Originally posted by: FishTankX
Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
yes, something along those lines.
*edit* cool, the
Archos Jukebox Recorder 20 seems to be the right item, and it records music in real time at bitrates up to 160 Kbps... which is pretty decent...
What I am curious about is WHY you prefer MP3 as your choice of recording format.
Anything the mp3 recorder can do, a DAT or minidisc can do better - especially at a live concert.
The Jukebox comes with a padded case with a belt holder on the back. The case gives the surprisingly fragile unit some protection, but it's not the prettiest thing, and we wouldn't be caught dead wearing it on our belts. Just remember to be very careful with the Jukebox since it has a hard drive.
However, I guess if you are just looking for "casual" concert recording, the Archnos at $220 looks pretty good.
Are you certain the 1/8-inch cable connect allows for "real" stereo mic inputs?
The Archos jukebox would need a preamp between Mic and Line in to operate properly. It has no 'Mic' port, so to speak. The difference in voltage between Mic and line can be on the magnitude of 1000X (if I remember correctly). So you would hear little, if anything, coming into the recorder by directly jacking in the mic.
The best mic preamps can run as much as 1000$! But even you're common battery box (which would only work optimally in loud conditions) would cost upwards of 80$, and a good preamp (which would allow you to record from Line under any condition) would cost 120$+. Sorry, harddrive recorders were
not meant to record from Mic's, rather from CD players and other music sources.
Anita, I'm sorry.. but at this point you really have only 2 options for MP3 digital recorders, that come to my mind.
Either #1 Preamp + Mic + Archos. The Archos and a
good quality preamp would set you back 350$.
Or #2 The stupid voice pen thingeys that record at 32Kbps and sound like utter crap.
My
strong suggestion would be to look into minidisc. Uploading through the line out of the mindisc player to your line in, while slow, gives astonishingly good results, and an MD recorder with a decent internal preamp (Sharp, and to a lesser extent, sony) would cost you under 200$.
Not to mention Sharp Minidisc recorders have something even Sony and Panasonic (As well as the entirety of all MP3 recorders known to man, if My memory serves me correctly) is sensitivy (volume) adjustments, on the fly.