Freesound Forums

Hi all.

I'm about to explore the world of field recording, mainly as a resource for my ambient music but also for sharing via this friendly community. I have been looking into the Edirol R-09 and the Zoom H2 vs. Zoom H4.

Your experince: Which would you choose, are they equal in quality?

I will not be buying any external microphones to start with.

Thank you...

- Hybel

There were discussions here about the H2 before & some people like it & some people can't stand it. The Edirol though? I'm finally, finally ready to buy a digital recorder and would love to read some opinions on this too!

I want something pocketsized or close to it, and an extremely discreet microphone. For months I have been wanting to record my commute to work every day, some of the conversations on the bus are amazing. Also, the elevator at work has begun making a squeaking noise. And the Romanian accordion player has been walking slowly through the neighborhood again. And the lottery ticket woman in the metro has a very loud, mournful voice when she calls out to the crowd bustling past, it is as if she's selling a lucky chance for deep sadness and loss.

Hi Hybel,

I realise you didn't ask about this model, but since I use the Sony PCM-D50 right now, and also have experience with the M-Audio Microtrack, heres my take:

The Sony is a little bit more money than the others, but I think its worth it. The LCD screen is real slick and the meters are responsive. That makes a difference to me. I love how the mics can swivel to vary between close XY and wide pattern. Also it is very reliable - my old M-Audio used to be really buggy. And it comes with 4gb onboard so you may not need to buy extra flash memory. But the best part is the battery life. It uses 4 AAs and has so much battery life you can leave it on and on without having to always be aware of how much time left before it runs out of juice. With recharchable batteries, I am all set. Also the buttons are real nice, and there are plenty of dedicated switches so you don't have to go cycling through menus to adjust things. And the gain wheel is smooth rolling too. My only complaint it that the mics are very sensitive to wind so you'd have to use some sort of windscreen.

I use my H4 as a stereo recorder and record all kinds of circumstances from pipe organs to crumpled cookie wrappers and plumbing pipes.

I have a high opinion regarding the H4 except when recording circumstances involving high input gain requirements while running on batteries. The H4 then generates a voltage pulse when it is writing to the card under high input gain situations while using the battery power. The last time it annoyed me that way was when I was recording faint bird calls against some distant shotgun blasts at a nature preserve. I've used it for a variety of other circumstances with great success and ease. I think highly of the internal mikes and I really like the xlr inputs.

With the exception of the pulses, which some describe a chirps, I would not hesitate to buy it all over again. A search of the net may reveal a number of discussions regarding the pulses - some are probably herein (and maybe above since I didn't read anyone's comments). I have read of some fixes but most feel this problem shouldn't exist and need fixing.

New recorder coming up by Tascam:

http://www.tascam.com/products/dr-1;9,12,3594,16.html

Field recording is going to mean recording quiet to very quiet sounds sooner or later. From what I know of the Edirol it is not very well suited to do that due to it's rather high noise floor.

--Peter

I really appreciate all your replies, thanks a lot!

- Hybel.

i'll vouch for the edirol's shitty noise floor -

so I got the h4 as well - it's definitely a bit quieter

but for discretion and busy places the edirol wins hands down - the zoom is way too eye catching - glowing lights and silver bling!

get both!!!

What do you all have to say about the M-Audio MicroTrack II? I too am looking to buy my first field recorder and it seems that this unit is a contender at $299. I've also been looking at the DR-1... There is a lot to think about. Anything will help.

Mark Nelson at oreillynet.com has written a bunch of great reviews comparing various field recorders, including the PCM-D50 and the H4. He even includes audio of what they sound like both the built-in mics and other mics.

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/2474

Click on the "articles" tab and check them out. They're great reads.

Hope this helps,
Will

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/2474

Click on the "articles" tab and check them out. They're great reads.

Well, definitely! Really good reviews. I just bought the Sony PCM-D50 today, based on this guy's assessment. If you have some money to spend, the Sony is definitely worth its money. I'm completely in love with it! Recordings will be uploaded soon...

Hi every ones,

Most of you dont talk about the size and strength of these models.

I'm looking for a Zoom H2...???
For the size and price. (my first field recorder...)

A strange fact...
At Zoom web site, no spec. for frequency response???

Many thanks.

Hi there - I don't have any user experience with those models but after reading a massive amount of reviews I would say that the Zoom recorders are less sturdy than the Edirol. Some people seem to like the surround option of the Zoom, other people tell that the overall sound quality is not really good. I decided to save a little more money for the Sony thingy. It is made of aluminium and has excellent sound quality. The main thing with choosing a recorder is: how will you use it and what do you need it for? In terms of quality, most recorders are pretty decent - depending on what you want.

I know this is an older post but I just purchased the Sanson Zoom H2 and am absolutely thrilled with this thing. (I've used the Sony MiniDisc before) and my god what a great bang for the buck. I have used it for interviews with the supplied stand, and hand held, with the supplied extender, which cuts down on the handling noise. I was surprised at how you easy it was to get used to the setup screen etc and the darn thing comes with a wind sock to boot.

What I didn't know when I got it was that you can plug in an external mic (in my case a wired audio-technic 35s lav mic for interviews while using a camera. This lav is powered by battery so I didn't need to use the H2's power option for it. The adds say that you can record up to 4 hours on two double aa batteries.....I did two hours at 44.1 16 bit wav no problem...using a 1Gig Scan Disc Card and the batteries are still good.

Haven't tried it as a usb MIC on my laptop yet...didn't know it could do that either :wink:

It does feel light as it's all plastic but quite solid and reliable so far. This along with my Canon HV20 makes interview shoots a breeze.

Haven't bothered with the conversion abilities like normalization or splitting files extra as I usually just dump them into my audio software .

Cheers

Cheers

dobroide told me about this one yesterday:
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1350
it's TINY and supposedly has good mics as well!
heigh hoo has some nice sounds online recorded with it.

- bram

I was just recently purchasing a portable recorder. I got Zoom H4, because its internal stereo mic and overall sound quality is satisfactory for me - you can record at higher sampling rates and edit sound in the DAW and it is even more excellent. Also its more professional line inputs come handy (recording live concerts from the desk, etc.) - but the additional preamps are not so good (but still useable).

Here is one good site to listen to some examples of several portable recorders:

http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/index.html

http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/portable-recorder-sound-samples.html

(I would want a Sony PCM D1 some day).

or what about this company:

http://www.core-sound.com/Mic2496/1.php

Its Mic2496 V2 + M-Audio Microtrack II plus some high-end binaural microphone can give you a really high-end portable recorder for not too exaggerated budget.

(now I regret that H4 doesn't have digital input)

Just to tell, that I have bought the Zoom H2,

I'm really satisfied for the price, (don't forget, it's my first one)
I really like the size of this "engine"...
I bring it everywhere.

In 4 to 6 mounths i will speak more about my satisfaction!

But in first impression, I like many of the possibilities.
I have no problem with tripod mount. It look like tought, solid.
My first capture! Some errors of "beginner"...
Wind, levels, gain... Bad recording position...

About the quality recording,
I used most of the time,
48Khz at 24 bits WAV, with internal mic!
Maybe it's a litte bit "maniac"
perhaps, to do more recording time a 44 at 16 it's OK... I will try soon!
I have purchased, a 4 gigs...

I have captured a live concert for MY personnal used!
Incredible...
It's sure, it's not a real live quality show recording...
But when we compared to ... since a 20 years ago, about a botleg.

I recommended.
Is it the same history in 6 mounts?

Now, i'm going outside