Filed under: iPod Family, Reviews
O'Reilly posts iPod microphone shootout
Over at O'Reilly, Mark Nelson tested all three major iPod microphone add-ons and wrote about his results. He tried out the Belkin TuneTalk stereo, the Griffin iTalk Pro, and the XtremeMac MicroMemo. When all was said and done, all three solutions performed well despite the fact that they were all horrible battery hogs.
The $50 iTalk Pro offered one-touch recording and three input levels but its built-in microphone picked up a lot of hard drive noise. The $60 MicroMemo used a handy boom that avoided picking up iPod noises but had no level controls and could only record mono audio. The $70 TuneTalk Stereo offers a USB port that allows you to record while your iPod is docked and charging but had stability issues for positioning and the microphone, like the iTalk Pro, picked up iPod hard drive noises.
TUAW readers: have you bought an iPod mic? Which one did you buy? And are you happy with your purchase? Let us know in the comments.
Full disclosure: I write for O'Reilly.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kevin Little said 8:53AM on 5-22-2007
The Belkin device is by far the best.
http://www.ebizmba.com
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Bob said 9:26AM on 5-22-2007
The iTalk Pro is by far the better device. I use both the Belkin and the TuneTalk on a daily basis with a large PR and production department and the iTalk always has far more consistent results. The audio levels on 'auto' from the Griffin device are always very consistent and require little tweeking in post. The Belkin in 'auto' can be all over the place and tends to be 'noisy' requireing lots of work in post. Plus, you can find the Griffin device for as little as $25 online.
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Bob said 9:28AM on 5-22-2007
Also, I always use an external mic with both devices because they do pick up lots of iPod drive noise using the built in mics in quiet interview situations...
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Auric said 10:15AM on 5-22-2007
I've been using the Belkin for the last month or so and the sound quality is great, as is the fact that you can charge while recording as it tends to drain the battery at an alarming rate. However, I've been experiencing terrible skipping problems with it. I've tried all the different setting, high quality and low, but on all of them I get 4 or 5 second jumps every minute or so as it writes the recording to the harddrive. It's driving me nuts as I use it for interviews and I'm ending up with whole sections of coversation missing. I'm using it with a new 30G iPod using the current most upto date iPod software - it seems to be a common problem, reading all the various forums and there seems to be a theme that the issue started around the time of the last software up-date. Any ideas to solve the problem most welcome. According to posts I've read online it also affects the Griffin and Extreme Mac recorders with the 30G iPod, which would suggest it's an iPod issue, and as there aren't really any complaints with the 80G version, I'm guessing that it is a 30G software prob.
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Nik said 12:47PM on 5-22-2007
I sold my iPod and bought a Zoom H4
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Bob said 1:10PM on 5-22-2007
Nik, how well does that Zoom play video? Or store your photos? Or your address book, and notes, and play back music, and...
Oh, wait. I see, it doesn't! So, for $50, I added a recorder, bought a Senheiser mic, and I have recordings just like from your Zoom. Man, I'm glad I didn't make the same mistake you did... ;-)
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zephirnl said 2:30PM on 5-22-2007
does anyone have experience with line-level recording using their ipod? i have a 30g ipod video and woul love to be able to record wth that instead of my md recorder... thanks for tips!
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Spencer said 2:32PM on 5-22-2007
Belkin is what I have and it works AWESOME! I take it to all of the concerts I go to and record them. It works great. It's not perfect sound, but works great!
Check out my recordings here:
http://mycrazyblogspencer.blogspot.com/2007/05/kate-havnevik-live-at-fillmore-in.html
If the bass is too loud, then there is distortion, but works wonderful if there it isn't too loud.
Perfect for my interviews and other things.
Buy it - you won't be dissapointed.
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Alan Hartung said 3:24PM on 5-22-2007
I have the MicroMemo product, and I love it. No experience with the others, but I've used the MicroMemo to record podcasts and the quality is better than the internal mic on my MacBook Pro. Love it, love it, love it.
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Gary said 5:24PM on 5-22-2007
I have the need to record several speeches that I am doing in a small room (about 100 attendees). Can I have one of these on the iPod and an external mic on the podium to record my 4 hours of talkin'? Are any of these better than the other for just simple voice?
Thanks!
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JeffDM said 7:54AM on 5-23-2007
Bob, I'm pretty sure the iPod is not something to use for professional recording. Zoom is a different class of device.
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Bob said 10:56AM on 5-23-2007
JeffDM, once your recording has been made, by recording bits, it's made. it doesn't matter what device makes the recording, it matters about the input. Now givem the Zoom has XLR inputs. But I can use a mic that has an XLR, drop it down to the mini plug of any of these devices, and have just as good a recording. I've also used both the Belkin and Griffin device with a portable Shure mixer so that I can do location recording, with pro-level mics and output to the iPod and had results that sound as good as recording in a studio. So it has nothing to do with the 'pro'-ness of the deivice. It's all about the quality of the input. Plus, I can show video to clients right after a recording session, all with a device that fits in my pocket.
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marcosmalo said 4:15AM on 5-24-2007
Bob, it's great that you found a solution that works for you, but your comment reveals how little you know about audio. You say that the only thing that matters is the input because the digital bits are all the same, but that just isn't true. The recording device does matter. What is the sample rate? Can one set levels (clippping will ruin your recording). Sample rate is huge. A little more esoteric is the silicon. Which A/D conversion chips are being used? Then there are other considerations, such as phantom power.
You say that you're using a shure mixer, but at what point are you using so many accessories for your iPod that you might as well be using professional equipment? You might be dazzling your clients by using the iPod, but it's the iPod that's impressing them, not the quality of your work. If you want professional results, there are very reasonably priced professional tools available. Call me old school, but I prefer using the best tool and the right tool for the job. In a pinch, these iPod accessories might do the trick, but I wouldn't want to rely on them.
Also, I highly doubt that you were able to purchase both one of these iPod accessories and a decent Sennheiser for $50. How much did the Shure mixer run you?
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