Audio recording on phones / quality differences?

[phl92]

I want to record myself for around 10min. The audio quality should be as good as possible.
I have a Lavalier 3,5mm cable Microphon, an old DELL XPs 15, iPhone 11 and a older Samsung A6.
My question is simple: is there any quality differences using the Lavalier together with one of the devices?

Or will the sound come down only of the quality of my Lavalier, and the quality of audio is the same recorded by a iPhone 11 or Samsung A6?


The reason is, I would like to video record something with my iPhone from some distance and therefore need a additional device for audio recording only.

edit: I also have a Rode Videomic Go. What is better for voice audio? Recording with a noname 15$ Lavalier or a Videomic go?

 

[BrianBaughn]

I can only name a few of the factors that might affect your recording.

Any audio format equal to or superior to an mp4 file at 256kbps won't make much difference.

The software used is important and probably more important than the device…is it "auto-leveling" your audio? That type of recording will usually increase room noise…you'll hear it get louder when you're not talking. Two different auto-leveling recording applications will likely sound different from each other since different sound manipulation is occurring. I'm pretty sure the "Voice Memos" app on the iPhone does this kind of leveling to some extent, as does the built in Camera app.

With non-auto leveling software the recording input level has to be set so that it's not too low but also so that you're not over-driving the recording and getting a distorted result. This would be best for sound…your voice would be recorded at a non-changing level and room noise will not increase during your pauses. An iOS app like "Auphonic" records without auto-leveling…there are four input levels to pick from.

Your lavalier mic will probably be OK with any of the devices but there's no way for anyone here to make a judgement. By design, lavaliers usually don't pick up much room noise compared to your voice. The Rode you have is a directional mic meant to sit on a video camera pointed toward the subject. It might be a more EQ accurate mic but it will pick up more extraneous noise.

 

[phl92]

Thank you for your reply!
Well, the App I used on iPhone is indeed the nativ Voice Memos App, and in the settings there is not that much to tune. I changed Audio quality from 'compressed' to 'lossless' but I am not sure if this is the auto-leveling what you described.
I will try your App 'Auphonic', however I have to say that I will edit all audio anyway in Audition software afterwards. So is this auto-leveling factor even an issue?

But by my few rehearsal I just made I noticed total other problems. The room I am doing this is quite small, but the echo is clear noticable. The walls are mainly empty, which I guess is not softening any audio frequences...
My wife is painting a lot, and we have many 1,5m x 2m canvases which are painted on very soft canvases... would this help reducing echo?

 

[BrianBaughn]

Compressed/Lossless on the Voice Memos app is just a file format setting and not a leveling feature.

Anything to disperse the sound will help. You're probably getting bounces off the ceiling, too. Blankets on the walls that are out-of-sight would be one idea. Something on the floor if it's not carpeted.

There are a LOT of videos on YouTube about how to do all of that and you might get some good ideas there.