Which has better sound quality video? Sony Camcorder vs Apogee One Mic

[elainemusic369]

https://youtu.be/GPv3rJoH9fI

Which has better sound quality?

[quantum]

The Sony captured more of the room, and I also felt it had the better sound balance between the two.  However it also displayed the limitations that many built in camera mics show - ok for voices, not the best option when you specifically want to record music. 

The Apogee, had more detailed repose throughout the frequency range, and was less tinny than the Sony.  Piano sound was more focused in this sample.  Unfortunately, it did seem to suffer more from clipping and/or compression.  Might want to consider redoing this clip for a better comparison. 

Were the two recorders placed in the same position for the test?  For music recording, it is best to turn off auto gain and compression effects.  Set the gain manually before doing the recording. 

[elainemusic369]

The Sony captured more of the room, and I also felt it had the better sound balance between the two.  However it also displayed the limitations that many built in camera mics show - ok for voices, not the best option when you specifically want to record music. 

The Apogee, had more detailed repose throughout the frequency range, and was less tinny than the Sony.  Piano sound was more focused in this sample.  Unfortunately, it did seem to suffer more from clipping and/or compression.  Might want to consider redoing this clip for a better comparison. 

Were the two recorders placed in the same position for the test?  For music recording, it is best to turn off auto gain and compression effects.  Set the gain manually before doing the recording. 

Thanks for your input! The Sony was put about a foot away from the piano and the Apogee ONE was put on top of the piano. I didn't do anything with the gain and compression, it was directly recorded and then put in this video. I moved house and have a bigger room that my piano is in now, the sound is slightly better but still has a weird boxy effect for some reason.

[quantum]

Thanks for your input! The Sony was put about a foot away from the piano and the Apogee ONE was put on top of the piano. I didn't do anything with the gain and compression, it was directly recorded and then put in this video. I moved house and have a bigger room that my piano is in now, the sound is slightly better but still has a weird boxy effect for some reason.

Putting the Apogee ONE on the piano would explain things, generally you don't want to do that with these types of recorders.  There are mics that you can put in a piano, but they are specially made for this purpose.  Place the recorder in the room, where the raw sound has an opportunity to interact with the acoustics. 

You need to do something with gain.  Leaving it at the factory setting will likely not give the best results.  Turn off Auto Gain and take a manual gain measurement in your room.  Set the gain to be below clipping when playing your loudest music. 

Turn off compression.  Don't assume it is off or your device doesn't have it, you need to check if your device has such settings and turn them off.