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Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder
Posted by admin in worship instruments on 03 17th, 2010 | 7 responses
- Built-in X/Y stereo mics record at either 90° or 120°
- Four channel simultaneous recording using built-in and external mics
- Digitally controlled, high-quality mic preamp for improved audio quality
- Large 1.9-Inch LCD screen and improved user interface for easy operation
- 24bit/96kHz Linear PCM recording for pristine recording
Product Description
Zoom H4n is the most sophisticated portable handheld recorder with new features and improved user experience at every level. Among its many new features, Zoom’s H4n offers superior, built-in X/Y stereo condenser mics that allow variable recording patterns at either 90° or 120°. Higher quality audio capture through its new, digitally controlled, high-quality mic preamp, the ability to use internal and external mics simultaneously for 4 channel recording, a large … More >>
Price: Too low to display
Rating: 4.5 (54 reviews)
Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder
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Just like the customer above me, I have a fairly early model (serial 2211). I don’t imagine them having any revisions or anything, because this unit is really solid. Let me start by saying that this device should not be considered a Mic in its own right. Sure, it has two condenser microphones stuck on top to record in stereo, but I wouldn’t use these mics in any studio unless I had nothing better. This unit is for those people who want to record in the field, and be able to capture 4 tracks of audio in a handheld device.
First, the build quality. Obviously Zoom took a lot of criticism to heart from their first H2 and H4 models. The H4n sports a “rubberized” hardshell design that’s easy to grip, and seems to stand up well to surface scratches. (Mind you, the rubber texture can attract greasy fingerprints which can get annoying if you’re a gadget freak like me). The top of the unit where the mics are is metal. There is some plastic on the unit, but definitely better designed than the previous two recorders from zoom. The buttons are easy to press, and the screen is large, allowing you to see everything you need to very easily.
The poster above me wondered why there was no metal cage protecting the microphones (like the previous H4 had). The answer to this is the switchable pattern on the microphones. Each mic can be twisted and swiveled to change the directionality that the mic pics up. In its native position the mics pic up at a 90 degree angle, giving a pretty good stereo image. But when you twist them, the mics are then a 120 degree angle. This is good for picking up sources that are farther away, or even ambient sounds for a wider stereo image. If there was a metal cage over the mics, you couldn’t reach your fingers in to twist them. Overall, I would rather have a switchable pickup pattern, than a protective cage. Just don’t drop a $350 recorder.
Second, the packaging. Inside the box, the unit came with a hardshell plastic carrying case, usb cable, foam windscreen, ac adapter, mic stand adapter, manuals and cubase le software, and a 1gb memory card. This is leaps and bounds above the competition. Most other recorders won’t come with any of this. Other companies will even make you buy your own ac adapter and memory card. And Zoom went even further and added a plastic carrying case (for those of you worried about dropping it). They were definitely thinking about the customers on this one.
Third, and most importantly, the sound quality. This is why you buy the unit right? The sound quality has to be good or nothing else matters. Overall I was surprisingly impressed with the sound quality. I am an audio engineering student, going to school for sound reproduction, and sound reinforcement. Needless to say, I know my way around a microphone. I was expecting this unit to sound average, just like a pocket (or handheld) recorder usually sounds. But in fact, the H4n sounds pretty decent. The high end is nice and defined, the microphones built into the unit sound really clear. The one thing I can say about the sound is that it is accurate. I have recorded a few tests using my voice, a guitar, and some other misc. elements. I did notice that the microphones gave off a little bit of condenser hiss when the input gain was turned up. This could probably be solved or lessened if you were to get closer to the object and turn down the recording level. But still, it worries me to have a little bit of noise floor coming from the mics, especially if I were to use the recordings for post production video work.
