Topic: Sony ECM719 with iRiver iHP-120 - a poor combination?

[jhebert]

Dumb questions from a newby...

While this mic was en route to me, I had to make do with the built-in mic on the recorder, and I learned that I needed to set the gain w-a-y down to avoid overloading the mic (it's quite sensitive, and my opinion of it much higher now that I've spent time with it). However, with the Sony, I have to crank the levels to their maximum to get a mere blip on the waveform... this is whether I use the mic with its internal battery On or Off.

Have I just made a bad choice, going with this mic? It seems to need a heckuva lot of gain, so much that the noise floor is kind of like someone running an air conditioner next to the mic at all times. It's definitely not as good as the built-in mic on the iRiver. I generally tweak the audio some in SoundForge anyway, but with the Sony it's a lot more work.

Would an external battery box help boost the signal, or is this an issue better solved by a preamp? I'm really stumped, I was expecting more from this mic, low end though it is.

James

[Javier Cinakowski]

I am not a fan of the Sony electret mics.  They are noisy and do not perform well in loud or quite situations.  A battery box will not increase the levels but it will give you the ability to recorded louder noises without distortion.   You could by a preamp/battery box combo like the SP-PREAMP or the Church Audio ST-20B.  It will improve your recordings and when you get some more money you can upgrade your mics.  I would get a stereo pair of microphones so you can separate the two mics father apart for better stereo imaging.  Like the Core-Sound Binuarls, SoundPros AT, or the Microphone Madness HLSC-1s.  You can buy similar mics on a budget from Giant Squid, Church Audio or others.  I would recomend the batterybox/preamp combo as a first step in improving your recordings, then get a better mic.  If you have any questions PM me.  I have been taping with these type of recorders and microphones for 7 years and have owned almost every product on the market.