Zoom H2n - A Personal View
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- This video presents my thoughts on some aspects - both good and bad - of the Zoom H2n Handy Recorder. It is not designed to be a comprehensive review of, or a "how-to" tutorial for, this device - there are plenty of those already on UA-cam.
The voiceover for this video was recorded on the H2n via its internal microphones. By setting it to X-Y mode, talking at 45 degrees to the left of the front axis, and extracting the left channel of the resultant stereo soundfile during editing in my DAW. This gave the required monophonic cardioid response.
This is by far the best review I could find. Very well explained in a concise and clear manner and yet still nicely in-depth going through many aspects of the features and capabilities of this recorder. Thank you very much.
You're welcome, thanks!
Fantastic, this is what I want to see & hear in reviews; subjective impressions relative to other options.
Totally agree. Can he please review EVERYTHING?
Excellent review. Appreciate you not regurgitating specs ad nausium. Your comments and observations are very helpful. Looking forward to more from you.
This is an incredibly useful review, thank you! Even after a couple years this is still by far the most helpful video on YT about the H2N.
Also, I carefully dremmeled out the front-bottom "pimple" to no ill effect. Definitely improves vibration isolation when sitting on a table or desk.
Thanks for the comment and for letting us know about the 'pimple mod' - I will be giving that a go!
Oh, and I've enjoyed looking at your Tesla videos!
Forgot to mention that as a USB microphone plugged into a laptop the H2n doesn't require batteries to operate, i.e. the mic will power up from the USB connection.
Fantastic...It is clear that you are knowledgeable on the subject and you were comprehensive and objective. Thanks
This was a fantastic video, friend! Super useful and way better than most of the review videos on this mic. Thanks to you, I am now sold on the H2N!
You're very welcome - hope you enjoy using the recorder.
I have seen many H2N reviews before, but this is the most helpful, especially regarding the line level input issue. Thank you!
One of the best reviews I have ever seen on anything here on You Tube.
Thanks, Mark!
Thanks for thorough review. Your channel definitely worth growing.
Thankyou!
Just ordered the thing before I found your review but very pleased with your clear relevant and honest appraisal. Great review
Thanks!
Many thanks - hope you enjoy using the recorder!
Spatial Audio is for use in 360 camera and VR editing. If you're editing anything that has a final output format designed so that the viewer can look around within it, spatial audio is the file format your audio will be in. It enables the viewer to be oriented to the sound sources in the original recording environment by real time manipulation of the the playback levels. Spatial Workstation is one of a few freewware alternatives for working with this file format making the H2n an entry level VR recording tool.
Thanks for a helpfully thorough, concise review.
You're welcome!
A really useful overview: thanks. For quite a few years now I've been using the Zoom H1 as a simple digital replacement for a cassette deck, mostly recording LP's or radio broadcasts. I initially had the same problem with input sensitivity as you, but I fitted a 25db attenuator I found on eBay, and the results are terrific.
Cheers 😊
Thank you for this, very detailed, very helpful
What an excellent, in-depth review - thank you!
You're welcome!
Really good at converting my analog output devices ( Yamaha MD8, and MT120 multi tracks )to digital for uploads to the web. Over after about years using the unit, still working great in multiple environments. Thanks for the video recordist...
Best review on youtube.Thank you !
What a wholesome review! Thanks, it helped a lot!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. I hopped on one of these when a good deal came up. So far, so good!
Thanks - hope you're enjoying using it!
I like using the line in connected to a line out from the mixing board. This gives me a great mix between what is heard out front in the room as well as whats coming from the main mix. The result is a thicker Stereo mix. After recording the band as a wav. file, I use the editing tools in the menu to Divide the songs into tracks. Then use the Normalizer to smooth out any high peaks. The H2N has so many useful features in the menu !!
Great video; I love my H2n, I use it mostly for recording band rehersals and performances... 145€ was very well spent
What a professional video. Thanks so much!
Thanks, you're welcome!
Splendid review!
Thanks!
Very good technical review. Thanks.
You're welcome, Tito - thanks for the feedback!
Great review. Thank you.
You're welcome!
Personally subjective and honest yet sufficiently objective, to offer a decent and relatively comprehensive overview review without immense bias. Thank you.
Thanks for the feedback!
Such a great review, thanks!
You're welcome!
Thanks for the detailed breakdown brother.
Your're welcome!
I use it for concert recording. It is quite good. We have an opera contest in our town which I film and record to produce a video. This is the sole micro for the recording and it does a very good job. Could not be happier.
Your comments were well done. In every way, THE BEST I've seen. Bought the H2N a year or so ago, but lost instructions, or didn't understand them right off the bat. I'm impatient to be stumped by cryptic written instructions and tied up with new software and hardware. I'm a 1st-time user of video/audio stuff but mastered my first Macs, now long ago. I taught myself software and hardware -- that is, till now, when everything is more complicated, due to many options. But I found you.
The sound quality on H2N, as well as the earlier H2, serves all my needs as a music teacher. Could not believe how much a good recorder helped my own piano playing! So, today I round up the thing, take over the living room, then forget how to playback! Bummer. To me it's not obvious or intuitive. Neither is file naming, etc. As well, the System set-up etc is clumsier than the Mac, so I just couldn't work it out.
I stopped long enough to seek help rather than fumble, and found your professional broadcast. With these small, reasonably priced tools, modern, so to speak, good consumer products and a tuned piano, I'll get me a website yet! As well as develop play-along practice tools for my students. I may be AS excited as plugging in my Mac Classic.
For the money, or for even more money, I'm happy to have purchased the Zoom H2N. Just all I need for a creative tool in my piano studio. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind comments. Glad to hear you enjoy the recorder!
I agree with you about the not-very-intuitive user interface for some of the functions - like moving from play to record (who'd have thought a long MENU press would do that?!).
I must admit I get files off the machine as soon as possible after recording them and do all the renaming, editing etc. on my PC, so don't get bogged-down trying to use those functions on the H2n...
As a musician, do you find the tuning and metronome functions useful?
excellent video!
Thanks, Horst!
Great video! Thanks mate!
Hello, thank you for a very good review
Thanks!
