Underwater Sounds Recorded With A Hydrophone
Iceland is by far one of the best places in the world to test out a hydrophone. With endless rivers, waterfalls, hot pots, and being surrounded by the ocean we are able to record underwater sounds in many different situations.
Why the ASF-2 MKII Hydrophone & Not A Cheaper Alternative?
After I lost two of my Limpet Mics hydrophones, I had been eying the Ambient hydrophone for some time. Knowing that we’re heading to Paris, I ordered it directly with Ambient in Munich and they shipped it to France. This is not a sponsored product and we paid the full price of 496 Euros including the shipping & 19% tax (without VAT, the hydrophone would cost only 398 Euros)
What I love about this hydrophone is how it’s made. I like that the housing comes from aluminum and not rubber like others. The cheaper hydrophones on the market can start to deteriorate with only a few uses!
However, whenever I use the Ambient hydrophone on beaches or in waters where it hits the ground it could easily withstand scratches or impacts while moving around.
The cable I use is 10m and is perfect for what I need. It’s very thin which makes the complete unit very light. If you travel many times, weight is a very important key factor.
Another plus is if I would need a longer cable someday down the road, I could easily replace it because the hydrophone can detach and be connected to a different cable.
What About The Sound?
One word… outstanding. We recorded on several locations which you can see in our real world test video and sounds that we recorded from a very close distance are crystal clear. What later really blew me away is the frequency response between going up to 70Hz.
In my editing process, I could listen back to sounds that I couldn’t hear while I was recording live. This available information can be quite useful for sound design and post production.
- 37 files
- 24 bit / 192 kHz
- 4 GB
- 42 min