Directional mic for iPhone? (1 Viewer)

[MiddleRiver]

Recently started using BirdNet app and it's actually ok so far. Of course it's directly proportional to quality of sound. I have a nice Tascam portable recorder but I'd like to be able to get in-field ID, so I'm hoping to find a directional iOS compatible add-on microphone. Anybody?

 

[chipperatl]

I have an Edutige EIM-001 with fuzzy wind screen. It is Omnidirectional, and I have to use the 3.5mm dongle with the iPhone. It definitely improves the level of the sound, but does pick up everything else too. They have a unidirectional ETM-008 mic.

 

[MiddleRiver]

I have an Edutige EIM-001 with fuzzy wind screen. It is Omnidirectional, and I have to use the 3.5mm dongle with the iPhone. It definitely improves the level of the sound, but does pick up everything else too. They have a unidirectional ETM-008 mic.

Thx. One thing I'm of course trying to avoid is the dongle/cord. I'd prob be using the mic when birding with binos/camera, and the less the clutter, the better!

I'm contemplating the Rode Me-L ??

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1419053-REG/rode_videomic_me_l_directional_microphone_for_iphone.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwrfCRBhAXEiwAnkmKmVW2gNY9WqzKjVZTuEaIzObwuLblqtv3m4m08DRrVdTsA0pVqt734xoCwOkQAvD_BwE

 

[leonardo_simon]

I was looking at that Rode Me-L too -- looks super convenient - but worth checking the reviews -- for example lots of the reviews states that it doesn't work with a phone that's in a case, that the connector breaks etc.... ....that's a kind of deal breaker for me.....

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1419053-REG/rode_videomic_me_l_directional_microphone_for_iphone.html/reviews

 

[MiddleRiver]

Agree, tho I looked at my apple branded case and it has big cutout at bottom so prob ok.
Would love to hear from someone directly. Online reviews are always hard to judge…

 

[leonardo_simon]

Have you any recommendations for an iPhone sound recorder?

Could use a better microscope and link with cable. Still more convenient than separate sound recorder.

 

[David_]

Have you any recommendations for an iPhone sound recorder?

You mean an iOS app? I use the free version of "Voice Record Pro" (has the same functionality but some small adds at the bottom when using the app) and I think it's really good.
I plan to buy an external mic at some point but haven't looked into what's available

 

[MiddleRiver]

I also have Voice Record Pro, but recently installed BirdNET which is a collaboration by folks from Cornell Ornithology Lab and Chemnitz Univ (?). It's very 'basic' but effective and does allow you to save recordings. If you have web access from phone at time of recording, it will do the analysis on-demand, which is amazing. BirdNET Sound ID – The easiest way to identify birds by sound.

If you are recording and offloading to PC, then be sure to check out Audacity for post-processing (or you may already know about that

 

[leonardo_simon]

Thanks & sorry to hijack the thread -- I suppose what I'd like is an app with the functionality of my tascam recorder - i.e. record in wav, ability to adjust sound levels etc etc.... (so that I'm editing something reasonable when I use audacity).... perhaps that's asking too much of a phone app?

 

[Jon.Bryant]

Voice Recorder Pro (at least the paid version) does allow to record in wave, change sampling rate, bit depth and gain levels. You can even record in 32 bit, but I am not sure this is 32bit float - I need to do a check, but think that 32bit (non float) would be a bit overkill/meaningless.

 

[Jon.Bryant]

Just checked and 32bit (non float). So you get with Voice Recorder Pro selection of recording rates up to 96KHz 32bit, but not the advantage of 32bit float. But probably too much to expect for the price

 

[Dr. K]

I was looking at that Rode Me-L too -- looks super convenient - but worth checking the reviews -- for example lots of the reviews states that it doesn't work with a phone that's in a case, that the connector breaks etc.... ....that's a kind of deal breaker for me.....

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1419053-REG/rode_videomic_me_l_directional_microphone_for_iphone.html/reviews

Re: mics that don't fit to phones with case on, there are short cable or solid attachments available to bypass this issue (e.g., here: Amazon.com: EMATETEK Cable Extension Cord Female to Male Transfer Video Audio Music Data and Power Charge. 2PCS Female to Male Extender Cable Connector Cord Made of White PVC. (1Foot / 0.3M, White) : Electronics)

I just bought the iPhone directional mic by Shure with the above cable and, while I'm not certain the mic has really changed things enormously, the cable and mic combo allows me to look at the app right-side up on my phone while pointing the mic where I want it to be, i.e., independent of how I hold the phone.

 

[CMB]

For iPhones and iPads... A company called IK Multimedia makes a series of interfaces/mic-preamps that plug into either the lighting port or 3.5mm jack (if your phone has one). These interfaces accept XLR mics and provide 48v phantom power. This allows you to use any of the shotgun/directional mics from Sennheiser, Rode, etc.

This combination also works for audio ID with birdnet and Merlin. Both Birdnet and Merlin use the same audio analysis engine. The difference is that Birdnet requires a cellular connection for data, while Merlin does not.

On my iPhone 6s I was using the iRig Pre 2 to power a Sennheiser MKH-416 shotgun. It was very targeted when using Merlin/Birdnet and would ID species that would not be ID’d using just the phone by itself.

Also recorded bird vocalizations using Voice Record Pro (96 kHz and 32-bit fixed) to record the audio. Nice results.

I recently upgraded to the new Zoom F3 for recording audio and it's a really nice recording device. The F3 only does 32-bit float recording. Because of that, Zoom eliminated the gain setting. You only set the sample rate. It is fantastic to record without having to worry about gain settings.

 

[Murray Lord]

I was looking at that Rode Me-L too -- looks super convenient - but worth checking the reviews -- for example lots of the reviews states that it doesn't work with a phone that's in a case, that the connector breaks etc.... ....that's a kind of deal breaker for me.....

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1419053-REG/rode_videomic_me_l_directional_microphone_for_iphone.html/reviews

Coming rather late to this, I've had a Rode VideoMic Me for a while. I use it with an extender to get around the issue with phone cases. I can't claim to have done much in the way of rigorous comparisons. Overall I'd say the main advantage compared to going without an external mic is from having a windshield. I don't feel like the quality of the recordings is noticeably better.