Sorry to say, but I don't know of any recorder that offer a high quality internal mic. There are still lots of options to choose from that would physically be a small rig.
I realize it. But for some non-critical cases those of D-50 could be proper.
I wouldn't get overly hung up on balanced inputs. Most of that electrical noise is far enough away that it doesn't matter. The only noise I've gotten is my own cell phone when I'm stupid enough to leave it on, and put my preamp/recorder in the same pocket. I'm not sure what you got for noise, but that's not the norm.
The good news is that you probably don't have the same problem as the rest of us. We have to be constantly concerned with chatty drunks at our shows, and I expect at opera and chamber music, people shut up and listen.
Your MT has balanced inputs I think, just rather than using XLR inputs it uses TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) 1/4" jacks. It also has and 1/8" stereo minijack for small mics. Binaural croakies for stealth is probably a good start. When I've taped an amplified rock band from the balcony of an old "opera house" type venue, I've found hypers to work great to avoid excessive reverberation. If you are on the floor of the venue, cards work fine. I would think the same might be true for you, even if the energy levels are less.
Actually my problem can be worse: I think most of quiet noises are masked by the loud rock music, but when one records some soft music (like a string quartet), there are many audible noises in quiet places of a piece.
My MTII is now returned to the strore, because it turned to be defective. So I look for some other device now.
If you are on the floor of the venue, cards work fine
Sorry, what cards are you talking about?
Stay away from anything by Zoom-there are many better options. The newer Sony M10 is getting rave reviews here. It is smaller than the D50, provides great sound quality, also has good internal mics (although you really should use externals no matter what recorder you buy), does allow you to drop markers (Adobe Audition reads them and probably many other editors), and has a small corded remote for starting stopping recording (though it seems useless to me unless you are using internal mics).
I agree with Joe you don't need balanced XLR mics and they make it harder to be inconspicuous. For your application you should probably select mics that are fairly sensitive so you don't have to crank the recorder up too high to get proper levels (meaning not Church Audio mics, which I love, but which are designed for recording loud music and not SP mics with the low sensitivity option). Some sort of SP mics without the low sensitivity option may be a good choice for you. Someone who records opera could give you some better ideas here. Even with sensitive mics you may find you need to add a small preamp to the chain to get enough clean gain. The Church Audio ST-9100 is great and is quite small. The Church Audio UGLY is even smaller, but you can't easily adjust levels on the fly.
Thank you. I worry about the noises: what if I buy a recorder with non-balanced inputs and get an awful noise in a theater? If anyone is interested, I can post a sample of that recording with a horrible noise. I've done it with my MTII.
I agree with Joe you don't need balanced XLR mics and they make it harder to be inconspicuous.
AFAIK, there are tiny mics with an XLR outputs.
It's been a while since I tried marking tracks, but I personally wouldn't mess with any marking of tracks while the shows going on. Doing so only invites trouble IMHO, and you can track out the recording the next day without problems (and probably do a better job) just fine.
that's a matter of taste. anyway, what trouble do you mean?
Recording is like NASCAR: speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?
I just want to do records without loud noises and with decent quality to listen them later with my headphones, nothing more. I need to have some seldom-performed pieces in my collection for educational purposes only.
Assuming you may be somewhat of an audiophile or at least care about sound quality more than some rock listeners do, I would strongly recommend the DPA 4060 mics. They are not cheap ($600 or so used) but are the smallest mic you can pretty much get and offer absolutely outstanding detail and accuracy. Worn on glasses near your ear, they should be virtually unnoticeable to anyone. They are also quite easy to operate and store. I have the 4061 (the version better suited to recording louder music) and love them.
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thank you for your advice, but that price is a little big for me. Although I'd like to do detailed records.
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DEAR COLLEAGUES, THE OPINIONS ARE GREAT, BUT WHAT ABOUT BALANCED (XLR) CABLES AND NOISES?