4 years later, Lumia 1520's HAAC Mics still stand above the crowd

[RJ Priest]

Shot some video at last night's Judas Priest concert.

https://youtu.be/P8L2wlxmAi8

The audio quality from my battery dying Lumia 1520 (Windows Phone 8.1) sounds better than most - if not all - other videos of this tour that I've seen on YouTube.

The f2.4 lens is showing it's age in low light, but at a show, it's the audio that matters.

Was going to desperately try to pick up a Lumia 950 XL, but ordered a new 1520 battery from ebay which should arrive in the next month and give my 1520 an extended life. My phone lasts less than 15 hours with current battery and battery saver off. With use like video, it'll die in a couple of hours.

One thing that I found, battery saver is a real life saver with a dying battery. Prior to this show, recording video was forcing my phone to shut down, but with battery saver on, it survived the show.

Man, I still love my 1520. The physical design, the display, the camera, and the microphones.

 

[Adventurer64]

Wish I could have been there with my V20 to compare audio. My favorite albums are Screaming for Vengeance and Pankiller.

 

[webvan]

Very good sound indeed although I can't hear a ton of stereo separation with headphones ? Was it maybe the acoustics of the venue ? Are you running Win 8.1 and the standard Lumia Camera app ? I had downgraded my 830 to Win 8.1 to get a better bitrate, 256 AAC vs 192 AAC. It brought back Surround too but I'm not sure about that feature.

It seems the 830 is the only HAAC Lumia with removable batteries but it can still be changed on the 930 or 1520 with some tinkering so they should keep going for a while !

 

[RJ Priest]

Yes. Windows Phone 8.1. Standard Lumia Camera app.

The stereo separation is very noticeable if you stumble upon some other videos from this tour on YouTube in which those sound like mono recording. There is a nice depth to the Lumia 1520 audio compared to other videos on YouTube.

 

[raycpl]

I miss my 1520, died of a broken screen 1½ years now.
I remember video recording of my wife's group of line dance performances then. It blew away all videos & photos of those taken by her friend.. Picture & audio clarity, stability, stereo separation etc. Recording length was only limited to available storage. Many android had a time cap.

... !

 

[jmshub]

I concur. Nokia's mic arrays did such a good job of recording loud live audio.

 

[garak0410]

My Lumia phones always filmed loud concerts better than any phone to this date...

 

[webvan]

The Marshall London Android is supposed to record good audio too but video is weak and there are no battery replacement options...

On the 830 I can only see "Surround" in the sound options for videos, no bass filter options. Are these still present on the 1520 in the Lumia Cam app? Thanks to its for mics it should have directional/omni settings too?

If it does I wonder if I might not stock up and get the unopened 930 I've spotted for videos and use the 830 for pure audio with Audio Recorder Pro. About that app does the 1520 show access to directional and omni? The 830 shows 4 options Array (stereo), Surround/Headset/Microphone (all mono).

 

[nate0]

So cool to see a thread like this. The 1520 is such an interesting device. I enjoy it any time I use it. So much so that for a six month stretch I invested a lot of time understanding the hardware and software settings. I usually use a RM-940 on Windows 10 mobiles latest build. I build out the modem configuration to get t-mobile LTE better and enable the software keys since Cortana seems to activate via the hardware key when locked and in the pocket. The screen is one the best panels I've ever used especially for 6in in size. It's no surprise this 5 yr old champion still goes for a 150 used easily...

 

[RJ Priest]

The bass filter option disappeared at some point way back when during an update to the app. I don't know why it was removed, but I've never had any complaint with how the phone handles loud bass sounds since.

I should go check out Audio Recorder Pro.

 

[webvan]

Yeah it's confusing what they did with the app, bass filter gone, directional audio gone...

"Audio Recorder Pro" lets you record lossless .wav files which is great for concerts and sharing on Dimeadozen for instance. I've also found I can substitute the audio of my Sony camera videos (or of videos found on YouTube) to get the best of both worlds. Ideally the Nokia has to be placed in a position where it gets the best possible sound and that's not always easy at a show. If you pit it in your pocket the sound will tend to get muffled.

BTW I did end up getting the sealed Lumia 930 I had spotted, unfortunately the top mics (front and back) were faulty as they recorded very low sound levels as heard in videos and verified with the Lumia Testing App.