iRiver 799 and Squid Audio Stereo (Omni) Lav Mic

[timn]

For those with an iRiver 799 who are considering ordering the Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone from Giant Squid Audio. Here's the mic I ordered:

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-stereo1.htm

Be aware that the 1/8 inch plug on the mic will not fully insert into the iRiver 799 due to the lanyard molding on the 799 (see links to photos below).

The Squid mic comes with what I would consider to be a very high quality (Canare brand) 1/8th inch plug (http://www.podwatcher.com/images/iriver799_04.jpg) - but it simply widens too fast to fully insert into the iRiver

I contacted Darren at Giant Squid and he suggested that I use an Xacto knife to trim the molding on the 799. I explored this possibility but it was clear that if I trimmed enough plastic for the plug to fully insert, I would end up cutting into the hole for the lanyard -- then the lanyard wouldn't work...

So I chose not to do that -- instead, I'm gonna drop by Radio Shack and see if I can buy a short 1/8 stereo extension cord that will permit me to use this mic with the iRiver 799. I have a 20 foot extension cable that I used for 'proof of concept' but I seemed to get a fair amount of signal loss so I need a cable that is considerably shorter.

None of this should be seen as a complaint about the mic itself (which seems very good per DVDTalk's demo) or of the iRiver 799.

It's just that anyone considering this combination should be aware of this issue and be willing to deal with it before purchasing. I'm pretty sure a short trip to Radio Shack will quickly fix this.

Pictures:

http://www.podwatcher.com/images/iriver799_01.jpg
http://www.podwatcher.com/images/iriver799_02.jpg
http://www.podwatcher.com/images/iriver799_03.jpg


And something like this Y adapter might do the trick -- nice and short and can serve a dual purpose if needed:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-2570

[Zany Aguirre]

And something like this Y adapter might do the trick -- nice and short and can serve a dual purpose if needed:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-2570

Or use a Monster iSplitter

[jimk]

And something like this Y adapter might do the trick -- nice and short and can serve a dual purpose if needed:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-2570

Or use a Monster iSplitter

Yeah, what's nice about the iSplitter is that, even though it's a bit overpriced, it's made really well and offers no noticable resistance that I can pick up, and I've plugged it in to very sensitive mics and my Shure E5s which pick up any and everything in the signal path.

[TINKOFF RADIO]

Fortunately iRiver addressed this issue in the iFP-899 by moving the line/mic-in mini-plug to the side of the unit where there is no obstruction.

Adam

[Will-Casel]

And something like this Y adapter might do the trick -- nice and short and can serve a dual purpose if needed:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=42-2570

Timn,
This was the exact same problem I ran into with my iFP-790 and my Giant Squid Audio lav mic. I bought the Y adapter that you mentioned above to alleviate the problem as well. I don't have any recording samples for you, but it seems to work fine for me with no noticeable sound degradation in my tests with it.

Will

[shepdave]

I wish I had read this thread a couple weeks ago.

I ordered the Giant Squid powered binaural mic two weeks ago today. I intend to use it with my iRiver iFP 790.

On his website, Darren says that mics are usually shipped within three business days of the order, sometimes on the same day.

It's two weeks later and I haven't received my microphone yet. I have missed several remote recording possibilities because I don't have a decent stereo mic.

And now, to add to my frustration, I'm going to have to use a cheap RadioShack extension cable to simply plug it into my iRiver.

I'm starting to think I should've gone with the Sound Professionals mic, costing considerably less money, and delivered quickly.

Dreadful Snake Guy bought one of these and used it at the Telluride music festival; it's on the newest Dreadful Snake Radio. Sounds very good. And he got it quickly, and it presumably plugs into an iRiver iFP 700 series just fine.

Grrr. :x

Dave

[Will-Casel]

I ordered the Giant Squid powered binaural mic two weeks ago today. I intend to use it with my iRiver iFP 790.

On his website, Darren says that mics are usually shipped within three business days of the order, sometimes on the same day.

It's two weeks later and I haven't received my microphone yet. I have missed several remote recording possibilities because I don't have a decent stereo mic.

