Anyone use Sony mics with the iRiver?

[stantheman1976]

I got a Sony ECM-MS908C which is the identical twin on the 907 for my camcorder. I tried it with my H120 but it seems low. Do I need to use a preamp? I was trying to record a semi-acoustic bluegrass outfit in a closed building from about 50 feet away and had to turn the gain up to 30dB or more on the iRiver to hear anything decent.

[shadesbass]

Check out the Live Recording Guide (stickied at the top of this sub-forum). It has lots of tips about how to get the most out of your mic/setup.

[stantheman1976]

Decent stuff there. I'm looking at the Sound Professionals preamp with level control:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cg...item/SP-PREAMP
If these work the way they seem I could use the mic two ways.

1)Set iRiver at 0dB and use this to control level
2)Plug this inline with the mic into my Panasonic camcorder and use the level control eliminating the need for an external recorder.

I just need to gather the extra cash to get these.

Also, the sticky mentions External Mic setting on the iRiver. Is this in the original firmware? I don't see it on Rockbox.

[shadesbass]

I don't have my iRiver to hand right now, but I think you just use the line-in setting in RB and crank the gain up.
Since the iRiver doesn't have a built-in mic preamp, line-in and mic-in (in iRiver firmware) are effectively the same setting just with a different gain range IIRC.

[CSMRtencharacters]

Originally Posted by stantheman1976

Decent stuff there. I'm looking at the Sound Professionals preamp with level control:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cg...item/SP-PREAMP


I just need to gather the extra cash to get these.

Also, the sticky mentions External Mic setting on the iRiver. Is this in the original firmware? I don't see it on Rockbox.

Get a preamp and use the line in. For your microphone it doesn't need to be fancy. Better a basic preamp and a good mic than vice versa. I would get one for around $50 from ebay and save the rest for a mic upgrade.

If these work the way they seem I could use the mic two ways.

1)Set iRiver at 0dB and use this to control level
2)Plug this inline with the mic into my Panasonic camcorder and use the level control eliminating the need for an external recorder.

I don't understand what level control has to do with having an external recorder.

[stantheman1976]

Originally Posted by CSMRtencharacters

Get a preamp and use the line in. For your microphone it doesn't need to be fancy. Better a basic preamp and a good mic than vice versa. I would get one for around $50 from ebay and save the rest for a mic upgrade.

I don't understand what level control has to do with having an external recorder.

It's to control the volume of the recording and avoid clipping. The Sound Professionals preamp has a level control built in so I could adjust audio level when the mic is plugged into my camcorder. With the iRiver I can adjust either with the preamp or the recorder. I'm not really going to be recording anything that I'm not videotaping also, so the audio going into the camera is a large concern for me. That's why I need something with level control. The PV-GS300 doesn't have it. Whatever you plug in is what you get, so if I can control the volume going in I've acheived my goal. I've never used a preamp before so I didn't realize the importance of one until I recently got my camera and mic and wanted to use them to record some live music.