Hi
I'm going to buy a portable recorder, and use it strictly (at first at least) with built-in microphones, for recording various machinery such a trains, trucks, etc. Those can be pretty loud things.
Just so you know where I'm coming from (what my expectations are):
So far I've been recording with a Sony digital camcorder with its built in mics.
As you can imagine, the quality was not so great. I haven't actually seen any clipping in waveforms, but it sounded a bit "resonant" in high tones, and the AGC was breathing all the time, so I'm looking to upgrade to something better.
The options I have now are Edirol R-09 and R-01, Microtrack24/96, and Zoom H4.
I want a nice "open" clear sound (sharp sounds captured clearly, but not as "resonant" as what I had with the camcorder), as good SPL handling as I can get out of these options, being able to turn off AGC, but still have some kind of anti-clipping options at disposal if I chose to.
Well, in a nutshell, I want something that is great at capturing all the details and nuances of such industrial sounds (picture a diesel freight train, and what It takes to capture it) and can best handle the loud levels.
I know you can't get it all from just using built in mics, but I would like to hear which of these options is best
for what I need it. The lesser of evils, if you will.