BirdMic Audio Demo (2 Viewers)

[anormalbirder1]

Hi,

Just posted this audio demo on youtube. Amplification, directionality, CUT & BOOST function and interference issues.

No audio edition, from Merlin app direct to your ears.

This is the final product, sold to 70 clients from 10 different countries. The general evaluation we have received is great.

Sorry for my English...😅

I hope you like it. I would love to answer all your questions.

Jordi

 

[Jon.Bryant]

One question. In the demo, you put the phone in Airplane mode to cut out interference, but doesn’t Merlin require mobile data?

Does this mean you have to record in airplane mode, turn off airport mode and the submit the recording for your identification. So live identification of recordings with say BirdNet isn’t possible.

 

[anormalbirder1]

Hi!

MerlinID works with no mobile data. You can identify birds with airplane mode activated. BirdNet does not allow it. In anycase, we recommend Merlin app to identify bird songs in live time.

I hope it helps,

best,

Jordi

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Hi,

Just posted this audio demo on youtube. Amplification, directionality, CUT & BOOST function and interference issues.

No audio edition, from Merlin app direct to your ears.

This is the final product, sold to 70 clients from 10 different countries. The general evaluation we have received is great.

Sorry for my English...😅

I hope you like it. I would love to answer all your questions.

Jordi

So nice!

Do you have demo for bird guides to test on the field?

 

[Elkhornsun]

I have tried using a shotgun mic that is self-powered with a alkaline battery but the pre-amp of the iphone is meant only for someone talking a few inches from the mic and so not good at all. The iphone fails to pick up distant birds songs that I can easily hear with my ears. Merlin fails for birds that are not within 50 feet of the iphone. The dish helps to provide a stronger signal but it still needs to go through the iphone's circuitry and then deciphered by Merlin. The demo video only shows it in use with birds that are nearby and so not a good test of its capabilities.

 

[Jon.Bryant]

The demo video only shows it in use with birds that are nearby and so not a good test of its capabilities.

I think in the demo he moves the speaker to 50m away, so not too bad (circa 150ft).

 

[Vollmeise]

I have tried using a shotgun mic that is self-powered with a alkaline battery but the pre-amp of the iphone is meant only for someone talking a few inches from the mic and so not good at all. The iphone fails to pick up distant birds songs that I can easily hear with my ears. Merlin fails for birds that are not within 50 feet of the iphone. The dish helps to provide a stronger signal but it still needs to go through the iphone's circuitry and then deciphered by Merlin. The demo video only shows it in use with birds that are nearby and so not a good test of its capabilities.

@Elkhornsun: I don't think it's that simple. As an iPhone user from the very beginning, I've found that very good sound recordings can be made with external microphones.

Which app did you use to record? Which recording format, sampling rate, preamplification? Did You deactivate all "improvement" algorithms such as noise reduction or auto-gain?

As for the iPhone's preamplifier: it hasn't played a role when using an external microphone for many years. Since the iPhone 7, there is no longer an analog jack socket, only digital inputs. An external microphone must be connected using an adapter (iPhone 7 to 14: 3.5mm jack to Lightning, iPhone 15: 3.5mm jack to USB-C). The ADC including the preamplifier is integrated in these adapters, so the sound signal is already fed into the iPhone digitally. Such an adapter is ultimately nothing more than an external sound card, and therefore the sound quality of your recording depends massively on the quality of your adapter.

 

[anormalbirder1]

As for the iPhone's preamplifier: it hasn't played a role when using an external microphone for many years. Since the iPhone 7, there is no longer an analog jack socket, only digital inputs. An external microphone must be connected using an adapter (iPhone 7 to 14: 3.5mm jack to Lightning, iPhone 15: 3.5mm jack to USB-C). The ADC including the preamplifier is integrated in these adapters, so the sound signal is already fed into the iPhone digitally. Such an adapter is ultimately nothing more than an external sound card, and therefore the sound quality of your recording depends massively on the quality of your adapter.

Absolutely agree... Making products that fit the iphone is really difficult. We had to search many suppliers to find a suitable adapter. The one we sell is certified as an apple manufacturer and is really expensive, but it is a service that we must provide. A bad adapter destroys any recording.

 

[Elkhornsun]

I used adapters to connect a variety of microphones to the iphone 10 that I use for Merlin Bird ID app. Unless the birds are within 30 feet of the iphone their calls cannot be picked up by the Merlin app. The iphone is designed to minimize ambient noise to make talking clearing and easier to understand as one should expect.

I can record with my Sound Devices MixPre recorder but lose the ability to use the Merlin bird ID that I find useful in the field for photography. If the app picks up a bird's call I know to look for it in the brush or in the trees or elsewhere. I use the recorder with both shotgun mics and with Telinga's parabolic dishes and using their M/S microphone.

Anormalbirder1 is on the right track with incorporating a small parabolic dish with the mic for capturing bird sounds. It is a much better approach than using a shotgun mic in most situations. I bought one of his company's mic and dish setups and will be trying it out in the coming days, depending on the weather.

 

[anormalbirder1]

I used adapters to connect a variety of microphones to the iphone 10 that I use for Merlin Bird ID app. Unless the birds are within 30 feet of the iphone their calls cannot be picked up by the Merlin app. The iphone is designed to minimize ambient noise to make talking clearing and easier to understand as one should expect.

I can record with my Sound Devices MixPre recorder but lose the ability to use the Merlin bird ID that I find useful in the field for photography. If the app picks up a bird's call I know to look for it in the brush or in the trees or elsewhere. I use the recorder with both shotgun mics and with Telinga's parabolic dishes and using their M/S microphone.

Anormalbirder1 is on the right track with incorporating a small parabolic dish with the mic for capturing bird sounds. It is a much better approach than using a shotgun mic in most situations. I bought one of his company's mic and dish setups and will be trying it out in the coming days, depending on the weather.

Thanks a lot for the trust. Speaking of weather, you might be interested in this video. It's amazing what a small parabolic dish is capable of. The windscreen is not available yet, but soon.

I insist, the audio is not edited. This is the original audio from Merlin ID in WAV format.

2024-03-23 06_49 (1).wav

drive.google.com