I use my H2N for rehearsals (rock, amplified) for more than 3 years now and I just love it. Even at our live performances, I put it behind the bar or next to the sound engineer. Even when it is really loud, the H2N will not clip and the sound is really clean 'fair sound'
Although I have experienced overload via the external mic/line input, I had only heard of the internal mics overloading via forum comments. So it's good to hear your positive results in a live band environment. Thanks for that info!
6 years late, but if you're still doing this, you can just get an H4n and some XLR cables and hook it up directly to the engineer's sound board to get the actual audio output of the event. I do it all the time. Just don't forget to bum the engineer a smoke after hours.
This was one of the best revie\thought of the H2n and it sreange that it do not have more vies, I hink I will buy it for it look vety good fot that price range and I will most use it for ambient recording and as a podcast microphone.
Hello, Thank you for the great information and for sharing. Your audio track is crystal clear and the levels are very easy on the ears using headphones. Would you care to share how yo have achieved this level of audio clarity please?
Well done!
Thanks!
Great !!! You are Genius 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 amazing !!!! Nuff thanks Be blessed
I used the little tripod that came with my zoom H2n for so much, its a weird little thing but actually quite useful.
You're right - I have found it useful for holding mics, webcams etc, but I've never used it to hold the H2n itself!
A very useful review, as i'm off to look at a second-hand one tomorrow. I'm hoping to use it with my Panasonic HC-X900M camcorder.
Thanks - good luck with your purchase - it's a useful piece of kit!
I want to know how well the auto-gain function works, does it adapt throughout the recording to eliminate volume fluctuations? I plan to use it with a Lav mic and furry windshield. I'm looking for something to eliminate volume fluctuations and clipping in my audio as I turn my head and move around.
Excellent!
Thanks!
I love mine!
Thank you very much!
I bought one of these ages ago for use with my DSLR. I believe the two channel option is just a mixed down stereo track with the MS setup on the left and the XY on the right - it could be useful for capturing two people talking close to the mic and adjusting each voice accordingly in an editing program. I was looking for a demonstration of a power bank scenario because I use it as an extra audio interface to my camera and hate using batteries. Does the power bank shut off after a period of time or does it carry on supplying the unit with current until the battery pack is dead?
Hi James - thanks for the feedback.
Not sure that's really how the 2-ch surround works, but I'll have to do some tests to check it out - probably involving taking it apart (again).
Re. that power bank, I have two different types of these, and they behave differently:
The one you see in the video was well-behaved in that it stayed powered up for 13 hours when I did an overnight recording in my garden (hedgehogs shuffling through dead leaves and birds doing their morning chorus - fascinating).
The other, somewhat larger battery pack seems to get bored and shut off after a while. This is odd, but I've not been sufficiently motivated to look into it in any detail. It must be something to do with its internal logic circuitry. Either it decides its voltage is low and shuts off its output to prevent excessive discharge, or the H2n sees the volts dropping and decides it'd be better off with its own batteries.
Either way, this represents many hours of recording, which I would not normally do without using a mains adaptor.
Hope that helps, and if I do get a definitive answer on the 2ch surround thing I'll post my findings.
Cheers!
Thank you for a very helpful and thorough review 🙏 would muchly appreciate if you could share your opinion. I am after a good voice quality and recording 4-5 ppl talking in an office room and being recorded. Would this h2n be enough to put it on a big rounded table? Or would it be better to have a separate lav mic for each person? I want this 'work interview' be as much relaxed as possible without a pressure to hold the mic. It's more like and open work discussion. What do you think please?
Hi Anna - thanks for your feedback.
The H2n could do the job you are describing; probably best standing it upright (it has tiny rubber feet) and setting it to the 2-ch surround mode - that would give you fairly even coverage around the table.
A simple alternative solution would be a mono PZM microphone in the middle of the table, although a stereo recording may help you separate out voices if you were transcribing the meeting afterwards and people were talking over each other.
Bear in mind that in a typical office room, using mics more than a few inches from a speaker's mouth is likely to result in a thin and echoey sound. Using multiple Lavalier mics can reduce this effect, but it means you will need a mixer or a proper multi-channel recorder, and that's a whole different game (have a look at podcasting equipment for that approach).
You will most likely be using the automatic gain/level control (AGC) setting on the recorder, as there is seldom time in meetings to keep looking at signal levels and making manual gain adjustments. AGC will, however, make unwanted noises (airconditioning, other office equipment and people thumping on the table, etc.) more noticeable.
Any solution will be a compromise and it will take a few tries to get something you are happy with.
HTH and good luck!
Sir this review is one of the best I have seen. I am thinking of buying a ZoomH2n and your video has been VERY helpful in giving me guidance. Most reviews nowadays are people riffing live about their thoughts....yours has been carefully planned and executed exquisitely and is packed with useful information. PS do you by any chance sell your attenuator boxes?
Hi - many thanks for your kind comments. I don't normally script things, but in this case, I had so many things to cover that I started off writing down a few notes, and ended up writing a full-blown script!
Sorry, I'm not in a position to make and sell the attenuator box, but it's pretty basic stuff - maybe you have a techy pal who can make one up for you!
Thank you for your response. I didn't really expect you to sell the attenuation box. I might well be able to find a friend who would make me one. I was talking yesterday with a journalist friend from RTE in Ireland. We discussed the Zoom H1 and the H4n(?) but then he surprised me by suggesting that in many ways he favours the use of an iPhone or an iTouch because of the availability of editing apps etc the capacity to email on location AND the ability to take photos or video. He said he even managed to get a video - recorded on his iPhone - on to the main evening news on RTE 1 television. (Shifting it from 30 frames a second to 25 frames a second as apparently required)
Hi Mark - the iPhone is indeed a remarkable device. I have a bit of a downer on Apple products in general (out of scope here), but have been sorely tempted to buy one simply for the very reasons you give.
The iPhone's internal mic is surprisingly good, but external ones (e.g. Rode iXY) are available to improve audio recording performance, and as you say there are editing apps aplenty.
On the video side, the iPhone is astonishingly good - the Filmic app is only a few quid and a no-brainer buy, as it allows completely manual control of camera parameters (including frame rate) and mic gain settings. Apparently, a feature film was made last year just using iPhones and that app!