Have you tried contacting Darren?
I received my mics quickly as described and I know others have had similar quick service.
He quickly answered any emails I sent and lists his phone number on the site as well.

Will

[timn]

This was the first time I had ordered from Giant Squid / Darren.

The order did take longer than is apparently usual. I emailed Darren about this and he responded fairly quickly, explaining that he had just received a shipment of 1/8 inch plugs and would be building my mic shortly and apologizing for the delay.

I really have no complaint about Squid - Darren responded in a reasonable amount of time to my inquiries. The 1/8th inch plug on the mic is of very good quality and Darren cannot be expected to understand all aspects of every application his customers may have for his products.

Darren's suggestion that I trim the plastic on the iRiver 799 was just that - a suggestion. It was my choice to reject that suggestion and seek an alternative.

In a nutshell, I'm not blaming anyone for this -- as this technology progresses, there's gonna be a few bumps in the road and in the grand scheme of things this is a relatively small bump :)

Update:

I did purcahse a short Y-cable today at Best Buy (looked for the Monster iSplitter but either they didn't carry it or it was out of stock.)

Anyway the Y cable was around $3.00 US and seems to work fine. I tested the mic during my walk today. I'll need to get the windscreens before actaully creating anything but it was excellent at picking up ambient/background sounds -- like birds, etc.

[shepdave]

Have you tried contacting Darren?
I received my mics quickly as described and I know others have had similar quick service.
He quickly answered any emails I sent and lists his phone number on the site as well.

Will
I did email him, last Sunday the 12th. He told me I'd have it by the weekend (i.e., this past weekend).

It didn't arrive today (Monday after the weekend). I leave for Europe next Monday. I'll miss another recording opportunity tomorrow. I'm getting nervous.

Dave

[richpav]

I'm very happy with the binaural mics I bought from http://www.good-audio.com for $30 plus $5 international shipping. The jack fits into the iRiver just fine, the alligator clips have good grip and they came with windscreens (which I carelessly lost.) You can hear them at http://www.herroflomjapan.com

Perhaps the easiest way to use them is to clip them to the side of a baseball hat and run the cord down your back, like this:

http://www.herroflomjapan.com/wp-content/thumb-podcastingHat.jpg[/img]

[timn]

Hey Dave:

Try another email to Darren. He was reasonably responsive with me - and I am happy with the mic.

Tim

richpav: Love the hat idea! Thanks for the photo.

[Art a GoGo]

I bought the Giant Squid based on some recommendations by Craig Patchett. I've only done a couple of test recordings, but plan to do some soundseeing tours soon.

I also ran into the same problem with the plug. I found an adaptor and a short cable (cable isn't gold) at Radio Shack that allows you to have a single cable vs. the splitter. The Isplitter is handy, especially if you want to share music/podcasts.

[shepdave]

Try another email to Darren. He was reasonably responsive with me - and I am happy with the mic.
I did, I sent him an email yesterday. I've sent three so far, actually, since I ordered the mic on Monday, 6/6/05. He wrote me back yesterday and told me I'd have it "by this Friday at the latest."

He's always been very prompt in writing back, and I am sure the mic is fine, based on what I've read here on the PA forum. But this Friday will be nineteen days since I ordered the mic, and I have missed three opportunities for field recording that I was counting on doing with this equipment. These are opportunities I cannot get back.

I still don't know why I don't have the microphone yet.

I think I'd feel differently if his website did not tout the fact that, to quote from his warranty and policies page, "Products are usually shipped within three business days or less, however, most of the time we can ship stuff the same day payment is received, depending on order load."

I guess it was my mistake for not telling him I was in a rush. I really didn't think I was at the time, but I guess that's what I should have said.

I remain frustrated. Incidentally, PayPal charged my credit card for the order the day I placed it, on Monday, June 6.

Dave

[timn]

Just FYI, I ordered my mic late Tue night, June 7 and received it Sat, June 18

[shepdave]

Just FYI, I ordered my mic late Tue night, June 7 and received it Sat, June 18
??? :(

Evening of June 21, still no mic.

