Sat by the River Don outside the Special Steels Ltd long bar treatment plant. There is the hum of the compressors driving
all the hammers and ring rollers, and the sounds of scrap metal being shifted by cranes outside. There is also the sounds of the river in front, the train line behind, and the road to the left.

Both machines recording simultaneously.

01:00 to 07:15 Sony PCM-D50 (input gain set to 5)
07:15 to 14:30 Sony PCM-D100 (input gain set to 5)

Industrial Sounds Sony D50 & D100 Comparison

A repeat of my walk along the River Don in Sheffield with the Roland CS-10EM microphones. This time plugged into my Sony PCM-D100.

I think it's a noticeable improvement over the D50 which I used the day before.

The walk starts on Stevenson Road, along the river past the weir (5:00) over East Coast Road (6:20), then under Attercliffe Road (14:00) past Salmon Pastures (15:00) and then to the Weir at Leveson Street (21:00), which is where the photo was taken. Viridor Glass Recycling is responsible for the very loud hum towards the end of the walk.

Five Weirs Walk recorded on Roland CS-10EM binaural headphones + Sony PCM-D100

Simultaneous recordings made in my garden one evening in May.

Both recordings made @ 24/96 format, using the internal microphones.

The first 4 mins recording is the M10, the second is the D100.

It might sound like there is some hiss in the recordings, but it's actually a stream which runs through our garden. The noise floor of both recorders is very good.

The point of the the recording is to compare the stereo separation of M10 fixed omnis, with those on the D100 set in the wide position.

Comparison of Sony PCM-M10 v Sony PCM-D100 - Garden Birdsong

The Primo EM172 are superb low noise, high sensitivity capsules popular for making DIY microphones.

I have made my own for field recordings, to use with my Sony PCM- D100 and Sony PCM-M10 recorders.

The PCM-D100 provides 5.0 volts PIP which seems to be sufficient to power these capsules, but I use a 9.0 volt preamp when using with the Sony PCM-M10.

I have been asked to produce a comparison of these DIY mics with another pair, so here are my simultaneous recordings:

1. First minute: Primo EM172 mics -> CA9200 preamp -> Sony PCM-M10

2. Second minute: Church Audio CA14 Omni mics -> CA Ugly 2 preamp -> Sony PCM-M10

I just placed the mics on our bedroom windowsill. I think it's fair to say that the Primo EM172 capsules have the lower noise floor.

Low noise Primo EM172 capsules outside ambience

Totally alone on the black sands of Vik early one morning in April 2016. It's certainly not a sea you would want to go swimming in, as the corpses of numerous dead fish on the beach warn, but the thunderous sounds of the North Atlantic waves crashing on the beach have an almost hypnotic effect that draws you closer. I placed my Sony PCM-M10 recorder on one of the basalt columns, and left it there for a few minutes.

Waves on Vik Black Volcanic Beach Iceland

The Primo EM172 are superb low noise, high sensitivity capsules popular for making DIY microphones.

I have made my own for field recordings, to use with my Sony PCM- D100 and Sony PCM-M10 recorders.

The PCM-D100 provides 5.0 volts PIP which seems to be sufficient to power these capsules, but I use a 9.0 volt preamp when using with the Sony PCM-M10.

I have been asked to produce a comparison of these DIY mics with another pair, in a quiet situation with the gain turned up high, so here are my simultaneous recordings:

1. First minute: Primo EM172 mics -> CA9200 preamp -> Sony PCM-M10

2. Second minute: Church Audio CA14 Omni mics -> CA Ugly 2 preamp -> Sony PCM-M10

I just placed the mics about 12 inches from a bracket clock with the gain turned up high. You can just make out the sound of a car passing outside that I wasn't even aware of at the time. I think it's fair to say that the Primo EM172 capsules have the lower noise floor.

To compare with the internal mics of the Sony D100, listen to the previous recording.

Low noise Primo EM172 capsules ticking clock

Simultaneous recordings made whilst sat in Elsecar Park one afternoon in July.

Both recordings made @ 24/44 format, using the internal microphones.

The first minute of the recording is the M10, the second is the D100.



Comparison of Sony PCM-M10 v Sony PCM-D100 - Elsecar Park

Here is a comparison of the Sony PCM-M10 against the Sony PCM-D100. I simply placed both recorders on my bedroom windowsill and made simultaneous recordings one warm July evening.

The first minute is the M10, and the second minute is the D100. I think the D100 edges it, but then it does cost three times as much.

