Recording quiet sounds without hiss?

[mjj]

Hi,

I have some quite noisy downstair neighbours who often scream, speak loudly. Sometimes I can hear what they are saying, sometimes I can't distinguish single words. When I put my ear to my wooden floor I can hear what they are speaking. I tried recording them with ZOOM H1, ROLAND R-05, but no much success as there are too much hiss from recorders.

Is it possible to record that without hiss? Are there any sensitive affordable recorders which would do that? Any help would be appreciated! 

[twatts]

Try using a large cone.  Make one out of a large piece of cardboard.  Make sure it has very little gap between it and the floor.  Cover the outside with a bathmat (fuzzy) to block outside sound.  Place your recorder at the very top...  Experiment from there...

Then ask yourself:  Do you really want to hear your neighbors conversations???

Terry

[mjj]

Thanks for reply! The goal is to record their noises and play them back with speakers. Maybe that will make them think...

* They are over 60, they drink, they speak some dumb things at night loudly and their voices are some of the ugliest in the world. And when this bitch shouts at night I wake up and have some stress.. They are driving me nuts! That's the last thing I am doing before contacting the police with my problem.

[Limit35]

Try using a large cone.  Make one out of a large piece of cardboard.  Make sure it has very little gap between it and the floor.  Cover the outside with a bathmat (fuzzy) to block outside sound.  Place your recorder at the very top...  Experiment from there...

Then ask yourself:  Do you really want to hear your neighbors conversations???

Terry

When I clicked on this topic I wasn't expecting such a specific request for advice, but the answer? Right on, those are words of experience there! 

I also agree about listening to neighbors, that's Rear Window level stuff there. Unless you care to elaborate on the reason?

edit: Just saw the reason after the post. Don't worry about hiss, they won't hear it from speakers through the floor. Though it may be fun to anonymously mail, or doorstep, them a CD of whatever disturbance they are causing. That is if there are others who may be disturbed and can be suspects. I wouldn't advise taking disturbance to harassment, but anonymous pranking would be great.

[mjj]

When I clicked on this topic I wasn't expecting such a specific request for advice, but the answer? Right on, those are words of experience there! 

I also agree about listening to neighbors, that's Rear Window level stuff there. Unless you care to elaborate on the reason?

edit: Just saw the reason after the post. Don't worry about hiss, they won't hear it from speakers through the floor. Though it may be fun to anonymously mail, or doorstep, them a CD of whatever disturbance they are causing. That is if there are others who may be disturbed and can be suspects. I wouldn't advise taking disturbance to harassment, but anonymous pranking would be great.

Great idea  But to do this, I must get as clean sound as possible. If they hear too much hiss, they won't be shocked as much as I want

[Gutbucket]

You want a "contact microphone" which is typically affixed to the face of an acoustic musical instrument, translating the vibrations directly from the surface.  They typical stick to the surface with a bit of putty or tape.  Stick it to the floor and you'll get a much clearer recording with better signal level (less hiss).  You don't need a high quality one, an inexpensive one should do the job just fine.

[heathen]

Reminds me of this, which is definitely worth watching if anyone hasn't already: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1766085/

[Gutbucket]

Added to watch list.

[earmonger]

How about post-processing? Audacity is free--you can Amplify or Normalize and then try Noise Reduction or a Low Pass setting to cut the hiss.

https://www.audacityteam.org/