Sound Hardware
Microphones
There are many good (and expensive!) choices, but we feel that most condenser microphones can provide reasonable sound quality. We like the EarthWorks microphones, (SR69 or SRO). They have high sensitivity and a very flat frequency response up to 20kHz. Another good, and less expensive option is the Audio-Technica
http://www.audio-technica.com/cgi-bin/product_search/wired_mics/mics_by_type.pl?product_type=Microphones%3A+Small-diaphragm+Condenser
Some sound cards supplies appropriate phantom power and the combination works very well. One thing we discovered though is that those microphones should be protected from bird feces. We discovered that zebra finches can spray their feces in a straight upward direction (they do so while performing wheelbarrow jumps in the case!) and a direct hit from a single piece of feces can destroy the microphone. A piece of cloth set loosely around the recording tube solved that problem.
Sound card or Analog Input card
Option 1: Buy any multi channel sound card that are MS-DirectSound compatible (ASIO wont cut it). Delta cards are inexpensive and stable and SAP2 is now compatible with both recording and playbacks via those cards:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=PCIinterfaces
Option 2: Most computers have a sound card already installed. SAP2 can use such inexpensive cards, but their quality is often low and you might experience about 5% leaking of sound across stereo channels. You can install two such cards to allow recording from 4 channels but in most cases you will have to use cards of different brands to avoid driver conflict (which can be very nasty). In addition, you will need to buy a preamplifier for each microphone and for your speakers as well.
Option 3: National Instruments Card. SAP2 is compatible with several analog NI cards. For more details about how to install those and fit them to SAP2 click here
Speakers, mirrors & plastic models
The configuration of keys, plastic models and mirrors in the training boxes appears to affect the outcome and probably also the speed of song learning. We are now testing several combinations of speakers & plastic bird models & mirror configurations. The most updated information will be posted in our website.
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