Here are sound files captured from four different field-recording rigs that I bought on the road to the decision as to what to use for our bioacoustic project here at Prairie Haven. Clockwise from the upper-right they are:
Wildlife Acoustics – SM-4
iPhone with a Shure MV88 mic
Open Acoustic Devices – AudioMoth
“Pro rig” – a MixPre3 v2 with two Sennheiser 8040 mics in a wind-shrouded ORTF array
I eventually decided to use the Wildlife Acoustics SM-4 recorders for several reasons.
Noise level — isn’t the very best, but it’s a strong second place to the “pro-gear” rig
Cost — quite a bit less than “pro-gear”
Battery life — “pro-gear” last about 8 hours on a charge, SM-4 lasts three weeks
Weather proof — yep
Configurable schedule — yep
Here are the results of a side-by-side test that I ran while I was deciding. The SM4 sounded way better than the iphone or the AudioMoth to me and close-enough-for-jazz to the pro-rig, but you ears may speak differently to you.
Wildlife Acoustics SM-4
iPhone – with a Shure MV88 mic
Pro gear (A MixPre3 v2 recorder with two Sennheiser 8040 mics, ORTF configuration with a windscreen)
Open Acoustic Devices – AudioMoth