Dave

[Craig]

Dave, sorry to hear about the delays. Darren seems to be a one-man shop, as I mentioned elsewhere, which is both good and bad. But his service has been excellent in my experience and the one time I had a problem with an order he made up for it. As if he'd consider refunding your shipping once you get your mics.

I've mentioned this before as well but windscreens for the mics are available from Radio Shack for $2.99 for a pack of 4. You'll swear they won't fit at first but they do:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=33-4006

The idea of clipping them onto a hat is a good one and has been done before to good effect (clipping them onto sunglass arms works too)...clip them over the ears if you want more of a binaural effect, closer to your face if you want to pick up your voice better. Tape the cords down as best as you can or you'll pick up noise from them rubbing against the cap (and anything else).

For the 6/8 "Behind the Scenes" I clipped them together and held them about 2 inches away from one corner of my mouth while recording in a parked car, then picked the best of the two signals (one was popping slightly) for the podcast. Having the closer proximity to your mouth gives you a more intimate studio effect and slightly increased bass response. Obviously you'll need to adjust your levels accordingly.

Craig

[shepdave]

Okay, the mic set arrived today.

I was very pleased to note that the 1/8 inch plug used on my setup fit into the space on my iRiver 790 just fine. I don't know whether Darren has been watching this thread or had heard from other people about the problem with the wide barrel on the plug, but in any case, I'll be able to use it without any kind of adapter.

I did a test run, clipping the mic to the sides of my baseball cap, as richpav suggested. It worked like a charm. My wife was talking as she walked around behind me, and on the playback I actually heard her walking around behind me.

Woo! Stereo!!

All right...I'm glad I ordered it. It is in fact very sturdy and sounds amazingly good.

Dave

[timn]

Glad to hear you got the mic. Do you have a way to take a photo of the plug? I'm very interested as to what it looks like. Did you order the same mic I did? (see link on first post of this thread)

[shepdave]

I just got a new digital camera in prep for a trip to Europe next week.

I'll try to take a photo tomorrow and post it here. I'm too tired to be creative right now.

(The plug is all gold-looking, and has basically smooth sides. It fits into the lanyard-recess of the iRiver perfectly. I think it must be a different one from the one referred to earlier. I know the problem that was described, since I had it with a Radio Shack plug myself last week.)

Oh, and to answer your last question: the mic I ordered was the one with the battery box. So it's not exactly the same product as yours.

Dave

[Zany Aguirre]

We did our first cast with the Squid Omni lav mics last night (http://www.thezanyaguirres.com/podcast/mp3/TZAS-2005-06-21.mp3).

I was astonished at the definition and input level these little guys are capable of. They picked up everything. Maybe too good... I'm also very pleased with the recording quality.

Local RS didn't have the windscreens so I'll see about picking them up online. Casting live from an outdoor music and arts festival (http://www.cornerstonefestival.com/podcast) all next week so...

I highly recommend the mics.

[Will-Casel]

Oh, and to answer your last question: the mic I ordered was the one with the battery box. So it's not exactly the same product as yours.

The battery box comes with the smaller gold connector as compared to the fat silver connector on the boxless set. I'm not sure why though.

I requested the detachable battery box, when I bought mine. No real reason, just thought it was a cool option. The iRiver picks up the sound fine either way.
But, yeah, the connector on the boxless side is the fat one.

Casting live from an outdoor music and arts festival (http://www.cornerstonefestival.com/podcast) all next week so...
.
Cool! I have yet to make it to Cornerstone, but this will do for now! Thanks.

Will

[DVDTalk]

We did our first cast with the Squid Omni lav mics last night (http://www.thezanyaguirres.com/podcast/mp3/TZAS-2005-06-21.mp3).


Fun cast :)

[jeffoest]

Slightly off topic but not really - does anyone know where I can buy, say, a bag of little clips to attach cords to my clothes? I've been to hobby stores, dept. stores,etc... and the closest thing I've been able to find so far are expensive custom-made clips by companies like Plantronics and small clothespins which look totally dorky and are not strong enough...