
Most voice recorders will support one or both of these audio recording formats. MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, simply known as mp3, is a popular compressed audio file format, whilst Waveform Audio File Format ( wav) is a popular uncompressed (PCM) audio file format. You can classify audio recording format into two categories: compressed and uncompressed.

So if you plan record high audio quality interviews using external microphones with your recorder, get a recorder that outputs plug in power. And they get that power from the digital recorder. Good microphones, for instance the Giant Squid Lav mic ( amazon link) and the Olympus ME33 (great for recording focus group discussions), needs power to function. Some high end digital recorders also come with a XLR input – but the 3.5mm jack is more than adequate for qualitative interviews.Īnother consideration is whether the 3.5mm jack outputs plug-in power. Most good voice recorders do, and they usually have a standard 3.5mm microphone jack. You’ll want to make sure that the voice recorder you get for recording your research interviews comes with a microphone jack.
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And you should read this how to post on recording interviews in a noisy location. If you foresee recording your research interviews in cafes, coffee shops, restaurants etc, you will need to use clip on microphones. However, using an external clip on/lavaliere microphone enables you to record high(er) quality audio. Microphone JackĪll digital recorders have built-in microphone(s). If you want to learn more about voice recorder microSD cards, check out this post. Always get a memory card that is compatible with your voice recorder. However, the most important consideration should be compatibility. When choosing a memory card always check its storage capacity. The most common digital memory cards are microSDHC, and microSDXC which store 4GB to 256GB+ of data. There are many different types of memory cards Secure Digital, CompactFlash, MicroSD just to name a few. It’s okay to buy a digital recorder with a small built-in memory – you can easily increase the storage capacity using an external memory card. You want to buy a digital voice recorder that has both built-in memory and an external memory card slot – which gives you virtually unlimited recording capacity. What are the 3 key features you need to look for when choosing the best recorder for interviews?įrom Left: Sony ICD-px470, Sony ICD-ux570, Zoom H1n, 3 Things to Consider When Choosing a Voice Recorder for Interviews Memory In addition, modern handheld digital voice recorders are less bulky, can hold more audio data (up to a 1000 hours) than their analog digital tape recorder counterparts. Thus, your interview recordings are crystal clear, which makes interview transcription easier. The greatest advantage of digital voice recorders over older digital tape recorders is that they have no moving parts, which make a lot of noise.

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But a good professional (not for “newbies”) recorder for research interviews.

No internal memory, and with accessories that you’ll need, a bit pricey. 2.5v plug-in power, 5v USB power, USB microphone.

Lots of recording versatility – 96 kHz/24 bit wav. If you can’t afford the Sony-ux570, this recorder will save you some money. Uses 2 AA alkaline batteries (no USB recharging), no back-light. A very similar recorder to the Sony ICD-ux570, but larger and bulkier.
