I have been wondering about EVP and Sound recorders. I've looked over considerable sound bytes and some supposed evidence of EVPs. One thing I often wonder is, is there a difference between the newer Digital sound recorders and the good old fashion tape recorders.

The original theory behind EVP's (Electronic Voice Phenomena) is that voices formed by fluctuating magnetic or electronic fields from spirit entities is somehow caught by the recording device. So that when played back, you can hear voices which you do not here in person or at the time of recording.

I have a bit of an issue with the newer digital recorders with compression (mpeg or otherwise). The sound which is recorded is often compressed digitally in a manner which can lead to the creation of sounds after the fact. The way many of the compressions work is that the sound is stored as a series of frequency and volumes and durations. So it does a "best guess" in the creation of the compression. In most cases the human ear can not hear any difference in the compressions, but for cases of EVP's where you look for sometimes minute sounds, it becomes increasingly more important.

Where then would the sound come from? Would it be introduced into the microphone itself? Or would an entity somehow know enough to digitally effect the circuitry of the device and interpret the digital signals. Most people do not know how to do that in life, must less in spirit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still think there is definite substance to EVP's. My question is strictly to the mechanism, and reliability of the various electronic recording devices. I would be more inclined to believe a tape recorder, since it would be very likely for a entity to fluctuate the magnetic fields around the recorder in the manner of speech, which would then translate onto the magnetic tape.

Also, I think its possible for a entity to magnetically effect certain microphones, since some rely on magnetic and electro-static elements. But I think I would be far more likely to trust an EVP if no compression was involved in its recording, and it was recorded in PCM format.

Just my thoughts. I welcome your thoughts on this?

I would like to hear what others have to say about this as well.....I'm fairly new to this and am at this very moment internet shopping for a digital voice recorder for EVP work.

i am currently using Olympus WS-600s but i am looking into this one RT-EVP Spirit Box

That Olympus is a nice model. I like that one. On the same site, did you look at some of the PCM recorders? LS-7, LS-11? The LS11 is available on EBay for $237.

I would probably still use a Plain-Ol tape recorder for backup also.

i do beleive you may be right about the old EVP method. Most tapes and casettes tell you to keep them away from magnets because they use magnitism to record sound. I will totally talke a analog voice recorder with me on my investagations to further test the difference between the two. My first chilling EVP i caught was on a analog recorder and for some reason the tape and the recorder have disappeared amd neither me nor irish can find the tape or the recorder.

Also the other problem will be is getting harder to find analog voice recorders. Tapes are becoming more difficult to find.