The other thing I noticed was a lack of bass response. This could have been because I was a foot or two away from the microphones, but the bass on the microphones was a little lacking. My voice sounded a little thin. My guitar sounded fine, but guitars don’t really have a lot of low end in the first place. Also watch out for handling noise. If you think that you’re going to carry the unit around and do interviews while holding it, forget it. All handheld recorders suffer from this (I’ve read), but its true for this unit as well. Anytime you hold the H4n and move it around, you can hear low end rumbling and handling noise. Just use a tripod, or the included hand/mic clip adapter and you should be fine. (Also get a better windscreen if you’re going to use it outside, the one included doesn’t do anything outdoors for wind noise. You should buy a fuzzy or “hairy” windscreen if you want to use it outside)
Overall I think this recorder is the best on the market right now. Although there are a few units that have better sounding built in microphones (sony), it’s only marginally better. Plus the H4 is cheaper (by about $150) and has more build in features/functionality. Like the fact that the H4n can record with two built in mics, and two XLR mics simultaneously (4 tracks at once). This means that you can record with the built in mics, but also use your own microphones if you want to add variety, redundancy, etc. You can also just use the unit for a preamp if you only want to use your own microphones to record in the field. I won’t name off all of the features, but some included features weren’t even necessary and Zoom was nice enough to add them in anyway (guitar tuner, audio interface, stamina mode, MTR mode, 96k recording, etc).
Needless to say, if you need a recorder for any reason, even if it’s just for a school project, or for recreation, don’t buy the cheapest recorder you can find. Spend a little extra money and get the H4n, it’s seriously worth the extra cash for something that will last you much longer. It’s simply the best value for a handheld recorder on the market right now.
Rating: 5 / 5
In looking for a portable handheld recorder for scratch tracks and samples, I weighed the benefits of a few of the handhelds available today and settled on the H4n. The other recorders on my short list were the Edirol R-09 and Sony PCM-D50, and also the H4. So far the H4n hasn’t disappointed.
I settled on the Zoom H4n for a couple of reasons:
1) 1/4″ and XLR inputs with phantom power – Very handy for throwing a mic on a kick and snare, and the H4n will record those plus the internal condensor simultaneously, which is perfect to get the rest of the drum kit for some quick loop scratch tracks.
2) More geeked out features than the others – They are not needed but still fun to have. The H4n is like the Leatherman of handheld pocket recorders with plenty of built in effects (which sound really good btw), built in 4 track recorder mode, tuners and metronome, playback speed control, MP3 encoder, acts as USB audio interface (both input and output), built in monitor speaker, and more. I also like the little things I’m still discovering, like when I put Ni-MH batteries in and then plugin in the adapter it recharges the batteries.
3) Build – I like the build quality compared to the H4 – Not as nice as the Sony but the thing does feel solid and substantial in your hand. The built in mics are a little exposed without a wire cage on the top like others have, it would probably not be a good thing to drop this unit and have the mics hit first.
4) Cost – This recorder was midrange even with it being brand new. It’s less than the Sony and more than the H4 or R-09. I suspect the price will come down a bit when it’s been out for a couple months down to where the R-09 is now. For what it has built in it’s amazing to be it’s as inexpensive as it is.
5) Sound quality – The H4n sounds clean. I believe turning on the built in compressor, or boosting a really weak input signal with a lot of input gain could cause hiss, but for the most part I don’t notice any. Usually the noise floor is so low on what I’ve recorded that it is not audible. Some different mics and setups might have different results, time will tell.
6) Menu and button layout – I really like the way they set this unit up. Very easy to navigate and record with, and does what I want quickly with only a few caveats mentioned below.
7) SD card format – SD cards are cheap and readily available. I don’t care so much for the memory sticks the Sony uses.
Now the downsides, maybe all these handheld recorders suffer from similar issues but I’m going to give my first impressions never having used one before and the H4n is the best I have to compare with:
1) Menu system – While easy to navigate, still feels like it could use refining through a firmware update. It feels like it wasn’t finished when the product shipped. The fonts look a little like a 5 year old put them together, Zoom could have done better with the screen they put in the H4n. A lot of products like this are rushed to market to meet revenue goals, so hopefully they will get time to take another look at the firmware and make UI improvements. Also the firmware is trying to be a little too fancy with the menus. There is a little expanding box effect that happens when you open a menu, but it ends up just looking like screen artifacts when changing the menus. It would have been better to immediately jump to the menu, it would be faster and would look better.
