I’ve been using a Sunlan voice recorder, which goes up to 8 kHz. A few days ago I heard some katydids that stood out from the crowd of common katydids. The call of this katydid is cut in half by 8 kHz. While searching for other observations of Microcentrum, I found this one which likewise has a background of Pterophylla, but is recorded with a sample rate of 44100 Hz (max frequency 22050 Hz). I’ve had another occasion where I heard some insect, tried to record it, and didn’t hear it in the recording. If I get another recorder (I’m not rich these days), what do you suggest I get for full bandwidth?
What’s the frequency range of the microphone on a mobile phone? (I’ve got a tablet that goes well over 10khz. I forget what the upper limit is, but it might be nearer 20khz.)
i’d be surprised if any smart phone / tablet made in the last decade wouldn’t be able to record up to this range, at least in mono. probably most of them won’t record to WAV or MP3 by default / natively, but i’m sure there are settings / apps that would allow for that, or at least you could convert to WAV or MP3, if so desired. (iNaturalist accepts M4A, but it can make a mess of that sort of audio.)
for a standalone device to record audio in the normal human range of hearing, i think it’s hard to go wrong with the Zoom H1essential or one of its predecessors in the H1 line, paired with a windscreen. the H1essential can record up to 96khz at 32bits, while its predecessors can handle up to 96khz at 24bits. if you want to save storage, i believe you can record as low as 44.1khz at 16bits.