ITALK Performance: Sound off here please!
Now that the ITALKs are shipping, I'm interested to know how those of you who received yours like its performance. Please post it here!
After a cursory test, I find the recording to be pretty nice. Sounded clear with no bad distortion. Seems that there is no buffer, which means recording won't start until after the hard drive has completely spun up (so you might miss the first couple of seconds of what you're instantly recording).
I found the playback to be weak. The sound from the speaker is barely distinguishable at full volume from only 1 foot away! Perhaps there is an adjustment I'm missing. Also seems to take a mean toll on the battery power, which was expected.
Now that it's a new day and I have more time, I'll do some more elaborate testing. Take these quick results as cursory.
Anyone else's experiences?
Chao,
-J
[922 byte] By [
jhodgeiii] at [2007-11-9 19:44:55]
# 1 Re: ITALK Performance: Sound off here please!
I just received my iTalk today, and, after some preliminary tests, I find myself in agreement with the majority of the reviews I have read here.
The speaker is pathetic and nearly useless for listening to any recordings made further than arms length from the source.
The microphone seems to work well and the gain control is quite good. I will test the iTalk's ability to record lectures tomorrow and post my findings.
Overall, I don't know if it was worth the wait, but it is nice to know that I can use my ipod for voice recording without having to put any money in Belkin's pockets.
ilived at 2007-11-15 16:04:29 >
# 3 Re: ITALK Performance: Sound off here please!
I've found the internal mic to be a little better than the Belkin in terms of breaking up/distortion/etc but only a little. I suspect this has more to do with the iPod software's inability to set manual record levels. I don't care what anyone says, AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL IS #### - always has been always will be.
When using the iTalk with an external mic, I've had very good results. I'm pretty sure this is because the ext mic bypasses the auto gain circuitry of the internal mic but it just may be that Griffin was savvy enough to pad (reduce the volume of the external mic input) by a lot. This would produce the tremendous difference I hear in distortion between the internal mic and an external (not to mention volume difference). I fear they went a little too far w/ the pad, however as the signal is incredibly soft - don't get me wrong, better soft than distorted.
Lastly, I still haven't heard a peep out of my speaker. People have been complaining that the output is weak but as of yet I haven't heard ANYTHING come out of that shiny grill on the front. Couldn't even hear my first recording with the thing without resorting to headphones. My subsequent sound tests went a little something more like this, "Well, recording seems to be working on my iPod but will I ever hear a f&*^ing thing from the other half of this product. Namely the f*&(ing speaker!"
Anyone else?
# 4 Re: ITALK Performance: Sound off here please!
iTalk performance.
I get static that is roughly 50% of the level of my voice, which makes the iTalk just about useless. Giving Griffin the benefit of the doubt, I will assume that my unit is faulty and try to return it. The crisp sample I heard somewhere supports this.
I need to turn up the volume to 100% to hear anything out of the speaker, using headphones I usually have the level at 20%.
# 5 Re: ITALK Performance: Sound off here please!
Pretty much the same here. The recording is probably going o be ok, the playback leaves a lot to be desired. I'll give it a test at a trivia contest next week. May cut the audio to a CD an' see what we got.
W9FIF at 2007-11-15 16:08:33 >
# 6 Re: ITALK Performance: Sound off here please!
Haven't yet used an external mic, but tried to record band rehearsal with the iTalk's mic. Probably a bit too loud, it was distorted to unlistenable. Automatic Gain Control isn't a selling point - it's a handicap.
Am currently trying to find a good digital mic with a gain control.
Also, due to the iPod's half-baked software, there's no "preview" of what you're recording. Oh man, I hope they release a firmware upgrade soon - iPod looks great , but performs like a bucket!!
