Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

[NYCFarmboy]

Hi folks, just got a new little digital recorder in...my Edirol R09 bit the dust (was dropped) so I got a Zoom H2 to give it a whirl.

My initial impressions: A MUCH nicer recorder and very easy to use. A few glitches yet..it doesn't want to work so well when plugged into a new Mac running 10.5 but I can get the files off using a card reader.




Test recording:
http://www.reuter822.com/2009/zoomh2test.html

I had to pump up the volume (gain) quite a bit using Garageband, but other than that it is a untouched original recording..no reverb added.

[soubasse32]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder



Nice.

I just got an H4 for Christmas - haven't had much of a chance to take it on the road yet. It has two jog/menu dials, which makes for a bit of confusion.

[Menschenstimme]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder



That is one handsome piece of equipment. It makes me want to pick it up and say: "Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni."

LOL!

[NYCFarmboy]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

i will keep you all posted next week..doing some more recordings in Bloomington, Indiana and will be using this little recorder for the audio there.

[Clarion]

Re: Zoom H2

[quote user="NYCFarmboy"] . . . so I got a Zoom H2 to give it a whirl.

My initial impressions: A MUCH nicer recorder and very easy to use. A few glitches yet . . .

I had to pump up the volume (gain) quite a bit using Garageband, but other than that it is a untouched original recording..no reverb added. [/quote]


Well . . . at the outset: I really enjoyed finally hearing your pipes on a closeup and intimatebasis, unmunged by a sea of reverb. Theysound wonderful!


I've had a Zoom H2 on my shopping list for a number of months, but have been unable toget one at any of my local music stores. They have the older H4, which for more $$$is considered to be problematic compared to the H2. The early H4s suffered from some kind of prominent unsolvable noise glitch which made it less than desirable. [:(]


The Quality Organ Phoenix dealer has used the H2 extensively for sound samples, i.e. [link removed due to domain ownership change]The first two recordings sound okay, but the last one, containing major distortion and clipping,really sucks.


Quality Organ's demoat: [link removed due to domain ownership change] is pretty good, except for the first piece: Be Thou But Near -, which demonstratesprominentdigital recording clipping in . I'm not sure whetherthis isan H2 error, or whether it is merely inexperienced operator error. Withthe entire unit costing about the same as a single decent condenser mic, the H2 tends to represent impressive value for the bucks.


NYC, your H2 demonstrates a tremendous dynamic range, to the point ofbeing annoyingfor organ music. Would I be wrong in assuming that the H2 offers a number of options for compressingdynamic range?

[Guest]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder



Hey John,

I have this recorder. My wife wanted it for school so she let me buy a Korg M1.

I have recordings with it using the internal mics (pretty good) and with R0DE NT1A studio mics plugged into the line-in from a pre-amp.

Night and Day.

Internal Mics: http://zionorgan.com/zionlutheran/Kroon080331a.mp3organist is Walt Kroon live at and AGO meeting at Zion Lutheran, Spokane

R0DE Mics: http://zionorgan.com/Organs/Opus1/BWV659.mp3organist is James Pressler

[Guest]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

P.S. I found that the HD cards don't work so hot with a card reader. When I had the stock 256MB card that comes with it worked fine. When I upgraded to an 8GB card I had to connect the Zoom2 to the PC with the USB cable to get anything off it. I usually record at 24 bit-96KHz so the files are large.

[arie v]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder



Hi,

At the music store where I work, awhile ago I asked which one of the portable digital recorders was the best. The expert told me that the Olympus LS-10 was superior to all others in every way. He said especially the internal mics were better, but also the electronics had a lower noise floor. I believe the price on it was around $420 (Can. bucks). The store sells the Zoom, Edirol, Yamaha, Olympus and a couple of other brands.

I have not worked with this unit, so I can't vouch for how good it is, especially for recording organ sounds.

AV

[soubasse32]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

[quote user="Clarion"]I've had a Zoom H2 on my shopping list for a number of months, but have been unable toget one at any of my local music stores. They have the older H4, which for more $$$is considered to be problematic compared to the H2.[/quote]The H4 is a newer model, as in "new and improved".

[Clarion]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder



[quote user="soubasse32"]The H4 is a newer model, as in "new and improved".[/quote]

It was my recollection that the H2 was the newer model; and reported to not be subject to the noise problemsassociated withthe H4.

1. The built in microphonesstill pick up environmentalsoundswhen the input is switched to "Line In";

2. Microphone pre-amps pick upa constant whiningnoise from the internal switching power supply when used with batteries.Use of an external power supply,external microphone, and and external preamphas been reported to help clean up the audio; but that sort of defeats the intended portable purpose of the unit;

3. The blinking LED in "Record Mode" causes radio interference that is picked up in the recording as an audible beeping sound. This is most noticeable when recording using the "Mic" setting but is also present when using microphones connected to "Line In" jack.

Cf.: http://www.sonicstudios.com/zoomh4rv.htm#spectrum This is just one of many reviews reporting the same noise problems with the H4. I understand that there is a firmware upgrade H4, but since the problems are associated withanalogue the circuitry, theupgrade doesn't do anything for the noise.

It has been a while since I researched thesetwo recorders, and perhaps Samson has since addressed the H4 noise issues. But I don't recall ever reading a negative review of the H2. NYC's H2 recording sounds really clean, while demonstrating a wide dynamic range. Preference between the two units tends to lean toward the clean sound of the H2, over the noisey H4. ??

[NYCFarmboy]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

soubasse32...what did you use with your Christmas recording you posted on the forum? that was just totally lovely!!!!

[soubasse32]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

That was recorded professionally, so I'm not sure what was used (sorry)...

[Clarion]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder



[quote user="arie v"]The expert told me that the Olympus LS-10 was superior to all others in every way. He said especially the internal mics were better . . .[/quote]

The somewhat limited 70 Hz to 20,000 Hz range specified byOlympus for their internal mics, maybe an octave or two short of that appropriate forrecording organ music. Samson merely avoids any mention of frequency responsefor any oftheir units in their user manuals; so that doesn't suggestanything good. [:S] However their website shows specs comensurate with the recordings NYC posted:

http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h2/h2_18.gif

And that beats out Olympus by a wide margin for the purpose of recording organ music. Nothwithstanding, that Olympus samplesseem to be a bit brighter and cleaner at the top end.

[NYCFarmboy]

Re: Zoom H2 "Handy Recorder" - my first recording/review of this new hand held digital recorder

that posted recording I did is "out of the box"....no low cut filter, using the 4 channel front and back microphones (I THINK). I personally think it records much nicer than the Roland R-09..and the price is much cheaper.

[organist777]

Re: Zoom H2

[quote user="Clarion"]

The Quality Organ Phoenix dealer has used the H2 extensively for sound samples, i.e. [link removed due to domain ownership change]The first two recordings sound okay, but the last one, containing major distortion and clipping,really sucks.


Quality Organ's demoat: [link removed due to domain ownership change]is pretty good, except for the first piece: Be Thou But Near -, which demonstratesprominentdigital recording clipping in . I'm not sure whetherthis isan H2 error, or whether it is merely inexperienced operator error.

[/quote]

===========

Well, Thanks, Clarion... I think...hmmm [*-)]

The Zoom test page was exactly that... a test, warts n' all... and thank you SO much for pointing out what "sucks".


The Phoenix PT246 page with the flash player. For the record, the original WAV file did not have the clipping, operator experience or not.

I've had my Zoom H2 for about a year now and I have found it to be very much worth the price, and I am still amazed at what the all-in-one unit will accomplish. I'll try not to post any "sucky" tests again. [;)]

Dave.