Sadly, Android phones' cameras and mics are hamstrung by the Google spec that seems to make it impossible for Android app designers to access internal audio and video settings, so I am stuck with default (30fps, auto-mic-gain) on my Moto - a camera/recorder of last resort!
For me, though, I wouldn't want to tie my phone up or leave it unattended, so have stuck to dedicated cameras and recorders.
I have come across people using H1 (a note-taker), H2n (me), H4n (a pro videographer) and iPhones (a musician) to record, and they've all been very happy with their respective purchases for their own particular applications - so it's certainly worth a few hours' soul-searching over what you really want from a recorder before parting with the cash!
Thank you for again replying. It has been a pleasure encountering your sense of excellence. Take care
Thanks very helpful
You're very welcome!
Great review. I plan to use the H2n as a mic for input into a video recorder for music (live jazz & rock). I'm using a Rode Stereo Video Mic now and haven't been that happy with the sound. From what I've seen in videos, the H2n sounds better than the SVM as a mic. My question is, do you know what impact the H2n recording mode (2ch, 4ch, MS) would have on the line out going into my video recorder mic input? Also, do you know how much impact the furry windblocker you recommend has on the overall sound? (the ones I have tried on the Rode SVM seem to cut out almost all of the treble).
Hi Michael - a pity you're having no joy with the Rode SVM.
You will get quite a bit of handling noise with the H2n if you clamp it to your camera/camcorder, so be wary of that.
I use mine as a completely stand-alone recorder, and match it up with the camera's mic waveform during editing, so I don't feed it into the camcorder mic input. But in the spirit of investigation, I've checked mine out, and can report that the headphone/line out provides:
1. In 4ch mode - a stereo downmix, which is the same as the 2ch surround mode. It's a bit like crossed figure-8's in Blumlein, i.e. like two hemispherical pickups, one either side, which means that you get good LR separation, but centre rear sensitivity (the audience - and your own breathing!) is the same level as centre front (the band).
2. In 2ch surround mode - exactly what it records. Note you can play around with width of the MS contribution to the mix if you're minded to, but I'm not sure why you'd want to...
3. In MS mode - whatever you are recording; a stereo downmix with adjustable separation, or even raw MS (M=L, S=R). Note that the side opposite the display faces your subject.
4. In XY mode - just the regular XY sound, but in this case, the H2n's display has to face the subject, which is not practical for keeping an eye on levels.
I'd still be tempted to put the recorder central a few feet from the band (maybe hanging upside down from a handy lighting bar, etc.) and leave it there. Then the position of your camcorder doesn't matter, especially if you're moving around. You may think it sounds more realistic to capture sound at the camera, but that can be irritating to the ultimate viewer if the sound levels and instrumental balance are always changing.
If you leave your SVM on the camera, as well as visual synchronising, you always have an on-camera sound to blend in with the H2n mix to accentuate particular sounds (e.g. from closeups) if required. Its sound quality won't be so much of an issue if it's just supplementing the H2n's dominant balance.
The windjammer cuts a bit of top, but not a lot, and if you've got a healthy signal level, you can always boost the treble in post without bringing up too much noise. I'd recommend recording in uncompressed WAV format if you're going to adjust levels a lot afterwards.
That's just my 10 cents' worth - experiment and have fun!
@@reqordist Great info. I will experiment with using the H2n on camera (as I have the SVM currently) and attaching is to the tripod so it's fixed, will have to see if mic picks up any camera movement noise). I will probably record on the H2n as well as use as mic, so I can compare audio and use the H2n audio if I need to. I mostly record music in larger venues, so from reading the manuals it seems like I will use MS mode mostly (I assumed XY would be the best mode for muic before reading the manual) and use XY for close recordings (for example recording a jazz group recorded at close distance). I care much more about audio quality than video quality. A friend of mine did a music video recording with an H2 (H2n predecessor) as a mic and I was really, really impressed with the sound, so I have high hopes for the H2n. Thank you for the great and very detailed response.
First of all, thank you for this video. I am thinking about using he H2n with a lavalier mic, so probably I will have dificulties to have the internal mid mic and the lavalier recording at the same time, as I can't control sensitivity individually.
Thanks for the feedback. Although the single gain control looks like a major limitation, in practice it's not that critical.
Unless your lavalier is in a radically different sound space from the H2n's internal (MS) mics, you can set a level leaving plenty of headroom and just boost the replay gain a bit on either source at mixdown / post. Although the intrinsic self-noise of most electret mics is probably the limiting factor in the overall S/N of the recording chain, it seems reasonable to use 24-bit rather than 16-bit WAV recording, since it doesn't cost anything.
As an example I have done just that today - was doing stuff to camera outdoors with a lav clipped under my pullover, and the MS mics capturing atmosphere. Had the H2n gain control set to 8 (giving a level on the lav channel of about-12dBfs from my not-very-loud speech), recording 4-channel at 24-bit 48kHz, and the results are quite usable.
The only problem is the awkward positioning of the external mic socket. Be prepared to get a right-angle 3.5mm connector, and then use gaffer tape or rubber bands to keep it in place: it's where a locking screw-in connector would come in handy!
@@reqordist Hello, outstanding review BTW.
I am going to buy this H2n recorder now for use on my Panasonic GX80. I would like to buy both a good windshield and a lavalier microphone for it. As you mentioned there is only one gain control for use together with MS. and some of the mics have "self-noise" limitations...
Could you please suggest some cheap lavalier microphone that would fit this Zoom H2n? Perhaps the one you used yourself?
12:24 i have it for many years, and believe it fellow the remote control is the most important part of the accessory set and useful as hell and makes the job much comfortable and faster.
Hi - I guess if you're doing lots of stop-start work, it could be very handy. I think I mentioned that earlier in the video. Great to hear you have found it useful!
@@reqordist oh ok. havent seen that video yet. nice videos!
Hello mentioned in one of your comments about a super directional microphone. I was wondering what sort of microphone you might suggest for voice dictation on a PC. I was considering using a shotgun microphone as I could direct that directly towards my mouth but interested in if you have any suggestions. Noise cancelling is not an issue as it’s a very quiet home office environment.
Hi Brad - sorry, I'm not the best one to advise on this, but this is my 10 cents-worth:
Having tried various types of microphones with various types of dictation software, I have seen no obvious connection between mic polar pattern or quality, and dictation success.
