know if anything can be done to prevent severe clipping of this nature.

Chris

P.S. So, currently, http://I'd say this reminds me of the first rig I started taping with in the 1990's, a pair of Coresound Binaurals (CSB's), battery box, and a Sharp minidisc recorder.

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #25 on: June 03, 2017, 09:14:19 PM »
Do you remember how you had the level set?  I wonder whether there would have been any scope for lowering the level any further to end up with a recording which might have needed normalisation afterwards, but which wouldn't have the clipping on the bass.

Good to hear that background recording has been fixed in iOS - let's hope this feature comes to Android soon, as it's pretty vital in my view.

Unrelated matters here have severely limited my opportunities for further testing.  Hopefully I can get something posted here before long - but it won't be loud rock music!

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #26 on: June 19, 2017, 03:33:08 AM »
I've only just spotted that the Android app has also been updated and you can now turn off the screen of your phone, and the recording keeps going.  For me, that is a huge improvement. 

Various other lesser improvements and fixes have been implemented and I will update my review accordingly when I have a moment.  Stability and reliability seem improved, and I tried putting down my phone and walking out of bluetooth range - although the resulting recording had a silent portion where the phone and headset were too far apart, the rest of the recording was intact.  Monitoring in the earpieces was continuous, so that means that you can't judge whether you are out of range or not, but in real conditions I don't see that as important - just don't push your luck with range.  Now that you can put the phone in your pocket without risk of recording being accidentally stopped, there's not much point in putting it down and walking away from it during recording.

I did a few trivial tests including walking into the street and recording cars going from ear to ear, opening my garage door and slamming it shut, getting into the car and turning on the radio, etc etc, and the resulting playback was impressive.  It's certainly very stereo - as for front vs back, for me the jury is a bit out, but that's a fairly subjective thing imho.  Under realistic conditions, I'm not hearing noise issues, and frequency response is very realistic.  I like this thing!

One feature I'm going to ask the developer to consider - to set levels you line up a slider against a scale, but to repeat a level setting, you have to count up from the bottom which little tick your slider is opposite.  I'm sure it would be fairly easy to provide an additional numeric readout of the level setting simply so that you can set the level quickly to the same point in future.

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #27 on: June 21, 2017, 12:31:45 AM »
https://youtu.be/9-iE1EKP29w

It's a short news item showing the Hooke system in use compared to normal phone audio.

Offline AnthonyMattana

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #28 on: June 22, 2017, 01:02:59 PM »
Hey All!

Anthony here, founder of Hooke Audio. First of all OzPeter thank you for such an in depth breakdown and preliminary review of the Hooke Verse. It is super helpful. I wanted to reach out and inform you all of our recent app updates which solve a lot of OzPeter's queries listed above. This is the best part about making the World's first binaural 3d audio recording app, features can always be added! And we plan to add many! The main one begin background recording. You can now hit begin on an audio only recording, put the phone to sleep, put it in your pocket and be on your way. It's a HUGE feature and we think you guys (tapers, engineers, musicians) in particular will love it.

In response to some individual posts:
@earmonger I noticed your reports of dropouts on your Android device back in May (sorry for the delay!). Sounds like the latest Android update fixed these issues. We finally found the bug, and are finding the update to work across Android phones!

@jmz93 I noticed your reports of lack of iOS accessibility. This ALSO was fixed in our first iOS update and our blind iOS users have been very satisfied. Also, the Hooke recording cable outputs line level audio. So don't plug it into a mic jack on your recorder. Make sure plug in power is off and that the verse is connected to the 3.5mm stereo LINE JACK.

@BlindGuyEars there are some ways to improve the HookeVerse in handling high SPLs (more specifically sound sources dominating the 60Hz - 200Hz frequency range like kick drums and gunshots) which we are currently exploring. Does not require entire hardware overhaul. For instance, a "concert mode" would almost act like a -12dB pad in cutting the mic gain significantly for situations like TOOL.

@OzPeter thank you for sharing our WGN news feature! We were super happy with how it turned out  :bigsmile:

Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Hooke binaural bluetooth recording system - NOW REVIEWED
« Reply #29 on: June 26, 2017, 05:47:06 PM »
Also, the Hooke recording cable outputs line level audio. So don't plug it into a mic jack on your recorder. Make sure plug in power is off and that the verse is connected to the 3.5mm stereo LINE JACK.

Anthony, that's contrary to the advice given in red capital letters in your instruction video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-euqpzL0m_Y - there, you emphasise that the mic input should be used - somthing amiss somewhere... (must get around to trying that myself).

 

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