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I own a pair of cheap binaural microphones that are worn in the ears like earbuds. For a time, I had access to a proper digital audio recorder and would record

I own a pair of cheap binaural microphones that are worn in the ears like earbuds. For a time, I had access to a proper digital audio recorder and would record short snippets of binaural audio for my own enjoyment. I’ve wanted to figure out how to connect them to a pocket sized recorder, but it appears (possibly?) that they require phantom power over the 3.5mm jack (or some other kind of adapter) as I have never been successful finding a way to connect them to a smartphone or a pocket voice recorder (and have tried several). If anyone is more familiar with audio tech and has a thought, I would really appreciate it.

delgaudm 4y ago
They may require something called "plug-in" power, which is different from phantom power. If you're using a recording device, there may be an option to turn this on. This is common for lav mics, so it may be true for yours too. As an example,if you have something like a zoom h5 recorder it's available through the menu system. It's also possible that you need an adapter that converts the plug from TRS to TRRS or vice versa. (Simplified: Count the number of "stripes" on the plug, if there are 2 you may need an adapter to convert it to 3, or the reverse)
fzzzy 4y ago
I believe there may be minidisc recorders which can do this. [edit] http://felmicamps.co.uk/pluginpower.html http://felmicamps.co.uk/pluginpower.html
loxias 4y ago
Everything delgaudm said 100% Plus, if you post the specifics of what equipment you have, and if you're willing to spend a lil bit of money, I'm sure this comment section will be full of audio people happy to help. (including me) I'm sure Tascam has a pocket sized recorder for $100-200 that will do the job for you. Or, if you're feeling more DIY, you can inject the 3-5V yourself! Don't take my word on it (I dabble in EE but shouldn't be trusted), but it looks like all it takes is a few capacitors, resistors and maybe a voltage regulator to power up that microphone. Then you can use any ole sound card to record. (Or, you could just spend the $150 and get a proper recorder. Whichever sounds more fun.)
- germinalphrase 4y ago
  Mine look almost identical to these from Sound Professionals: https://soundprofessionals.com/product/SP-TFB-2/ https://soundprofessionals.com/product/SP-TFB-2/ I would be willing to spend $100-150, but compactness is a high priority. My use case would be to basically have this microphone/recorder in my back pocket to record wild sound, playing with my 3-year-old son, random moments of friends making music, and so on. I don’t want to need to ‘plan on recording that day’ - I just want it to be compact enough to carry around.
  - loxias 4y ago
    > My use case would be... Got it! I'm gonna duck out right after this comment (this thread is too much fun) but now I fully see the problem, and need to ponder what an ideal solution would look like. If you always have a smart phone on you, that can be leveraged perhaps... (Presuming that the iCloud email service uses the second-level domain "icloud" under the top-level domain "com", you'll know if/when someday I think of something else)
    - germinalphrase 4y ago
      Thanks. Honestly, if there were something equivalent to an iPod nano in size that would be almost ideal.

delgaudm 4y ago

They may require something called "plug-in" power, which is different from phantom power. If you're using a recording device, there may be an option to turn this on. This is common for lav mics, so it may be true for yours too. As an example,if you have something like a zoom h5 recorder it's available through the menu system. It's also possible that you need an adapter that converts the plug from TRS to TRRS or vice versa. (Simplified: Count the number of "stripes" on the plug, if there are 2 you may need an adapter to convert it to 3, or the reverse)

fzzzy 4y ago

I believe there may be minidisc recorders which can do this. [edit] http://felmicamps.co.uk/pluginpower.html http://felmicamps.co.uk/pluginpower.html

loxias 4y ago

Everything delgaudm said 100% Plus, if you post the specifics of what equipment you have, and if you're willing to spend a lil bit of money, I'm sure this comment section will be full of audio people happy to help. (including me) I'm sure Tascam has a pocket sized recorder for $100-200 that will do the job for you. Or, if you're feeling more DIY, you can inject the 3-5V yourself! Don't take my word on it (I dabble in EE but shouldn't be trusted), but it looks like all it takes is a few capacitors, resistors and maybe a voltage regulator to power up that microphone. Then you can use any ole sound card to record. (Or, you could just spend the $150 and get a proper recorder. Whichever sounds more fun.)

germinalphrase 4y ago
Mine look almost identical to these from Sound Professionals: https://soundprofessionals.com/product/SP-TFB-2/ https://soundprofessionals.com/product/SP-TFB-2/ I would be willing to spend $100-150, but compactness is a high priority. My use case would be to basically have this microphone/recorder in my back pocket to record wild sound, playing with my 3-year-old son, random moments of friends making music, and so on. I don’t want to need to ‘plan on recording that day’ - I just want it to be compact enough to carry around.
- loxias 4y ago
  > My use case would be... Got it! I'm gonna duck out right after this comment (this thread is too much fun) but now I fully see the problem, and need to ponder what an ideal solution would look like. If you always have a smart phone on you, that can be leveraged perhaps... (Presuming that the iCloud email service uses the second-level domain "icloud" under the top-level domain "com", you'll know if/when someday I think of something else)
  - germinalphrase 4y ago
    Thanks. Honestly, if there were something equivalent to an iPod nano in size that would be almost ideal.