Indeed, some dictation packages used to bundle a cheapo headset mic in the retail box with their software distribution CD and printed instruction manual (those were the days), and they worked OK.
Conversely, I've had disappointingly poor results with 'studio-grade' cardioids and shotguns.
I think the dictation software performs algorithmic voice-band filtering before trying to decode the sounds. This throws away most of the differences between a studio-grade mic and a cheap one.
The only benefit of using a short shotgun is that you can place it a bit further from your mouth (say 6-8 inches) than a cardioid (say 2-3 inches). You'll need a foam windshield whichever you use, to stop breath popping.
I strongly suspect that proximity effects make consistency of mic positioning critical - probably more so than can be readily achieved in practice, without using a headset mic. With one of those, of course, after you've found the optimum position to set it relative to your mouth (by trial and error), it will stay there whether you are looking at the screen, reading a script or just walking about the room. That at least prevents you getting a stiff neck from trying to hold your head in the same position for ages!
Sorry that's not much help - maybe other viewers have better suggestions...
As ever, these things will depend on your usage. I have had most for,s of professional audio recorder over the years. I started my career in radio 18 years ago... moving in to TV some years back and dabbling in bits of radio here and then. I a, a journalist. The pre-Amps have just burnt ion my Marantz PMD661 -- a common problem, - but had it for 6 years nearly. Now using one of these for DSLR video recording (not personal use) and for the odd national radio interview here and there. My bottom line on this it's a fantastic bit of kit for the money or a fair bit more. Even a beginner could use this in auto gain mode - but personally love how easy the gain control is to find with your thumb. The down side for me is not being able to use phantom power. If this is an issue to you, you could pick up a phantom power pre-am and input it. Unless you are actually Eric Clapton, this is brilliant for pro radio use and pro video productions. In my view. Now there are units I prefer, but this sounds brilliant.
Good to have observations from a pro reporter's viewpoint, Sean, thanks. The tactile gain control is certainly easier to deal with than up-down buttons. And well done for identifying the few seconds of obscure off-air recording that happened to be playing on my cassette deck as Eric Clapton!
There MUST be 3 microphone pickup directions for Mid Side to work. perhaps there's a single capsule with a figure-8 pickup pattern at a 90 degree angle to the mid microphone capsule? That would mean 4 microphones, but 5 pickup directions?
The Side signal comes from a figure-of-eight capsule as you state - this can be seen in the video.
Its output is added to the Mid signal to derive the Left channel and subtracted from the Mid signal to derive the Right channel.
This addition and subtraction is done by phase inversion in the electronics (analogue pre-A-D or digital post A-D) of the recorder.
The H2n allows you to vary the proportion of Side to Mid in order to adjust the effective width of the derived Left/Right soundstage.
There's one important weakness you might have forgotten to mention and that is the weak plastic screw mount socket at the bottom. I have it ripped out by a slightly overtighten screw at the 3rd time it has been mounted to anything :(
Thanks for pointing this out. Yes, the tripod mount thread is plastic. Fortunately I had seen that on a number of different devices (including small cheap cameras) before I got the H2n, and therefore have always been gentle with fixing it to tripods, so it was not an issue for me, and why I didn't mention it here. With the H2n being so light, there's no need to tighten the mounting screw up as tight as you would have to with a heavy (D)SLR and long lens. But you make a good point for those who are used to cranking up the mountings on cameras with robust metal threads.
Would this work for recording nature sounds or sound effects? Let's say I want to record a crow cawing outside, would this work? I can do a lot of editing, I edited the sound of the in built mic of my DSLR to something decent.. But I would like a handheld device with the best quality to be able to do this. So my question: Would this one work for that, and if not.. which portable recorder would be best suited for this?
Absolutely - that's the sort of thing it's designed for. Don't forget you need a good furry windjammer for outdoor recordings, though, as the first hint of a breeze will overload the H2n's preamps! Experiment with the mic patterns - try the raw M-S mode and point the centre mic straight at the thing you're interested in (don't forget it uses side-address capsules). Also try mounting it on a $3 selfie stick to get a bit closer to your target - cheaper than a boom-pole! Have fun!
Thank you very much for your quick answer, this helped me a lot! :) Also, another question: Since this model has been around for a while, is there perhaps a newer version intended for this same purpose?
Hi - It looks like the H2n is still their smallest multi-pattern recorder. There is the simple and more recent H1 for straight XY stereo recording, which is a bit cheaper - a friend of mine uses one for note-taking, and is very happy with it. But I think they're putting most of their design effort into the more up-market models like the H6 and their new line of 'proper' field recorders like the F4 and F8.
Nice review. Where is the video of the Zoom H2N inside? I could not found it in you Channel.
I have replaced the original video with a simple teardown ua-cam.com/video/gGXtHOPgp1k/v-deo.html
@@reqordist Thank you. Now we can see how the mics are positioned.
Thank you for your review. That's exactly what I was looking for. Samll suggestion: as an owner of H2 ZOOM, I would like to know the aspects in which H2N excels its predecessor.
You're welcome, Edward!
I mentioned most of the improved features in the video:
Better user interface display and controls (3:03),
Fast boot-up (about 2-3 seconds faster than the original) (3:29),
Better battery life (4:05),
USB powering (a big one, this) (4:31),
Big pattern indicator/clip LEDS (5:20),
Variable gain knob (Although this is a limitation due to being common across all inputs, it is still more versatile than the H/M/L switch on the H2) (6:40),
Lower-noise recordings (my perception - not measured) (13:30).
Also - not mentioned in the video - a HOLD setting on the H2N power switch that locks out most controls.
On the down-side, the H2 has separate Line and Mic inputs, so less likelihood of overload from 'hot' line sources on the H2 than the H2N.
Hope that helps!
Well scripted and storyboarded video with great audio. Was the audio from the H2n?
Thanks, afraid the scripted approach gives a rather stilted narration, but I had a lot of points to hit! I explain the use of the H2n for recording the voiceover in the video description text. It results in a thinner sound than the Rode NTG1 used for the majority of my video voiceovers (including the other H2n video), but at least it's clear!
