Topic: Recording on a Smart Phone?

[Hank Mardukas]

I stealth tape quite a bit and love the idea of being able to record on my phone.  I've tested quite a few phones and apps with external mics and have found the following:

1.  Most phones don't support true stereo recording (some do)
2.  No apps support true stereo recording (they say they do but it's actually split mono)
3.  No apps support recording above 16bit/48kHz
4.  No phones support SPL above 100

I'm wondering if anyone has done any research on this topic and has come across a combination that works.  Ultimately I'd like a smartphone/app combo that can:

1.  Record in true stereo (not split mono tracks)
2.  Record uncompressed WAV at 24bit/96kHz
3.  Provides some gain control to allow recording of loud sources above 110SPL

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

dpa 4061 + dpa d:vice > iPhone/iPod Touch (won't work with Android).

Records 24 bit. Unsure if it's split mono or true stereo.

[Hank Mardukas]

dpa 4061 + dpa d:vice > iPhone/iPod Touch (won't work with Android).

Records 24 bit. Unsure if it's split mono or true stereo.

Which iOS app are you using to record?

[relefunt]

Check out the Shure MV88.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

dpa 4061 + dpa d:vice > iPhone/iPod Touch (won't work with Android).

Records 24 bit. Unsure if it's split mono or true stereo.

Which iOS app are you using to record?

Apogee Metarecorder.

[heva]

Sennheiser Ambeo headset, Apogee MetaRecorder and an iPhone

[yltfan]

Check out the Shure MV88.

That looks super clunky for stealth taping. Have you used it?

[capnhook]

Check out the Shure MV88.

That looks super clunky for stealth taping. Have you used it?

 

[Hank Mardukas]

dpa 4061 + dpa d:vice > iPhone/iPod Touch (won't work with Android).

Records 24 bit. Unsure if it's split mono or true stereo.

Can anyone confirm if this records in true stereo or split mono?

[cd2go]

Sennheiser Ambeo headset, Apogee MetaRecorder and an iPhone

Wow that headset looks really interesting if the quality is decent, any recording examples?

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Sennheiser Ambeo headset, Apogee MetaRecorder and an iPhone

Wow that headset looks really interesting if the quality is decent, any recording examples?

I have this setup too. Here are a few samples.  The Superchunk set was at a particularly bad sounding venue and I was too close to the stage. The Pigface set was loud and not the best sounding venue (but not horrible). The Bob Dylan set was at a very good sounding venue, but I made the mistake of getting too FOB so there are chompers on the recording.

https://youtu.be/GFUxnnnS-GI

https://youtu.be/PwwyUtHx1zc

https://youtu.be/X3sHVgTBhOQ

[roffels]

I tried using a line-in adapter with an iphone 4s - it recorded stereo, 24-bit 48KHZ but unfortunately picked up some digital interference that would pulse about every 10 seconds, making the recording unusable. I haven't tried to isolate the issue.

[Ozpeter]

AI-Micro from Rode is on its way to me... I shall report in due course.

[hoyt]

Found this thread looking for similar info.  I'll be using an iPod touch with metarecorder on Friday, but I'm a bit concerned about the quality of my battery.  Is there an equivalent on Android that would work with a class 2 usb connection?  Just wondering for a backup option.  Thanks!

[dactylus]

dpa 4061 + dpa d:vice > iPhone/iPod Touch (won't work with Android).

Records 24 bit. Unsure if it's split mono or true stereo.

Can anyone confirm if this records in true stereo or split mono?

You should download the MetaRecorder User Guide

https://apogeedigital.com/pdf/MetaRecorder-User-Guide-may2016.pdf


Scenes > Scene Settings > Input Channel Config

Tap the desired input channel configuration.

The configurations available for selection are determined by the audio hardware in use. For example, when
using the iPhone’s internal mic, only the Mono (Left) config may be selected.

When audio hardware has two input channels (such as Apogee’s ONE, Duet, DPA d:vice, then any config may be
chosen:

Stereo - Records both hardware inputs into one stereo audio file.

Mono (Left) - Records the left input into one mono audio file.

Mono (Right) - Records the right input into one mono audio file.

Dual Mono - Records each input into its own mono file.

[kindms]

RE: metarecorder

any experience with CAF ? just wondering if its widely supported in DAW like audacity or similar (PC user)

[WiFiJeff]

With metarecorder I always use CAF recording at 96 kHz from a DPA MMA-A, because my files generally run 3-7 hours (the iPhone battery limits me to 9-10 hours, but I've never run that long).  Audacity will let me split CAF files into smaller (< 4G) files that can be exported as 96 kHz .wav files. My editing programs (older
Wavelab, iZotope Rx) will not handle CAF directly.

If you try to record broadcast wav and it runs over 2GB the recording will just stop and you'll lose the later material.

Jeff

[grawk]

I tried using metarecorder with my mma-a last night at goose, 96/24 CAF, and it stopped recording at about an hour and 3 minutes.  Is this a known bug, or did I screw something up?

[vanark]

I tried using metarecorder with my mma-a last night at goose, 96/24 CAF, and it stopped recording at about an hour and 3 minutes.  Is this a known bug, or did I screw something up?

I think that 1 hr. 3 min. is likely the time it gets to 2GB at 24/96 which is what most recorders use as a max file size. In handheld recorders, it usually automatically starts a new file, but not sure that happens in metarecorder. I would start looking there.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

With CAF it should keep going after 2GB, so not sure what happened. You can always back it down to 24/48 to reduce the chance of making it to 2GB.

Probably a good idea to run some tests prior to your next show. Let us know what you find if you do. I love the idea of such a small stealth setup, but I'm still not 100% comfortable with reliability. I'd really like to get to the point where I can just get wired up, fire up the recording 15 minutes before the band comes on and just know I'm going to have a good recording once the show is over.

[WiFiJeff]

I regularly use metarecorder with the MMA-A at 24/96 for CAF files many hours long (usually 4-6), 10 GB.  The metarecorder software insists on resetting to 48 kHz broadcast wave after each erasing of the previous recording. so I end up having to reset the choice to CAF and 96 kHz each time.  Did you actually record a CAF file that stopped at the 2 GB limit?

[grawk]

it actually stopped at 2.19GB, oddly enough.  I do have 170gb free on my phone, so it wasn't out of space.

[morst]

it actually stopped at 2.19GB, oddly enough.  I do have 170gb free on my phone, so it wasn't out of space.

2.19 GB is ~2.039 GiB because a Gibibyte is BIGGER by a factor of approx 1.07x.

I was horrified and fascinated to learn about this from my drive speed test app.

Gigabyte (GB)   1000³ = 1,000,000,000
Gibibyte (GiB)   1024³ = 1,073,741,824

OK it's short for "gigabinary" just learned that right now from the wiki, under "history of the conflicting definitions"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte#History_of_the_conflicting_definitions

[grawk]

first set stopped right at 2gb, in broadcast wave.  CAF one stopped at 2.19.  So I think something else is going on.

[DavidPuddy]

I ran my Rode AI-Micro for 3 hours today with no issues in CAF format (3.12 gb)