Best Recorder to Pick Up Evps

evp panasonic rr dr 60

Over the years we have used many recorders in hopes of picking up EVPs at some of the most haunted locations in the US. When choosing a recorder for EVP always comes down to preference. There is no specific recorder that will guarantee the capture of EVP, and I have found the more you use your recorder for EVP capture the more in-tuned your recorder becomes over time to the phenomena.

Types of EVP

Class A EVP: A word or phrase that is clear and easy to understand. Everyone agrees on what is being said.

Class B EVP: A word or phrase that may not be recognizable by every investigator. It may be unclear or hard to understand.

Class C EVP: A word or phrase that is very soft and faint. You need headphones to hear it clearly. Even then, it may be hard to understand what is being said.

Class R EVPR: This audio can be played in reverse and you can still understand what is being said.

Best EVP Recorders

The following list contains the best EVP recorders for paranormal research. We have tested all of these recorders and can confirm that they work well. If you have a recorder that records excellent EVPs and is not on this list, please let us know.

Olympus VN-3100PC / VN-4100

Features USB port, 3.5 jack for an external mic, 3.5 jack for headphones, Indexing capabilities, records over 100 hours of audio on the lowest setting, 20 hours on HQ. Overall a great recorder, we have over the years picked up some of the clearest, and most compelling pieces of audio evidence with this device. Although the recordings can at times be a little noisy, the noise seems to benefit the device for EVP recordings due to the fact that EVPs seem to pop out more.

Price $20 usd

Panasonic RR-DR60-IC

The RR – DR60 is a recorder that only operates in voice activation mode.  Rumor has it that when Panasonic produced this recorder numerous complaints were received by users that they were recording disturbing “ghost-like” voices on the recorder. Although some groups and researchers swear by this device, we have found that while you can record many unexplained voices on the recorder the quality of the EVP is almost always class B or lower.

Due to the device’s age, it only features 60 mins of playback, and it does not feature a USB port for downloading audio.  Due to the pricing and the other restraints on this recorder, we don’t believe that it makes it suitable for long investigations or weekend-long ghost-hunting trips.  However, if you are running around on a location, we recommend the recorder for EVP because it can facilitate almost real-time communication with the dead. Price $3,000 usd

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Sony ICD B16

A classic for a digital recorder, we have captured some of our best evps on paranormal investigations using this recorder.  The recorder does not pick-up evps at the high rate of frequency as the RR-DR60 but the evps tend to be caught clearer and with less back ground noise.  The cost on seems to fluctuate a lot, and like most of the older recorders supply is limited.

Zoom H1

he Zoom H1 is one of the most popular recorders not only in paranormal research but also in music production. We have found the device does an excellent job picking up evps, and at times has even captured class A EVPs on investigations. When shopping for these devices we highly recommend purchasing one with a built-in mic instead of purchasing an external mic, as the main issue we find with external mics is that there seems to be interference from other equipment such as cell phones or audio monitoring devices nearby. Price $150 usd

Marantz PMD661

This is a great recorder for paranormal researchers looking to capture quality audio evidence. The Marantz features one of the best mics available on most digital recorders today, and it also features a USB port for downloading audio. The device also provides some nice options such as low-cut filter and adjustable gain, which allows you to fine tune your recordings so you can find that sweet spot for getting clear evps without too much background noise or hum.  Price $400 usd

Finding the right evp recorder

These are just a few of the digital recorders that paranormal researchers and investigators have used to capture evps. We suggest researching different models and finding one that suits your needs, budget, and experience level before purchasing any recorder for paranormal investigations.

In addition, it is important to remember that capturing evps is not only about the recorder but also about the environment you are recording in and how you interact with the spirits during an investigation. Good luck on your journey, happy hunting!

13 thoughts on “Best Recorder to Pick Up Evps”

  1. I have always used Sony recorders but now have an Olympus LS-7 linear PCM recorder and the difference is astounding, I love the Olympus!
    It has 4 gb built in memory and utilizes a mini sd card up to 16gb, the audio is crisp and clear with none of that extraneous noise even when hand held.On lowest quality I get 149hr recording time per file in MP3 format and 148hr 40 min on WMA format.
    The speaker is also great, good audio playback. Battery life is 30-44 hours depending on the mode.
    It has 3 mic’s and has alert lights for when each individual mic picks up something.
    Its not the most expensive but it more than does all I need it to do.

  2. Damn, and I bidded on one of those Panasonic RR-DR60 on ebay for about $550.00. I already have two rt-evp which I love. Have you been getting better results on the panasonic? The olympus is the same one ghost adventurers have?

  3. Well its mixed, so far the best results that I seem to get are with an old school olympus, which is the one GA uses. I haven't used the panasonic as much due to its limited capabilities with no usb. I think often times people grow with certain pieces of equipment which makes them produce better results on investigations.

  4. Hey man thanks for letting me know. I would really like to get my hands on the dr60 but not for$600. I do see a couple of rr qr-100 which is suppose to be the next best thing. Right now I am running a h4n zoom, Olympus ls-100, Sony icd-st25, and a rt-evp which are doing nicely. Which model are you using on the Olympus?

  5. Scott Schneider Hello, it's nice if you have an H4 zoom, but I tested it against a Cheaper Zoom H1 & got near identical recordings, if your a musician, get the H4, if your a Ghost Hunter, get the H1, near identical inner workings, also the dr60 just is not what people claim, I tried 2 of them, and tested against other models, it lost every test I did.

  6. Thosse RT recorders are a total waste of money, you can get the same results using 2 god quality recorders & a good headset for under $50 total, just like the crap Ovilus people just waste their money.

  7. you bid $550 on a crappy recorder, that's not worth $5
    and 2 RT recorders, I will put my 2 $20 recorders & a good Sony headset for $20 & use them Real time against your $200 plust recorder anyday, LOL.

  8. For the best EVP recorder, you want one, that records at the Lowest & Highest Frequencies you can get, a nice range would be on the low end, 70-75 Hz. & the High end, as high, as you can find, at least above 8,000 you like the 3100, but it's low end is 300 Hz. & high is 7200 & since most quality EVPs should be captured below 300 Hz. which I consider the standard low, then the 3100 would rank extremely low on my list of EVP Recorders, not that it won't get EVP's it just that, any recorder with a much lower, low frequency & a much higher one, would be the better Choice, I have tested out dozens of recorders against each other, & my results bare out this evidence, I would rank the 3100 not even in my top 10 best EVP recorders.

  9. I've seen many spend a small fortune on those couple of famous Panasonic older models, it's a waste of money, any good recorder, old or new will do just as well, also using your Camcorders audio works as well as almost any Audio recorder.

  10. Scott Schneider I love my RT don't listen to other because what works for you may not work for another I don't think its nice to say someone have "crabby" recorders..

  11. Glenda have you used the RT-EVP before? Or are you just making ignorant dumb comments about a device you never used? I have been using the RT-EVP ever since they came out. I have taken these audio devices to places like Waverly Hills, St Augustine Light House, Bachelors Grove cemetery and have caught some very interesting evp's. I really enjoy the fact how you can pick up sounds at 15 hz which is below human hearing, real time playback, data logging, and among other features. This recorder I have had the most success in catching evp's compared to my Zoom H4n, Sony PCM D50, Sony B6, B7, B26, B16, B9, Olympus 3000PC, 4000PC. My second favorite recorder is my Panasonic RR DR60, I have caught some awesome evp's with this recorder when my RT-evp recorder didn't catch anything.

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