u/teamtas

I'm looking for a device to capture amd summarize conversations in large, noisy vendor halls at conferences.

In these situations, I'm typically standing next to a person in a booth, both facing a demo station, while they walk through a product demo. I might be on my feet for 8+ hours, with 8-10 30-min conversations over the course of a day.

It's a challenging acoustic environment. There is noise emanating from all directions, including basic crowd babble, other nearby conversations, and amplified presentations from across the hall.

NotePin S is clearly the go-to in general for on-the-go recording. That said, I was also thinking of the Note Pro, for the better microphone array, battery life and display.

Questions for you kind folks:

Anyone use a Plaud device in an environment like this? Were you happy with the results?
Thoughts on NotePro vs. NotePin S in this environment?
If I went with a Note Pro, I'd most likely keep it in my shirt pocket. Anyone have experience here? Does it work well, or will the fabric interfere with the mic array and muffle the already chaotic sound too much to be useful?

Our kitchen designer is proposing this shelf above our cooktop, and I'm on the fence.

On the pro side, it's a nice place to stash a few things, display some fun kitchen stuff, etc. Our cooktoip is a 36" induction, so it will generate minimal extra heat and I'm not too worried about heat damage to whatever we put up there.

On the other hand, steam and cooking fumes are going to be flowing up that direction. It feels like this shelf,and everything on it, will be perpetualy coated in grease that need to be cleaned. All. The. Time.

I know a shelf element like this is reasonably common. Who's got one? Do you regret it?

PS: don't worry about the wierd dimensions on the hood surround. Still working out some details there.

Edit to add: Thanks for all the opinions on the shelf. The council has spoken! And not to worry...there is absolutely going to be an exterior-vented hood vent in this design, and the columns on the side are going away as well..

Pin vs. Pro for very noisy environments?