Choosing and configuring the sound recorders

We have 5 types of microphones (and we use the 2 last ones) :

  • the Blueyeti USB, which is perfect for a mono-locutor setup
  • 2 cheap lavalier bought on Amazon
  • 3 professional Sennheiser wireless lavalier bundles (that require a sound interface and a computer OR a portable recorder with enough inputs in order to record the sound)
  • the Zoom H5 recorders, which are good for recording one person, several people, or music. When recording a group, the sound quality is better than a meeting microphone like the ones designed by Jabra or Logitech (even the expensive “Owl”)
  • the DJI Mic 2 wireless microphones coming with the DJI Pocket 3 cameras, with integrated memory, that are perfect lavalier microphones used by most streamers in 2025

= The 2 most common situations =

If you have enough DJI Mic 2 microphones and people are moving in space, it a good option.

  • switch it on by pressing the power button
  • press the “record” button to start recording (the LED will turn red)
  • press it again to stop recording
  • transfer files to a PC by plugging the microphone with a USB-C cable

If people are not moving too much in space, and/or are more numerous that the number of DJI Mic 2 we have, use the Zoom H5 recorders :

  • know that they can only work with SD-HC cards (not SD-XC) that are smaller or equal to 32GB
  • switch the recorder on
  • check that the button for internal microphones (“L” and “R”) are active, and the buttons for external microphones (“1” and “2”) are not
  • in the options menu of the recorder, check that the recording is set to “WAV”, “48KHz” and “Stereo”
  • set all the gains (microphone + chanels) to ~9
  • make a test in real conditions while monitoring with headphones, and adjust gains depending on your configuration. The perfect gain is when you don’t get saturation on loud (but realistic !) signals. Don’t shout in the microphones but try for example to simulate a passionate conversation between participants
  • put the recorders on a gorillapod to limit contact sounds with the table
  • press the “record” button to start recording (the LED will turn red)
  • press the “stop” button to stop recording
  • transfer the files by taking the SD card from the recorder, or connecting the recorder to a computer with a mini-USB cable

= NB =

In both cases, sound files will be much smaller than video files and sound recorders consume little power, so put as many recorders as you have. You will then be able to compare the sounds (regarding their position in space, the timbra resulting from the angle of the microphones, etc.) and choose the one you prefer.
You can also decide to mix all recordings together, which is sometimes better.

 

 

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