NTG1.. so lightweight but such good sound. I have a pair of these which i was able to pick up secondhand. With the tiny condenser mics in the H2n I think the sound must be inferior compared to other small diaphragm mics, but if it's pre-amp is quiet, that's the main thing. I bought the H2n cheap to check it out. $usd140 inc postage.
What do you have your gain setting on, and do you normalize the audio? Because it sounds pretty nice and without the white noise static? Could you please tell me your settings on the video here? Do you have a low cut filter or compression on the vocals, and where do you usually set your gain? Thank you...SBN RESONATE
Hi SBN - It's been a long time since I recorded this, so I can't remember the full details.
However, I think the H2n gain control was set to about 5, with no compression/limiting or low-cut on the recorder. I will have used the foam muff to control plosives as mentioned in the video.
I was reading from a script: knowing what I was going to say ahead of time helped me to keep my voice level fairly even. Combined with staying a constant distance (6 inches or so) from the microphones, this avoided any dramatic shifts in level during the recording.
My usual approach is to record with at least 6dB headroom, and then normalize the level in my DAW while editing.
I may have added a little compression, but not much, and I never use a noise gate, as I find that uncomfortable to listen to.
HTH!
@@reqordist Hey reqordist, thank you for that, appreciate it. Yeah, I just wanted to know your levels and if you normalized the audio, because there are so many different approaches with and in recording.
I am finding that it's probably better to keep the gain down a bit more, and then normalize tye audio, because when the gain is up to a 6 and a half to 7 or so, you can hear that background static or noise floor hiss alot more pronounced, and I do not want that in my vocal recordings at all. I don't mind a bit in the music, because you can't hardly notice it with music playing, but with vocals, and a silent background, I usually never want that. That static sound goes with Silent Hill type music pretty well I noticed. So anyway, thanks for the feedback on this. All the night to you and yours...SBN RESONATE
2019..great review..so i can use external mic (wireless lav) AND either the 2 or 4 channel stereo arrangement?..
Thanks, Brodi. To answer your question...
The H2n is only capable of recording a maximum of 4 channels of audio.
The external source (mic or line) takes over the two input channels associated with the X-Y mic pair.
So with an external source plugged in, you will get (in the various modes):
4-channel surround: the external stereo pair and the M-S pair as two stereo soundfiles;
X-Y stereo: only the external stereo source as a single stereo soundfile;
M-S stereo: only the internal M-S pair as a single stereo (or raw MS) soundfile (and the H2n warns you momentarily that this _isn't_ using the external mic);
2-channel surround: this seems to matrix the external and M-S pairs in the same way that it normally matrixes the internal X-Y and M-S pairs (sorta Blumlein), but that's just plain weird and not likely to be useful ;-)
Hope that makes it clear. Have a read of the manual - it's available online.
Cheers!
@@reqordist Great and thank you!
Thank you. I wanted to know how to connect my iphone to recorder.
It all depends on what you want to connect it for. If you aim to record calls, it's unlikely to work via any direct connection (and depending on the generation of your iPhone the interfaces are different - 3.5mm analog vs. lightning connector - so that's an additional complication).
Why I don't have in menu options,folder and rec?
If you can help me.
Everything was fine until one day I don't know if I did the update.
the blessed recorder began to hiss, made a noise in the recordings.
just record clean in MS mode .. the rest makes noise. even more so in stereo XY mode,
but the funny thing is that it does it on the R channel, the L channel is clean.
I went back to the previous versions of the firmware thought that there was the thing, but nothing follows the same problem.
Hi Arturo - I have not seen this problem myself. The appearance of the fault after upgrading the firmware may just be a coincidence. It could be a hardware problem with the R channel mic of the X-Y pair. Maybe the recorder has been hit or dropped and the wire to the R X-Y mic capsule has been broken or unplugged, or one of the components (including the capsule) in that channel has failed. Or maybe water has got in there. Pure MS mode does not use the R X-Y capsule - the other two stereo modes (XY and 2Ch surround) both use signal from that capsule. What happens in 4ch surround? Is the recorded file from MS pair clean and the file from the XY pair noisy? BTW, for reference, my other video about the H2n shows the inside of the recorder, and you can see how the mic capsules' connecting wires are plugged into the circuit board.
@@reqordist
Thank you in advance for your prompt response.
I tell you that at no time the recorder had fallen, nor had contact with the water in that I am very careful, hence my astonishment and my suspicion of the update, as it says maybe it is co-incident.
in 4ch mode, as you will know, two files are recorded .. the file containing x -y is dirty with noise, the file with m -s clean.
I already contacted the technical zoom service in my country and I hope they fix it.
Once again, thank you and I will see the video you recommended.
regards
postscript:
excuse me my english, it's google translator
I wish you the best of luck in getting the problem fixed, Arturo. Still sounds like a hardware issue to me. I'm sure Zoom will sort it out. Please let me know what they find!
that seems surprisingly easy to clip the sound, so isn't this able to record instruments? I had a Tascam that had to be put right next to the amp unless I wanted to blast the amplifier to get a loud enough reading of the music but with this I feel like if it can't handle a fingersnap then idk how useful it will be
Hi Hey - There are two points here:
Firstly, the comment about the external line/mic input is that it is not expecting very hot signals, as it is - as far as I can tell - basically a mic input. You still have the full dynamic range if you can reduce the absolute level of the signal going into that input.
Secondly, some people on the Internet (I can't remember exactly what forum) have reported that the internal mics can be overloaded with very loud sounds, even with the gain control minimised (it is never 'off' at its lowest), but I suspect they are in horrendous sound environments. Personally, I've never overloaded it with recording jazz gigs etc. I think it's fine for most recording of composite musical performances from a normal audience listening position.
If, on the other hand, you are thinking of using the H2n's internal mics for recording (for example) a heavy metal gig a few inches from a PA loudspeaker; or close-up samples of an individual trumpet, drum, cymbal etc., or foley recordings of loud industrial processes, gunfire etc. - then this is probably not the appropriate recorder to use, and you'd be better off looking at a less sensitive mic with a more professional (and expensive!) recorder.
Finally, remember that sound power falls off as the square of diatance, so a fingersnap at 12 inches from the mic will be many (>20?) dB quieter than one only 1 inch away.
