Topic: Recording with an iOS device?

[rocksuitcase]

I have a Zoom H4N anyway, but it's not really ideal for what I need.

I already have microphones and an audio interface, but the interface is tied to my studio PC,

Ah, aaronji brings us back to OP's stated use. I agree mainly that home recording for (dejayen- what do you play or are recording?) a standard recorder with decent pre-amps would fit the bill. Mixpre 3 certainly does that task with no need for external preamps.
To the OP: iphone recording is still considered "esoteric" by even hard core tapers such as this group you have found. It CAN be done, but it is certainly a bit of a "hassle" compared to the more conventional methods of capture. to wit, I haven't done it yet, I am still using a DR680.   

[deejayen]

Thanks, everyone.

I can see that some iOS rigs could be a bit of a hassle to work with.  It would be device and interface dependent, but it might be difficult to neatly dress some of the leads, especially if some ports and connectors are on the 'wrong' side, plus additional batteries are just another thing to worry about.  Kindms' configuration with the Sonosax's internal battery and no requirement for a CCK would keep things much tidier.  Perhaps it would be possible to mount everything on some sort of board.

I appreciate the comments about the old iPod Touch.  I just thought that I could pick one up fairly inexpensively for testing, and the Apogee app is listed as being compatible with older iOS 10 devices.  However, that's not the same for all field recorder apps, and I know that Apple can move the goalposts at any time, which could give rise to compatibility issues.

I need to have another think about how I would use the recorder.  My static recording rig is a decent one, with a good quality interface and external preamp etc, so I'd be reluctant to give up much in terms of sound quality, although perhaps any differences wouldn't be particularly noticeable. 

As with anything, some problems in deciding come after reading reviews!  I was quite interested in the Centrance Mixerface R4R\D as a standalone recorder, but it didn't fare very well in ASR testing!  However, even the MixPre didn't survive unscathed. 

[WiFiJeff]

There may be many reasons to pick other rigs, but I can't see an iPhone rig being necessarily a "hassle" or cumbersome at all, it is the simplest and most foolproof setup I have used in 25 years. 

The DPA4060 or 4081 to DPA MMA-A device to iPhone has pretty much the fewest possible connections to come loose, and Metarecorder is quite reliable.  My older iPhone XR will run the setup for 10-11 hours with no power issues.  If you are doing a home studio setup, the same phone-plus-MMA-A will run the higher end DPA caps (I have 4011s and 4015s) with about the same power draw, with MMP-GR cables.

The MMA-A is discontinued but seems to still be around for sale (unlike 4081 mics).  I hope there will be a successor, maybe please with 32 bit float and four channels?  Which will work with iPhone 14s and android.  And they can always cut the price, while they're at it.

Jeff

[grawk]

The only reason I discouraged the iphone rig is that he has none of the components yet, so there's not a lot of efficiency to be gained relative to quality. 

I clearly like the iphone for recording in the right situation, the mma:a is an amazing device, and I look forward to receiving my m2d2 for comparisons. 

I should try my f6 with garage band on my phone and a cck just to see how it does.

[deejayen]

Things have progressed slightly....

I've bought an interface, and it looks like there might be a retired iPhone 7 in the family which I could use; otherwise there's an iPad or two I could use for testing.

So, I think I'll just need one of the camera kits.  The interface has a micro USB port for powering it when using an iPhone.  I presume I could connect up a power bank, and just use the standard CCK (single USB port) with a USB cable between the CCK and the interface's host port.  However, it might be prudent to go for the Lightning - USB3 CCK with the two ports as advised by grawk.  What's the second (smaller) port on that - is it a Lightning port?  If I connected a power bank to that, and only connected the USB port to the host port on the interface would that provide power for the interface to work, and would it also charge the iPhone?

[grawk]

that's correct.

[deejayen]

that's correct.

Thanks, grawk.