How to recorder a low noise, for someone with no knowledge

If you are sure this is coming from outside why not conceal a recording device in the most likely place the sound would be coming from, hallway,sidewalk,entrance etc. to try and get a clearer recording
Putting it on the outside of the house is not an option because they will definitely steal it to keep me from collecting evidence against them and to be able to prove the extent of what they are doing. Now, I have tried putting in my windows of my home, I even did put it outside in my back yard once with my camera on it in the day time of course. The only thing is it picks it up at a distance but when hearing it with my own ear inside my home they are way closer than what the Zoom H2n recorder is picking up. I know I have to keep playing around with the sound on H2n a lil more. Just was looking for a little guidance with sound as I am a complete beginner with this, never needed to this before so just want to learn & understand all
 
The H2n should be picking up stuff that you don't even hear. It's quite common for someone to set up a mic to record, and then after going back, they hear stuff that is normally tuned out. I once did a vocal track upstairs in the bedroom and when I put headphones on and started listening closely, I could hear an airplane fly over the house. I rarely ever hear airplanes unless they are quite noisy. I turn off the fan to my HVAC, don't do laundry and close the door to the cabinet that my computer sits in as the mic will easily pick up that sound. Even my external hard drive sitting on the desk, which REALLY quiet, gets picked up if I turn the mic towards my desk. (Rule #1 is set up the mic to point away from the noise source. ) ECC83 once posted a recording he did in his room and I could hear the clock ticking.

If you can hear voices, cup your ears and spin around until you get the highest level, then point the H2n that direction and turn up the recording gain. If there is sound there, the recorder will pick it up. Once recorded, it's easy enough to bump the gain digitally to make anything stand out.

The only other thing I can think of is if sound is being transmitted though the walls, if you're in an apartment or condo. If you're in a normal house, you shouldn't have any issues with sound conduction through the structure.
 
Thank you! You gave me real suggestions, as I do understand how mics do pick up a lot. It picks it up just not as loud as I hear it, they literally be in back of my house but sound like they are down the street. My record format is set on WAV 48kHz/24 bit, Calibration at 435hz, Surround sound set at -6 which is at 90% which I justed switched to a -4 as it goes out wider. Still learning it to figure out the right settings I need it be set at.
 
Hi I am experiencing significant low-frequency noise disturbances from the fitness studio below my apartment and need help recording these noises. Standard methods aren't capturing the sound effectively. Any advice on equipment or techniques would be greatly appreciated. Attached the sound track that I recorded by my phone.
 

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I doubt that a phone will adequately capture low frequency sound. In the recording you provided, I can hear some low frequency sound, plus voices but it's strongly masked by the hiss of the recording. There was a bump around 100 Hz, but nothing unusual below that .

A very good, sensitive mic with low self noise might pick up the sound better. The Rode NT1 has a very low self noise. The latest version has a USB connection that could be used to record directly to computer. You might see if you can rent one for a test.
 
I doubt that a phone will adequately capture low frequency sound. In the recording you provided, I can hear some low frequency sound, plus voices but it's strongly masked by the hiss of the recording. There was a bump around 100 Hz, but nothing unusual below that .

A very good, sensitive mic with low self noise might pick up the sound better. The Rode NT1 has a very low self noise. The latest version has a USB connection that could be used to record directly to computer. You might see if you can rent one for a test.
The noises transferred from concrete floor and felt like fog floating on the floor. Is Rode NT1 good to capture a sound like that? Thank you!
 
The noises transferred from concrete floor and felt like fog floating on the floor. Is Rode NT1 good to capture a sound like that? Thank you!
Can I assume you want these recordings in order to bring some kind of action against the fitness studio? If so we see several such requests in this and another forum I frequent every year.
The response is always the same in the end I am afraid, unless the recordings are done by the right officials with calibrated equipment at logged times, they will not be valid as evidence and frankly you are wasting your time.

Nuisance noise can be very annoying I know but there is rarely very much one can do about it, depending of course on the local bylaws and/or how deep your pockets are to pay for lawyers!

Dave.
 
Thank you @ecc83, sadly, I think you are right. The property manager is going to give me a sound meter to measure the noise volume, the same as 2 years ago, which is not my case.
Thank you all for the helps!
 
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