Can the H2n power a condenser mic as an audio interface?
The specs rate the input jack with only 2.5v which maybe too low.
Another option is the H4n which have two 48v phantom power input lines but a higher price than h2n and entry level dedicated audio interface.
Thanks
Hi Joshua.
This recorder is really aimed at very simple setups, with the advantage that it is lightweight and will fit in a trouser pocket - I think they were expecting users to plug in nothing more sophisticated than an electret lavalier mic; in my experince, the existing 'plug-in power' voltage seems adequate for that purpose.
In my personal view, the H2n's value as a PC audio interface is limited - I could imagine it being used on the road as an alternative to the (usually horrible) mic built-in to the average travel laptop. But that's all rendered a bit irrelevant in the era of the iPhone!
If you have mics requiring 48V phantom power, you should be looking at a recorder with dedicated XLR inputs such as, as you say, the H4n - and there's a _huge_ choice of recorders in that class!
do you believe this unit could be used within a college classroom environment (where the instructer might be 10 to 20 feet away)? If not, is there a product you would suggest i take a look at? thank you
Please see my earlier reply to Faeza Ezah.
So with all that being said. What would be alternative options with similar features for the price?
I think the H2n is pretty unique in its feature set and price. I hope I made it clear that I think it is very good value for that reason, especially when its limitations are taken into account and worked-around. At higher price points, 4-channel recorders with external mics are the next step up. At lower prices, you're down to straight stereo recorders. It's been a while since I made this video, and the world has moved on quite a bit since then!
hi, I was wondering if you might be able to advise me on how the files are saved onto the sd card?
I've read that when recording 4 channels it is saved as 2 interleaved stereo wav files. I was planning to record 4 channel XY and M/S (in Raw mode), I've read that you can adjust the side mic level when recording in 'raw' mode on the device but want to be able to make those adjustments in my DAW.
So, if it is two stereo files am I to assume that one of the stereo files is the XY (x= left, y= right) and the other stereo file is the MS (mid mic= left, figure8/side mic= right)?
If this is the case I can easily set up the M/S files easily in my DAW but I wanted to make sure that is definitely the case before I purchase the unit.
i've been searching for the answer to this on google for a long time but am having no joy. Hope you can help.
Hi Rory - thanks for the question. There are some quirks in the H2n in this area!
Firstly, files are stored in numbered sub-folders (FOLDER01 etc.) under three top-level folders - 4CH, STEREO and SPATIAL AUDIO. If you look at the file listing on the H2n itself, it only shows the folders under the top-level folder relevant to your current recording mode (i.e. position of the top switch or menu setting). Looking on a PC with Windows Explorer makes it much clearer!
So only the 4CH mode uses folders under the 4CH top level folder, and only Spatial Audio uses the SPATIAL AUDIO folder. Spatial audio is a special multi-channel WAV format and I won't deal with it here.
The weird thing about M-S format is that if you record stereo M-S, you can set the Side signal from OFF (Mono mid, no side) through 0db (normal decoding) to +6dB (exaggerated width stereo) and then to RAW (mic capsules recorded separately). Note in the RAW mode, the file name has MS appended to it.
All good so far, BUT - in the 4CH mode, it is not possible to record the MS pair in RAW mode - the Side level tops out at +6dB with no RAW option. So your assumption about channel allocation in the file pairs is correct for stereo, but in 4CH mode, the MS pair is always a pre-decoded version.
So if you want to play with MS processing in your DAW from a 4CH recording, I'm afraid you'll have to record with the H2n MS set to 0dB side and then in your DAW, apply an XY-MS encoder, do your processing (typically mid level adjustment) then apply an MS-XY decoder to get back to a normal pair for 4CH presentation.
Hope this has shed some light on the situation - it confused me at first. The Spatial Audio is worth a play as there are a lot of free decoder plugins on the Web for common DAWs.
Good luck!
great, thank you, that was an excellent answer to my question. I bought a second unit recently and am testing it out now, seems great so far. Glad the MS files are easy to put into my DAW and set up. Going to look into encoders/decoders for the 4CH and Spatial Audio tonight. Thanks again.
it was really easy to decode the MS file from the 4CH recording in my DAW, just used the waves S1 MS Matrix plug-in and had full control over the side mic level, excellent!
What preamps are in the unit?
I've bought cheap chinese condenser mics, connected them to lm324 preamp, and.... it's very noisy. I'd like to try them with normal or even expensive low noise audio preamps. It's so hard to choose from. Ideally I want to buy all the audio preamps and test them. But first I think I'd like to try with those in the H2n
Can't help you there - I'm very reluctant to take my H2n apart yet again - twice is already tempting fate. Maybe you could find a schematic online somewhere.
But before you spend too much time building lots of preamps, try finding someone who has a known good mic and a recorder with a good preamp, and comparing your mics against theirs. Cheap condenser mics can be very noisy themselves, due to their poor internal FET preamps - believe me, I've bought a few over the years! Also if you're working with raw electret condenser capsules, they can give higher output and a better signal-to-noise ratio with slightly higher supply voltage (e.g. 5V rather than 1.5V) - although, as usual, YMMV.
Good luck!
Thank you, sir. I will share with my experience when I eventually come up with something useful
I look forward to hearing what you come up with!
Is this mic suitable for recording nature sounds? Like surround sound in a forest, on a pasture, etc. What if I intend to record some wind sounds? I guess a fluffy wind jammer will ... well, remove the wind sounds ... but would I get good wind sounds without a jammer?
Hi - I'm sure I have seen this question before on one of my videos. The H2n is _very_ susceptible to wind noise without any protection, and the simple foam muff is not very effective for outdoor use. In my experience, a furry windjammer is essential, and even that will be defeated by anything more than a moderate breeze. You need to create a lot of still air around the recorder/mics - either using a commercial 'blimp' or by devising a larger home-made arrangement (I have seen videos on that sort of thing, but couldn't find one just now). The trick is to capture the wind whistling on the natural elements (trees, fences etc.) without it rustling on edges of your windshield - not easy! Good luck!
@@reqordist Thanks for the reply. I will see if I get a decent setup together.
I hear that I know you. I probably listened to a few audiobooks that you recorded.
