Freesound Forums

Hello all =]

I've been looking into purchasing my first microphone, and plan to do so within the next couple days. I'm a theatre student, and obviously hope some day to be a professional. I have some experience in recording, but mostly in editing thus far. I don't have the money to go around buying all sorts of microphones, so I need one that will be a good all purpose recording device [Mostly for spoken word and ambient sounds and sound effects] I've narrowed it down to the Zoom H1 or the Zoom H2 as they are both in my price-range and, from what I've listened to, seem to produce good clean recordings.

Out of your experience which of the two is a better deal?
Is the H2 worth 30 dollars more? or should I spend that extra saved money on other such thing as tripods and the like? [and on that note is there any gear that you would recommend as a must-have for someone just starting out?]
Are there any similar such microphones out there that I should look into?

Thanks,
The Gnome

Hi,

I have used the H2 for lots of recordings, mostly animal-related. No clue about the H1 but if you are only going to record close-up sounds, the H2 will work well. However, if you ever plan to use external mics with it you'll hear lots of hiss from the recorder, and if you plan to record distant sounds you might be a little disappointed.

What kind of ambiances are you going to be recording?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jg6j4p

That is a file i created one recording at 6 inches, another at 6 feet.
the H1 is what it was recorded on, in my room, which is quite small.

No effects were used. this is the raw recording.

I'm sure you can search everywhere to find H2 recordings, as well as reviews..

One thing that i will point out, Other H1 users state that the H1 uses battery life even when not in use.

I personall love the h1, its small easy to use and sounds great for sound FX recording.

IF you do get the H1, i DO suggest the accessory kit, the tripod becomes very handy (if not spend another 20 on a tripod alone) and the windscreen works wonders.

Do some searching, and make your decision.

I hate saying this but... my advice is get the So*y PCM M10 and don't buy any external mics/preamps, just use it out-of-the-box

D

I use the Zoom H1 already half years. I am very pleased. Drawback is indeed the battery usage in off state. The quality is great. A field recording in windy conditions require a full windshield cover. The buttons indicate turbulence. Therefore you hear the wind in the recorder and not directly on the microphone. Listen to the examples for good results (ouddoor with windscreen):

indoor:
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=110026
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=109978

outdoor:
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=107835
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=107579

Some samples from Wingfield Audio, no H1 though.

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

Thanks for everyone's advice. I ended up going with the H2. It just seemed to be the better deal especially considering I'd have spent just as much on the H1 + accessories as I did on the H2. I'd have loved to have been able to go with a more expensive [and presumably better quality] device, such as the recommended Sony, but unfortunately it just wasn't in my budget. [and there are a couple other gadgets I'd probably rather have spent the extra 100 even if I did have it]

So far I'm loving the H2. I've already done a few recordings with it. The poet/playwright I work with recorded a few very nice speech tracks, and I've gotten some very clean sounding results recording sounds around my apartment.

Once again thank you,

The Gnome.

Glad you picked one up. I think for its price and features, it is very hard to go wrong with the H2. There are other recorders with better quality, but the comparison is relatively small compared to other factors.

The Sony is better built, and the price reflects that, but I hav abused my Zoom recorders for a number of years now and they continue to perform. And I could easily buy another one right now and not be broke.

I have my eye on a Sound Professionals recorder (and also already have a number of Edirols, Tascam and other gear), but when I am mobile, the H2 is always with me.

I just ordered myself a Sony PCM-M10... but I don't anticipate that I've borrowed my dad's H2 for the last time; It's a nifty little mic array apart from anything else...

I've found it a bit noisy when recording very quiet ambiances and never really tried using external mics with it (from what I've heard it's not overly brilliant at that). The little door for the SD card is a bit broken now. Really nice device though in other ways and as I say, it won't be totally redundant even when I have the Sony.

I haven't read much about the Edirol R-05. In fact, I don't think I even realised it existed until after I ordered the M10 and must admit slight nagging doubt that I might not really justify the extra money spent although I have no doubt I'll be happy with the Sony. It seems like anyone researching this topic and with a limited budget would be well advised to investigate that new Edirol further. Comparing the spec sheet with the R-09HR, the main differences I can see are input impedances and nominal line input level. It might be useful to future googlers etc if someone would weigh in with a few more opinions of this device.