2) File naming (another UI complaint) – I really wish the firmware gave you the ability to delete a character in a file name. The filename can be edited, but characters can only be added or changed, not deleted. If you use divide alot, the name gets larger and larger but cannot be made smaller. This is a bit annoying when combined with the divide implementation….
3) No divide while recording – there is no divide while recording that I could find. It seems like it would have been very easy to make one of the unused buttons act like a divide when recording. Instead you can set a “mark” (non editabled btw, after one is set it is permament in that wav file). The marks let you easily jump to that point and divide it later, but when it divides the file you end up with an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ tacked on to the filename. Now, imagine recording an entire gig or practice with only marks to use to delimit the songs, and then you have to divide them later with the naming scheme and lack of delete character function I mentioned above. What you end up getting is files named something like ‘STE-001A.wav’, STE-001B.wav’, ‘STE-001BBBBA.wav’, and eventualy ‘STE-001BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBA.wav’ etc and there’s not a lot you can do on the device to fix it since the best you can do is replace the extra characters with spaces so that you end up with a file named something like ‘song blah .wav’ (you can plug it in as a USB interface later and fix all the filenames in the folders, but not a lot you can do on site except stop and restart recordings versus using “marks”).
4) Documentation – I’m not sure what Zoom was thinking here. The documentation looks like it was passed through a translation program without any proof reading before shipping. It is filled with sentences such as “On stereo mode can be made 19 different setting using. WAV & MP3. If you want to change, operate before recording”. I get the general intent most of the time but it hurts. Luckily the unit is easy enough to use that you don’t have to rely on the documentation too much.
As I see it, the complaints I have are mainly around details of the UI implementation and documentation and relatively minor. All around the unit is great and a lot of fun to use. The sound quality is top notch, and the capabilities of the device are astounding. I would have given it 5 stars if the few UI details had been better thought out and someone had read the documenation. For a great all around handheld recorder with excellent sound quality, lots of features, and a reasonable price, the Zoom unit is going to be very hard to beat.
Rating: 4 / 5
Among the many other recorders on the market today, I looked seriously at the H2 and the original H4. I ended up not buying anything for awhile because every single one of these devices seemed to be missing something or have a negative aspect that I just wasn’t enthusiastic about paying for. Then I heard some rumbling that Zoom was coming out with the H4n, which was supposed to be their response to all the feedback they’d gotten about the H2 & H4. So after all the good things I’d read about those two, the H4n had me at hello. I grabbed one as soon as it became available, which was about a month after they announced it. (Serial # 1438!)
I won’t review every little detail of the H4n but I’ll tell you the three major improvements that made me buy this:
- The screen is now a healthy size and displays everything you need to know clearly.
- The interface overall is a pleasure to use. You can operate it easily with one hand. It’s very intuitive and all the controls feel solid. I usually go through the manual once anytime I get a new piece, but for basic recording you really wouldn’t have to. Even the 4-track mode is a breeze.
- Zoom has really stepped up the build quality on this piece. Unlike its all-plastic predecessors, the H4n’s case is rubberized and the mics are solidly mounted on… what’s this, metal? It has a nice solid weight and feels pro. One thing I didn’t understand though: the original H4 had these protective pieces surrounding the mics and the H4n does not. But it’s slightly top-heavy and if dropped I can easily imagine the mics hitting the floor first and I’m pretty sure they would be tweaked/broken. Or what if you had this in your back pocket and sat on the mics? It’s like, for all the work they put into making this more durable, they left the most important part vulnerable. Which kind of makes me wonder whether the extra heft of this unit is just for feel, not for real. (Time will tell..)
