Freesound Forums

Hello everyone!

I've been trying to find some equipment for a reasonable price for several months now(there was a thread about it here as well) and i've foud lots of options but can't decide what to do still.
First off, should i buy an audio interface + microphone or should i get something like the zoom h2n which can record hq audio and has built-in mics with multiple recording methods AND is very portable. It is also cheaper than the mic/interface combo although i'm not sure if it is better.
As far as interfaces go i'm undecided between m-audio m-track plus and focusrite scarlett 2i2. Focusrite is a bit more expensive but it can record 24 bit/96khz audio (just like zoom) where m-audio can record 24bit/48khz.
For the mics i found a matched pair of rode m5 mics to be rather cheap.
Any advice is appreciated!

Hello a_guy_1

To help yourself decide, ask yourself a few questions:

1 - First of all, why do you need the recording gear?
Do you plan to record only indoors (eg, your playing of the guitar or maybe a band) or also outodoors (birds, airplanes, people...) ?
- If you want to record outdoors, then really the only practival option is a portable recorder.

2 - Sound quality
Remember that recording quality does not only depend on the mic and the interface. For example, if you can hear the traffic of a nearby road in your room and that is where you plan to record, chances are the mics will pick that up too. So the source and the place have a big impact on the recording as well.
I have a Zoom H1 and the sound quality is more than enough for my needs.
The H2N is supposed to be even better.

3 - Flexibility
A sound interface will always be a fixed recording system. You can upgrade mics later, etc, but it will never be a practical solution for outdoors recording, for instance.
A portable recorder can also work with external mics - so a mic upgrade is possible here also. Just plug them in.
The new version of the Zoom H1 also allows it to be used as an USB mic - so you can record direct to your DAW. If this was the benefit of the sound interface, then the Zoom H1 can do it also.
I would expect the H2N can also do this. Check the specs.

4 - Other factors.
What about playing sounds back, and using a DAW, etc. For this you need a sound interface. Only you will know if the current one on your PC or laptop is good enough.
Also, if you are planning to record an electric guitar or bass via direct input, a sound interface will be a better option as many offer a high impedance input - so you just plug it in.
If not a DI box or impedance matcher could be used to plug the guitar/bass to the Zoom used as a USB mic, and that would also work. A DI box is not very expensive ~£20-30 ...
However, often interfaces offer a normal + a high impedance channel (allowing voice + guitar recording at the same time). If that is important, then the Zoom would not be an option as the use of a DI box would make it either/or for guitar/voice.

I do no tknow your particular circumstances and requirements, but seems to me that unless the points I grouped under 4 are important for you, you are probably better off buying a portable recorder.

thank you AlienXXX for your extensive reply.
The more i think of it, the more i realize Zoom might be a better solution.
I'd love to be able to record on the go and anywhere as well as indoors. As far as the location for inddors recording goes, i'm a student and live in a dorm so needless to say it's less than ideal for anything but i'm thinking of this as an investment for the future. I won't need to plug in my own instruments but i'd still like to have the option in case there is ever a need for it. Also i got offered a focusrite saffire pro 24 cheaply (used but i know the owner) so that got thrown into the mix as well even though i think it's a bit more than what i'd ever need. For now i'm planning on recording mostly vocals as everything else can be done via VSTs although i wouldn't want to limit myself to just that.
I'm still very much undecided on what i will get as there are so much pros and cons for everything.
Thanks alot for the advice, i'll definately take it into consideration.

I have a Zoom h2n and I'm very content with it.
You can indeed take it anywhere and it only takes 2 AA batteries to function for hours, the signal is recorded to a SD card, you can import the digital signal to computer without losses etc etc.

It's a voicerecorder that's capable of music. This means it can record anything else as well such as planes, voiceovers, whatever sounds. You can also simulate various placements of microphones like stereo XY, or MS RAW (one mic pointing at the source and one sidewards) and edit this afterwards into the amount of stereo that you desire.
It's not totally noiseless, but the noise is really so little that it's OK to me, almost neglegible.

There are three things that might be taken as a disadvantage, it's up to you to decide or how to cope with that:
- A wind cap does not automatically go with the H2n, but is part of a separate accessory set. Highly recommendable when you use it outdoors.

- In order to prevent the hard plastic casing from picking up undesired sounds such as the change of your muscle tension, moving sticky fingers, plastic making crackling sounds while holding it in your hand (this happens!!), it's best to place it on a surface and let loose of it, or on a tripod.
These are all things that come with the high sensitivity of this recorder. It's also very good at picking up the sniffing sound when you breathe through your nose!! When I'm plane spotting I try to remember that I have to breathe gently through the mouth .

- Yes it records stereo if you choose that as a setting, but if the sound source is large, like a choir, it doesn't replace the use of multiple microphones that you can put at locations that are further away from each other (each highlighting their own part of a vast sound source). Let me use an example from my own use: Let's say I place the voicerecorder in front of a choir. A choir is a sound source that's large in size (this is to say pretty wide in the stereo spectrum). In order to prevent sounds from coughing audience etc on the foreground, I want to have nothing in between of the choir and the voicerecorder. So I put it pretty close in front of the choir, maybe 2 meters or so. This also prevents too much undisired reverb that sounds like if the choir is kind of "drowning in it". Looking from the voicerecorder's point of view this means that the stereo spectrum of the choir is pretty wide, but with a great percentual difference between the distance from the people in front compared to the people on the far right and far left. The people who are right in front are kind of "highlighted" in what you hear: the sopranos in front will sound the clearest, and the most close by, while the basses in the back rows or the people on the far right and far left obviously sound further away compared to them. One voicerecorder, despite it's stereo, does not replace the setting of multiple microphones at a certain distance from each other, you'll highlight only part of a sound source from close by if it's something like a choir from close distance. This would also happen with the very best voicerecorders just because of the point of view from only 1 point. This is something to reckon with if you want to record music that has sound sources that have a big size in the stereo spectrum. I still am convinced that for such type of recordings you'd need more than 1 voicerecorder, or a combination of a voicerecorder with any good microphones that are comparable.

Anyway I'm a very content user of it and I think the sound is close to that of a condenser mic even.

thanks a lot for the information. i think the zoom will be the piece i get next when i get the chance.
although i was told it's not as good for vocals actually.
i finally ended this quest . i got the focusrite scarlett studio bundle which includes the scarlett 2i2 audio interface, the scarlett m25 condenser mic with the cable and focusrite (i forgot the exact model) headphones + a bunch of free software. it turned out waaay cheaper than buying all of it separately. in fact, the headphones alone would've cost me almost as much. i'm quite happy with the quality and everything. hopefully i'll find some way to show it off and contribute to the site