Sorry, I must have a sound-alike somehere - I've never recorded any audio books!
My H2N has been a problem since Day 1 for playback. It was playing back WAV files that I had recorded but wouldn't play MP3 files --ALL from the same SD card. Then recently I did a factory reset and then MP3 files would play.. 2 days later NO FILES will play. It says Invalid File for EVERYTHING. What's wrong with this unit ? My old H1 PLAYS all files all of the time ..Help please ??
Hi Lionel - not something I've experienced - sounds like the H2n is corrupting the SD card: have you tried another SD card? I have had problems with poor card electrical contacts, but that's a problem for anything on the card. Let's see if anyone else out there has had this problem (and better still has a solution!)
i need it to record from a mixer , at a wedding , mostly . is it recommended for a buy ?
Hi Marius. It will do the job, but please note my comment in the video about its high line input sensitivity. Make sure your mixer output can be turned down if required to avoid overloading the recorder input.
How big of a battery bank would I need to be equivalent of two AA batteries?
Depends on the capacity of your AA batteries. But most USB LiIon battery packs are 6000mAh or more and should give significantly longer recording time than internal AA's - just try a few. Something to watch for are external packs that shut down if too little current is drawn.
Hello. I know this review is from last few year. But i’m hoping you would respond to this question. Would this recorder or Zoom H1 be good for lectures? Say a class of 30-50 students. And the teacher is could be about 3 up to 10 meters away. I’m thinking of getting a recorder for lectures.
Hi - I'd say it would be as good as any similar small recorder with built-in microphones.
However, with your lecturer (especially if not amplified) at 3-10m away, you will hear a lot of reflections from the room walls and ceiling (unless it's spcially designed as a very acoustically 'dead' room), so the resulting sound will be rather thin and 'boxy', and intelligibility may suffer.
Remember that the shape of a human being's ear-flaps make 'live' hearing quite directional, and your visual sense will also contribute to comprehending the lecture, even in a poor acoustic environment. But listening to a recording made from the same location as your head without these cues will not be as clear.
The only real solution is to place the recorder closer to the lecturer (say 1m), by putting it on their table or lectern, or by using a super-directional external microphone.
Unfortunately, neither of these options are particularly subtle and may not meet with approval from your lecturer - you would have to check his or her attitude to recording beforehand. And of course lecturers tend to wander about across the font of the lecure theatre, at which point your recorded sound levels will vary wildly.
If the lecturer has a lapel mic, and is being put over a PA system, you could put the recorder close to one of the loudspeakers (adjusting gain/sensitivity appropriately). That could be quite a discreet option and very effective.
Be prepared to experiment. Note that the H2n, with its surround sound facilities may be over-complicated for what you need, and a simpler stereo (or mono)-only recorder like the H1 or one of the Sony or Olympus dictaphones may be cheaper and just as effective. You can also get external microphones and recording apps for your phone (nearly forgot that!)
Good luck wiith your studies!
reqordist thank you so much for your detailed response! It’s exactly what i needed to know. Will venture out to more options before making my final decision. Thank you once again!! 😊
You're welcome - a bit of research will always pay dividends.
what mode do you use for interviews ? 2 channels or XY ? Thanks
I have not used the H2n as a stand-alone recorder for interviews where high quality audio is required, as leaving a comfortable distance between the interviewer and interviewee can capture a lot of unwanted room reflections.
If I really needed to use it for a video interview where there was time to prepare, I would put a tie-clip/lavalier mic (you can get reasonable sounding ones in the $25 bracket if you shop around) on each person and use the H2n's mic socket with a home-made 2-way adaptor. I have done this with other small recorders.
If it was an audio interview round a table, and I didn't have lavaliers, I might use the 4-channel mode to capture M-S and X-Y pairs separately, with the XY pointing at one person and the MS at the other; then afterwards in my DAW, use the M channel only for one person, and use the X-Y summed to mono, or select the most direct-sounding X or Y channel, for the other, to give each speaker a relatively isolated mono channel, and then balance as required from there, to stereo or mono.
The "2-channel surround" setting is effectively two hemispherical omnis, which although good for binaural effects, would again pick up too much ambience for interviews IMO.
For interviews, I generally use lavaliers, separate overhead mics, or shotgun mics on short floor-stands, as placing a recorder in the sight-line between two people (for the most direct sound) often intimidates the interviewee, and still picks up a lot of room echoes.
The recent advent of cheap (well, just about affordable!) 2-channel radio mics has changed the game completely for me. I use my DJI mic (with external lavaliers or their internal capsules) for interviews, and have been very pleased with the results; each mic records internally, independently, so a separate recorder isn't always required.
HTH!
What is best Samson q2u or zoom h2n
Any ideas, anyone? i have not used the Samson device myself.
What a perfect English accent !!!
Thanks, Guy - it's the only one I have!
Can we hear our own voice by headphones while recording ?
Yes, you can!
Have you ever used it for a Zoom video conference?
That would be oddly appropriate - nominative determinism at work!
No reason why you couldn't do so - it is a USB audio interface after all - but not something I've needed to do.
Hi Can I use for Dj recording mixes?
You can record from any stereo line source (given its signal level limitations as I describe in the video), but there are probably better options out there.
What am I doing wrong here ? . I record a file and it plays back immediately no problem, can be heard with or without earphones. Switch off. Switch back on . Attempt to playback. Go to Menu. then FILE MENU. , then FOLDER, then FILE. select audio file , press PLAY button in. N0 audio file plays - I get a screen which lists - INFORMATION, NORMALIZE, MARK LIST, STEREO ENCODE, DELETE, DELETE ALL, I have wasted hours trying to solve this problem. Also playback volume is set at 100 but can barely hear it without head phones. HELP !!!
Hi Peter! I think I can see where you're going wrong. The manual does describe this behaviour, but It's not particularly intuitive. Here are some points to note:
POINT 1 - Modes
The H2n exists in 2 different modes, distinguishable by what's in the line below the top record time bar: a Recording mode (showing the recording mic pattern, XY STEREO, SURROUND etc.) and a Playback mode (showing >PLAY or IIPLAY plus the file name.) To go from Play to Record mode just press the record button, or hold the MENU button down for 3 seconds. In Record mode (when not recording), press PLAY to enter Playback mode start playing back from the start of the file you've just recorded.
