Comparing a low-cost bioacoustics-focused recording system with traditional acoustical measurement hardware

Various types of low-cost acoustic recording equipment are available to the scientific community and the general public. While financial budgets can restrict what equipment can be purchased for a particular application, it is necessary to quantify the limitations of particular systems to determine their usefulness. Direct comparisons between recordings using low-cost equipment and using high fidelity equipment can highlight how the quality of low-cost recording is affected, which can help to determine whether or not budget recording systems are sufficient for a particular application. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology developed a low-cost terrestrial recording device for bioacoustic data collection known as the SwiftOne. This device can be set with various sampling rates and configurable recording schedules, making them suitable for long term data collection. Multiple SwiftOne units were used alongside a high-fidelity data acquisition system in both laboratory and outdoor data collection, including loudspeaker measurements in an anechoic chamber, ambient recordings at a bird refuge, and at a coastal rocket launch. The overall quality of the low-budget data recordings is investigated to determine the usefulness of the SwiftOne in these acoustic environments. Analyses include comparisons of measured waveforms, spectral content, and sound pressure levels.