Comparison of Sony PCM-M10 v Sony PCM-D100 - Ambient Noise

The Primo EM172 are superb low noise, high sensitivity capsules popular for making DIY microphones.

I have made my own for field recordings, to use with my Sony PCM- D100 and Sony PCM-M10 recorders.

The PCM-D100 provides 5.0 volts PIP which seems to be sufficient to power these capsules, but I use a 9.0 volt preamp when using with the Sony PCM-M10.

I have been asked to produce a comparison of these DIY mics with the D100, so here are my simultaneous recordings:

1. First two minutes: Sony PCM-D100 with internal mics.

2. Second two minutes: Primo EM172 mics -> CA9200 preamp -> Sony PCM-M10

Both recordings made @ 24/44 format. I just placed the mics on our bedroom windowsill on a warm July evening. I think the D100 edges it, but only just.

Comparison of Sony PCM-D100 v Primo EM172 - Ambient Noise

Here I have a comparison of using two recording devices, the popular Sony PCM-M10 and an iPhone using the Tascam iXJ2 IOS line-in device. The iXJ2 is designed for the older 30-pin iPhones, so I am using an iPhone 4s.

The same setup for the comparison was simultaneously as follows:

Church Audio CA11 mics -> CA Ugly 2 Pre-Amp (set to 15db) -> Line Splitter -> A and B simultaneously

A. Sony PCM-M10 line-in with the gain set to 7
B. Tascam iXJ2 with the gain set to 3, using the Rode Rec App on the iPhone 4s

My opinion is that the sound quality of the iXJ2/iPhone is comparable to the Sony dedicated recorder. The advantages of this is obvious in stealth situations, using an iPhone is going to draw much less attention, and is much smaller. In this respect having to use an older 4s rather than a newer iPhone is an advantage.

I have tried using mics directly into the iXJ2 and the sound quality is okay, but inferior to the M10. Using a small preamp is advisable.

The band recorded here is the rather excellent Monday Club featuring Paul Hawksworth, and the song is Time Ticks Away. The first 2 mins is the recording using the M10 and the last 2 mins is the recording using the iXJ2.

Stealth Concert recording Sony PCM-M10 versus iPhone + Tascam iXJ2

Here I have a comparison of using two recording devices, the popular Sony PCM-M10 and an iPhone using the Tascam iXJ2 IOS line-in device. The iXJ2 is designed for the older 30-pin iPhones, so I am using an iPhone 4s.

The same setup for the comparison was simultaneously as follows:

Church Audio CA11 mics -> CA Ugly Battery Box -> Line Splitter -> A and B simultaneously

A. Sony PCM-M10 mic-in with the gain set to 4
B. Tascam iXJ2 with the gain set to 3, using the Rode Rec App providing some amplification on the iPhone 4s

My opinion is that the sound quality of the iXJ2/iPhone is comparable to the Sony dedicated recorder. The advantages of this is obvious in stealth situations, using an iPhone is going to draw much less attention, and is much smaller. In this respect having to use an older 4s rather than a newer iPhone is an advantage.

I have tried using mics directly into the iXJ2 and the sound quality is okay, but inferior to the M10. Using a small battery box is advisable, but a pre-amp is better still .

The band recorded here is a Devo cover band, and the song is Jocko Homo. The first 2.5 mins is the recording using the M10 and the last 2.5 mins is the recording using the iXJ2.

Stealth Concert recording Sony PCM-M10 versus iPhone + Tascam iXJ2 Ver 2

John Grant - It Doesn't Matter To Him
Sheffield 11/Feb/2016

*Church Audio CAF mics > Church Audio Ugly Pre > Tascam iXJ2 > iPhone Lightning Adapter > iPhone 6s

Rode Rec App

There's a bit of audience chatter unfortunately

* These are really tiny mics which I attached to my specs

Test live recording iPhone

This is a field recording comparison of the new Roland R-07 against the two other Sony portable units that I own. Sat by the side of Elsecar Reservoir one sunny day in June I made 4 simultaneous recording, from which I have selected two minutes each as follows:

1. 00:00 - 02:00 Roland R-07 using internal mics

2. 02:01 - 04:01 Sony PCM-M10 using internal mics

3. 04:02 - 06:02 Sony PCM-D100 using internal mics in wide stereo

4. 06:03 - 08:03 By way of comparison this is a recording using my Sennheiser MKH-8040 mics into my Sound Devices Mixpre-3. Is it worth the cost premium over the Sony PCM-D100?

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