So it’s me and three field recorders now. And quite a few mics.
It all started in 2010 when I got my Zoom H2. What I had in mind was to record live jams and invaluable moments not as a remedy for them not to disappear forever, but to allow them to change form and become something else. Nice idea that I would still stand behind to this day. It has got a lot more boring through time though as creativity has receded and gear mania has taken over.
Maybe it was also because I had to stop being a poor hippie artist and start earning labor. I didn’t record a lot in three years, but I did sometimes go out to the same places in the forest and capture birds singing without not really knowing why I’m doing this. At the same time I prepared myself for being able to do more professional tasks. The quality has raised indeed, but as for the content – it’s questionable.

The introduction wasn’t supposed to be that long. Or that pessimistic. I go out to record for the fun of it while trying to achieve good sounding results. Now I’m back in the place in my life where I can give space for creativity. I quit the job that took up all my time and energy and now I’m trying to make my way as a freelancer.

I received the Sony PCM-A10 today. There was a used one on sale for a very good price and it seems to be in excellent order. It’s time to retire my well-serving H2 that I’ve still used alongside the Zoom F8 as a compact setup for fast captures or as a carry-along device. I haven’t tested the A10 extensively yet. The internal microphones are said to be not so good and I expect them only to outperform those on the H2. For the main purpose I’m planning to get a pair of small minijack PIP microphones like those made by LOM. This should make a quite good sounding mini-setup (also approved by George Vlad) as the external input of the A10 should be way less noisy than the one on the H2.

I do majority of my nature recordings in AB stereo using my much beloved Line Audio OM1 omnidirectional microphones. These small pencil mics have never let me down from day one when I compared them to Oktava MK012 and found them to be so much more natural sounding (the Oktavas have their own use, I love them on piano, for example). They are not particularly quiet in spec (18 dBA), but there really is something about them.
A year ago or so I ordered a pair of LOM Mikrouši Pro that had got a lot of praise – why the Pro, I have later asked myself several times, but I did want to be able to use them individually for studio kind of recording situations. Anyway I tried hard to love those little mics, but they cannot compare to the OM1. Perhaps they shouldn’t, but I am either blinded or spoiled by the Line Audios. The Mikrouši haven’t got a lot of use. I made some comparison tests when I got them, but I didn’t analyze them much.
Until now, because to complete my mini-setup, I need decent mics for the new Sony PCM-A10. I thought I would order another pair of Mikrouši, this time the minijack version.
But – I am haunted by the OM1. The Mikrouši just don’t sound clean and nice enough to justify me buying another pair. I am actually really surprised how noisy they are in comparison to the OM1, given that they should only be 2 dBA noisier. I love the tiny size and I wouldn’t really want to go any bigger this, but I’m still tempted to consider the LOM Uši instead, because they are quiet. I haven’t heard relevant comparison samples and I haven’t held the mics themselves in my hand, so I don’t know how much of a difference it would make in my real life use, taken into account both the sound and the size. Maybe I am splitting hairs here. I am not going to try to substitute my main setup with the A10, right? Right?!
As of today the Mikrouši are still in stock while the Uši are sold out. Because of the global situation, it is unknown when the parts will be available for LOM to make more microphones. Rationally I should put ordering any microphones anyway on hold (also the pair of Line Audio CM4-s that I want), because I’m out of work and should save money, but emotionally I want to take the A10 into the field in a setup where it performs the best.

Speaking of the internal mics of the A10 – I did a quick test putting them aside the H2 and found them to be more detailed and overall better sounding, but not significantly less noisy. Which actually shouldn’t be the case. :) I need to test some more and on more sources. The mics of the H2 do sound to be a bit worn out, perhaps it’s the age showing. But in other terms, A10 is super tiny (I knew it would be very small, but it still surprised me), really well built and feels as it’s from a different era than the Zoom.. well, which it is indeed.

Sound samples to be added later.