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How is the microphone recorder on the S4?

SpaceBolt

Member
May 13, 2011
62
3
I have an S3 and when I record video at concerts or audio from the radio, the bass playback is always static-ey, as if the microphone can't handle the bass. Even if I transfer to video or audio to my computer, the bass playback is still bad. How is it on the S4? Or.. Any idea how to improve this on the S3?
 
No expert, but I recently looked into phone + sound recordings. Sometimes a file format is used that was made for recording human speech. It's not realistic to expect that same file format to accurately record music at a concert. You should look around the Play store for apps that advertise recording in multiple formats and specifically for music.
 
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Wow, thanks for that link. WTF GS4!!! The HTC One killed it.
I didn't listen to the clip but I'm quite prepared to believe that this was not a high priority for Samsung. I cannot imagine that the number of people who want a phone to be useful for recording live music without a microphone would be more than about 7 globally. It really isn't a useful feature to anyone except you and possibly a few others.

If you care about it, I recommend an external mic and a specialist recording app. Together these should be much better than anything the HTC One can manage with its internal microphone.
 
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I didn't listen to the clip but I'm quite prepared to believe that this was not a high priority for Samsung. I cannot imagine that the number of people who want a phone to be useful for recording live music without a microphone would be more than about 7 globally. It really isn't a useful feature to anyone except you and possibly a few others.

If you care about it, I recommend an external mic and a specialist recording app. Together these should be much better than anything the HTC One can manage with its internal microphone.

Thousands of people attend concerts daily, and at most of them you are not allowed to bring in recording equipment. I guarantee there are lots of people that would love to record concerts or shows and have great quality sound/video. Just my Opinion.
 
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I didn't listen to the clip but I'm quite prepared to believe that this was not a high priority for Samsung. I cannot imagine that the number of people who want a phone to be useful for recording live music without a microphone would be more than about 7 globally. It really isn't a useful feature to anyone except you and possibly a few others.

LOL what?? Have you ever been to a concert? There are thousands of people with cell phones recording the concert.

I cannot imagine that the number of people who want a phone to be useful for recording live music without a microphone would be more than about 7 globally. It really isn't a useful feature to anyone except you and possibly a few others.

You must be trolling.
 
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LOL what?? Have you ever been to a concert? There are thousands of people with cell phones recording the concert.



You must be trolling.
I have been to literally hundreds of concerts and not only has it never occurred to me to try to record the music (literally never, I had not thought of it until I read this thread), I have never seen anyone else do so either. I go to listen to the music not to record it - that's the whole point of live music.

I suspect that the sort of concerts I go to may not be the same sort of concerts you go to but why not put your phone away and enjoy the moment rather than faffing around trying to capture something that cannot be captured?
 
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When you start talking about live, loud, rock concerts, you start talking about Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) in excess of 120 - 130 db. There's no reasonable excuse to build a mic capable of handling those kinds of levels into a cell phone. Most phone mics will simply hit the wall and distort like crazy. I've even see this happen with dedicated, high end audio gear. The mics that came with my MiniDisc recorder were not capable of handling it. The twin condensers in my Tascam DR-40 might have a slight problem if the band was super loud and I was close to the PA system. That's why the mics I use on stage for high impact instruments (bass drum, bass, electric guitar) cost more than a Galaxy S4. Also... the acoustics in most arenas aren't great. The further away from the sound system you get, the muddier the sound tends to be.
 
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