The New Chorus, static/stand alone recorder from Titley Scientific, is more than just a bat/ultrasound recorder. It is also a very capable audible sound recorder for capturing a myriad of wildlife vocalizations.
The type of unit it is, would commonly be referred to as a passive detector (when discussing bat recordings).
It performs the same way, when it comes to wildlife sound recording. At the risk of oversimplifying - It is the type of recorder one would set-up in the field (be it woodland, swamp, mountains) and return to retrieve the SD card (recordings) after a period of many weeks.
At this time, I'd like to share my "first impressions" synopsis...
The new Chorus (occasionally referred to as The Anabat Chorus) is an impressive machine. It arrived (to me here in The US) from Titley's HQ in Australia, professionally well-packaged (as usual). When purchasing Pro-level equipment, from leading manufacturers - You'll find well-designed boxes/packaging, which keeps equipment well protected.
My loaner unit for test, is a full-production unit. The same as any customer around the world would receive. My particular unit was provided with one ultrasonic microphone (for bat recording, etc.) and two normal microphones (for most other wildlife vocalizations).
Some of the very first aspects which struck me upon unboxing were:
- It's very robust design. Reminiscent of a Hummer, or some other tough vehicle. Hefty and sturdy.
- The interior of the unit, especially battery compartment and SD card slot - seem almost ergonomic (for lack of a better description). That is to say, I could install and remove the batteries & SD card very, very easily.
- Each of the microphones may be installed & removed easily, with good tactile feedback. There's no mistaking whether or not the Mics are fully seated.
