listen

The Ultimate Digital Voice Recorder?

By David Battino
September 12, 2005 | Comments: 2

This device isn’t supposed to ship until 2006, but as a voice-recorder enthusiast, I’m already intrigued.

The HHB FlashMic merges a Sennheiser condenser microphone with a gigabyte of flash memory, creating what could be a terrific tool for broadcast journalists and podcasters.

It records at 16-bit, 48kHz resolution into WAV or MP2 files. (The MP2 format is popular in broadcast applications; it uses less data compression and processor power than MP3.) Each file is automatically time- and date-stamped, and a USB connector allows you to upload the files to a computer. There’s even a headphone jack.

The press release mentions a variety of other features, but the one that grabbed me was the ten-second pre-recording buffer. How many times have you missed a sound bite because you hit the red button too late? With the buffer, this mic will capture history. Which it may well do anyway.

What are you talking into these days?

Update, 2007-07-11: Two models of the FlashMic are out now and are getting good reviews. However, as "ultimates," they also cost around $1,000. For more affordable recorders, see my article "Your Top Voice Recorder Questions."

2 Comments

David Battino said:

@Aaron: If you have an Intel Mac, you could install Boot Camp, Windows, and then the proprietary RadioShack software the recorder needs. See the user reviews on the RadioShack site. Another option, if you initiate the calls, would be to use Skype and Ecamm Call Recorder. That's what I do for my telephone interviews. More tips in our audio forum:

Digital Recorder for the Phone

March 16, 2008 3:15 PM

Aaron said:

Hi,

I find that I need to record lengthy phone conversations because the detail that I must get is very complex and must be acted upon quickly. I have been recording conversations using a microcassette recorder for years and it has finally died.

So I decided to enter the 21st Century and get a digital one that will yield files that I can download onto our MACs and transfer via emails as needed. I got a great product at Radio Shack (43-127). It does everything right except I can't get it to show up on my MAC desktop. I'm assuming that it's not MAC compatible. So it works to record thew phone conversations, but I can't download the files. And at about $100, it's a great value—for a PC user.

Any advice for a MAC user so I can duplicate this functionality AND download the audio files?

Thanks,

Aaron Tollin

March 16, 2008 11:12 AM