What do you need to record the best possible sound (in stereo) while spending a minimum?

You need...* High resolution microphones * A pair of professional grade microphone preamplifier * A transparent Analog Digital Converter (ADC) * A digital recording device

With regards to microphones, small omnidirectional capsules are quite immune to wind noise and have a flat frequency response over the relevant spectrum. I am a big fan of DPA's miniature 4060 capsules. They have a healthy output, are reasonably quiet and don't color the sound.

As a 2-channel high quality micpre & ADC I am partial to Metric Halo's ULN-2. It can be battery (or FW-bus) powered and offers astounding sound quality. The 2d-expanded version is even more powerful than the original, but the former is less expensive while offering all a field recordist could wish for.

As for the final component, a digital recorder, you can either use a portable Apple Macintosh, connected to the ULN-2 via FireWire, or a Compact Flash recorder--with digital input! I hesitate to recommend M-Audio's MicroTrack II, but for the price nothing compares currently.

The above setup will cost you approximately...* 0900,- US$ (2 x DPA 4060 + XLR-Adapters) * 1200,- US$ ULN-2 (The current 2d-version retails for about 1700,- US$) * 0250,- US$ (MicroTrack II) * ------ * 2350,- US$

And before you go shouting please remember my initial premise: I aim for "the best possible sound" with no compromises. I didn't say it would be cheap, but this investment is well worth it :-)

For comparison purposes, here is a selection of professional integrated solutions (micpre, ADC, recorder) used in the film business, some of which are way outside of moderate budgets:* Aaton Cantar-X2
(5 x mic + 4 x line + 8 x AES/EBU) * Nagra LB * Sonosax MiniR82
(2 x mic or line or AES/EBU + 2 x line or AES/EBU + 4 x AES/EBU ) * Sound Devices 702 * Zaxcom ZFR100 (+STA100 for stereo)
(This one is actually quite inexpensive)

Sidenotes:* The 4060's are nearly invisible and easily and unobtrusively placed where ever you like, even over your earlobes for head-based recordings--not that I endorse that approach. * The 4060's will give you years of pleasurable recording, with all kinds of repertoire. OK, you'll be restricted to AB-stereophony, but you can always get other microphones later. Like 2 cardioids for ORTF, e.g. a matched pair of Rode NT5. * You'll be able to use the ULN-2 as an amazing sounding preamp for analog & digital sources, driving your power amp directly, with monitor level control in the analog domain. * The MicroTrack (usually) does what it's supposed to, but I've had several complaints about the original model that I am not certain have been resolved in the meantime. This calls for a separate blog-entry.

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See also: The Digital Audio Field Recording Equipment Guide by Andy Kolovos.