Does anybody know of a high quality USB recorder?

[LeStanf]

Hi,

In my recent Skype sex posting, physicist raised the topic of bitrates in recordings.

For my recordings I use the low cost USB recorders you can buy from Amazon for under ten quid. Their low cost and small size makes them ideal for the task but they have no controls other than an on-off switch, so the bitrate can not be changed. I have become aware that some produce higher quality recordings than others but the Amazon entries do not usually provide any information about recording qualities and bitrates, so it is hard to differentiate between them. Outwardly they all look pretty much the same as each other, so how can I tell if the recorder is a good one when I place the order?

Does anybody have suggestions about this? Can you recommend a particular recorder that is high quality, high bitrate but very low cost? I lose them regularly so cost is a very important feature for me.

L.

[physicist]

Thanks for making this thread lestanf and considering the topic.

In my opinion and as you have explained, although I'm sure the tech is there for more elaborate higher bitrate USB, the cost probably isn't worth it. As you mention yourself, you listen up to 4 a year and assuming one costs around £30 minimum, thats still £120 a year which isn't the sort of money you want to lose over this.

And its mostly from chinese sellers so I'm guessing unless you are in the know-how of the sound business altogether, it might be difficult to figure out the details of a particular device. You obviously don't want to risk something like an olympus recorder over this because you most drop your device.

If I do come across a high quality-low cost USB device, I'll post it here.

That being said, in a year or twos time, I'm sure we will be advanced enough to have the highest quality recorders in smallest of packages. Something like the olympus vp-10 is a promising start.

[Turmoil123]

One thing that's been frustrating me is the quality of my USB recorders. I started out recording with an iPhone and it was already great to listen back later and hear sounds you did not hear in person. USBs have the opposite, you hear stuff that just ins't picked up on the mic.

I was in need for new mics so I picked up a new brand which claims to record between 20Hz and 20kHz and records at 384kbps so I will test them out and let you know how they turn out.

[LeStanf]

Thanks for your feedback,

In my recent posting of my first recording using a white USB recorder, I actually used a black recorder that I had spray painted white. I covered the hole with a bit of blue tack before spraying and the result is a recorder that is really easy to hide by placing it on top of a door frame.

As a follow-up I have just ordered two of these from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Switchali-Digi ... rder+white

At £3.59 each they are probably the cheapest recorders I have ever bought. I will give them a whirl and let you know how things turn out.

[Turmoil123]

Okay so I haven't had a chance to do a ton of tests with my new mic but so far the results are amazing https://www.amazon.com/Recorder-Recharg ... B01H2U8GAQ

Last time I didn't get the cheapest USB recorders but they ended up being the same quality as the cheap-ass ones. These ones seem to have some quality to it. A tad more expensive but I'm very pleased thus far.

[emmpet8]

I only recently purchased a couple of Evistra USBs from Amazon at around £15 each, so can't compare them with any cheaper ones, but I was pleasantly surprised with the pick up range and quality for the price. Here's a few tech details.

They take about 30 - 45 mins to fully charge and that gives a recording time of 16 hours plus. The frequency response is pretty good too, with up to 12k.

If you want to check out a capture made with it, I posted a short one in the 'Neighborsex' section called "Subdued Orgasm." Unfortunately it's not the untouched original wav file, but it might give an idea. The USB was outside and about two metres from the open window.

If anyone does wants a short wav file sample from this USB, just message me and I'll send a link to one.

[Audio]

I would also be interested in high Quality usb Recorders, as far as I saw at Amazon the seem to be standars at 128kbit/s which is quite low... i would like to have usb recorder with at least 320kbit/s Quality

[sarmgk]

This is one of my favorites:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YA ... bw_c_x_2_w

It records in WAV format and lasts around 8 hours on a charge. Best part is it will keep the WAV file if it dies rather than deleting it. Also if you remove the lapel part it fits nicely between a tank and bowl of a toilet for those hoping to hear what your SO is up in the bathroom 30 minutes at a time