POINT 2 - File Types
The H2n stores 2 channel (which includes 2-ch surround) and 4 channel recordings separately, and will only 'see' recorded files that correspond to the current mic pattern setting on the top of the recorder. So if you recorded a 4-ch surround file and you have the pattern set to (say) X-Y STEREO, and there are no 2-ch files in the current working Folder it will say No File Found.
POINT 3 - Play Menu
There is a menu associated with the Play mode, which is different from the HOME MENU. If you are in the Play mode, its menu will allow you to select a file from the File List (but only in the currrent Folder), and this cues up the file which will next play when you drop back out of the menu and press PLAY. That might be useful if you have hundreds of files, but it's generally easier to just nudge-skip (see Point 5 below).
POINT 4 - Home Menu
Entering the HOME MENU, by pressing the MENU button and holding it for about 3 seconds, gives you the options you mention above. They are to select the current working Folder, and, if you so desire, to investigate the status of the recorded files. It isn't a playback selector, and you can't edit the filenames. You need to be aware that the H2n 'lives' in its current working Folder. You will notice that it takes quite a while to make that change, so it must be a 'big deal' to the H2n's operating system. I always stay in Folder 01.
POINT 5 - Simple Playback
As soon as you've done a recording, the H2n is ready to play files in its current folder. Just press the PLAY button and you're off. PLAY again to stop. Pushing the button sideways to >> or
@@reqordist Hi, thank you so much for your detailed reply. Its a break through for me. Best regards Pete
just one point, when you go to the file selection point in the PLAY menu and highlight a file you say "this cues up the file which will next play when you drop back out of the menu and press PLAY." How do you "drop back out of the menu" ? What is the next button press to play the selected file ? Also excuse my ignorance but what does YMMV mean ?. Many thanks again.
Hi Pete,
The PLAY button and MENU buttons each have two functions, depending on the context:
While you are in a menu,
(a) The PLAY button function is changed to 'ENTER', and pushing it to either side scrolls UP and DOWN through the menu options. It does not act to trigger playback in menu mode.
(b) The MENU button function is changed to 'BACK': pressing it briefly once goes back up one level of the menu tree, and ultimately drops out of the menu.
When not in a menu,
a) The PLAY button has its labelled function, i.e. to toggle playback on and off, and pushing it to either side skips forward and backward through the files in the current working folder.
b) The MENU button has its labelled function, i.e. to enter Menu mode.
So to answer your specific question, from the File menu, press MENU (acting as 'BACK') briefly (twice?) to close the menu screen and drop back to Play mode. Then press PLAY (now acting as 'PLAY') to play the selected file.
I used 'Your Mileage May Vary' here in the sense that the workflow I described works for me, but it may not be ideal for you, depending on your particular needs.
@@reqordist Hi, Thank you for being so patient with am amateur and explaining everything in depth, I think I've cracked it now thanks to you. Part of the problem for me has been the idea that you have to drop out of the menus to hear your recording. I think the instruction manual is very poor. What doesn't help is you need a magnifying glass to read it !
Cheers, Thanks again. Very Helpful.
cheap????
expensive????
@@reqordist yes. pack costs 166 euros.that is not cheap
OK - all things are relative. Other four-channel recorders are much more expensive. Have you found a cheaper surround-sound recorder?
@@reqordist No But I don't have to, to say that the zoom isn't cheap do I? Anyway, enough of that; it's not really very interesting.
it costs what is costs. I'm going to buy one anyway :)
@Kasab - Hope you enjoy using it - the H2n is a great little recorder!
Do not buy this device ... it is totally unusable for professional use. Every contact sound, even if you hang it in rubber bands, you will hear in your recording. Suppose you put your recorder on pieces of foam rubber and stuff some cotton and you connect your headphones, then every contact with the cable is a drum burst in your recording. It is incomprehensible that no one complains about this in all reviews from professionals. So you can only use it on a tripod without headphones and no one walking on the floor. So don't put it on a table. What works well is connecting an external mic in the line-in and switching off all Zoom mics. Good luck not buying this device.
Oh yes, I have the Tascam DR4 and the ZoomH6, they don't have this problem.
Hi Rob - sounds like you've had a bad experience with your H2n, and you have described the problem of handling noise clearly. I know the H6 is a larger, more solid device, but I'm not familiar with the Tascam DR4.
Although the H2n's built-in microphones are very susceptible to handling noise (and wind noise), so are many other recorders in the same class. My Roland R-26 is even worse on both counts. But, of course, so are most standalone microphones - hence the bewildering range of shockmount and windshield designs.
However, used in a stable position on a stand on a solid floor with no handling of the unit or attached cables while recording, and with no people walking around in the vicinity - or sitting on a rock in the field - it can give usable results. I record choirs in stone-floored churches, and it's fine in that situation - I just set the levels and leave it alone.
Many products are sold using the word 'professional'. That's just the advertising industry capitalising on the fact that when used with no defining context or reference point, relative terms like 'lightweight', 'small', 'fast'... and 'professional' have no verifiable meaning, and can therefore be used with impunity. Just like in the '70s and '80s, in the absence of any meaningful standards, many cassettes were labelled 'low noise', and we know what that meant!
The H2n is clearly not designed for everyday use in a professional recording studio, and it makes a poor handheld recorder for the reason you have stated - but I've nonetheless found it to be a valuable tool when used within its limitations, where other factors (principally size) have prevented me from using larger and/or more robust equipment.
@@reqordist when the incoming sound is very powerful so that you have to set the volume to minimum, the contact noise is of course less disturbing (in proportion). With just an external mic via the line-in you also have no problems. When no one is walking on a floor transmitting vibrations, bumping the tripod or touching the headphone cable ... yes then you have no problem. As I said, with the Tascam and the other Zoom, you don't have this problem at all.
Actually, the H2n is a big shame on zoom.
It would certainly be useful if someone were to make a video showing a controlled comparison of handling noise across various handheld recorder models. That would illustrate the problem, and help viewers to select the model(s) most appropriate to their needs. How about kickstarting the process by showing the comparative performance of your own H2n, H6 and DR4? I'm sure others would take it up with their own recorders.