I will primarily be using this to record DJ sets and sounds from the field. I did that this past weekend and the quality is just as good as the other reviews say it is. I’m looking forward to being able to record a stereo mix from the mixer, simultaneous with a room mix with crowd noise, in 4 channel mode. Also this is the first condenser I’ve owned and I look forward to using it in the studio. I leave some cables hanging off the back of the cable box so if I hear something on TV I can just plug in and hit record. I thought I wouldn’t use the 4-track but already it has me exploring ideas in the car. The built-in speaker is really handy. The FX are very high quality and there are some interesting ones beyond the typical reverb and delay.
The H4n is like the Swiss Army Knife of field recorders. The big one, with all the weird blades and tools you’ll probably never need. It’s one of those rare moments of technical glory when a company collects a ton of great ideas from their customers, refuses to compromise, and you end up with a truly inspired product.
Rating: 5 / 5
I purchased the H4n after being unhappy with the H2′s performance most significant where I couldn’t record a good sounding signal that wasn’t distorted with the Line In jack. Only to find that the H4n has the same problem but not as bad. If I try to record a line level signal from a sound board or stereo receiver and connect to the H4n’s 1/4 inch jacks, it is almost impossible to not to have a distorted signal. It appears that on both models the line in preamp is too sensitive and clips very easily and because it is clipping in the preamp, adjusting the gain doesn’t correct it. I contacted Zoom’s tech support about the H2 and was told that I likely had a defective unit. I returned the H2 and decided to give Zoom another chance and try the H4n after seeing many positive reviews.
I really like the H4n’s design, the menus and controls are nicely organized. It feels more sturdy than the H2. The recording quality using the built in mics is excellent. Most other recorders in this price range don’t have XLR inputs. Since I plan to use it mostly for recording concerts by connecting to a line out or tape out on a sound board, if the line in jacks don’t work properly and can’t accept a normal line level signal without clipping, I can’t use this for what I bought it for. I have used my Sony minidisc recorder for the same type of application for the past 8 years and have never had any problems. I’ve worked with pro sound equipment for over 25 years and have used many types of recorders and so far the Zoom products are the only ones where I have encountered this problem. If you are using this to record with mics, it works great, but if you need to record from line level sources, the Zoom recorders may not be a good choice. I exchanged this for the Tascam DR-07 and while the Tascam doesn’t have as many bells and whistles, It is a nice recorder and I’m very happy with it.
Rating: 2 / 5
I generally don’t like to rate anything five stars because I feel like there’s always some room for improvement and a product is never really perfect. While I wouldn’t call the Zoom H4n perfect, I think it set out to be something and achieved it fantastically. It exceeded my expectations, especially for the price, and I use it any chance I can get.
I’ll start with something trivial…but not really. It records to SD/SDHC media. If you have something like the M-Audio MicroTrack II, you’re stuck with Compact Flash. For an audio recorder there’s really no need for larger and/or faster cards. SD/SDHC is larger and fast enough and it’s tiny. Most laptops and desktops these days have SD/SDHC slots in them and I love any chance I get to leave the USB cable at home.
But on to more important things…
One of the wonderful upgrades in the H4n is that there is a mic level switch on the right side of the device. Previously this was achieved through a menu. But the new preamps in the H4n are really what make it a better device than its predecessors. The recording quality you get from the built-in mics alone is impressive, but when you hook up a nice microphone to the H4n it sounds just too good for a portable recorder. You can plug in XLR or 1/4″ inputs as well. There is a lot I could talk about in regards to the versatility of this device but I’ll only mention one other thing in the interest of keeping this relatively short. One feature I find really compelling, being that I travel a lot and it saves some room in my suitcase, is that you can use the H4n as an audio interface with your computer rather than just a stand-alone portable recorder. Most of the music I make utilizes sampled or synthesized instruments, and so I’m generally only recording vocals (with the exception of acoustic guitars). This makes it very easy to grab vocals just about anywhere with Cubase and my laptop. Zoom includes a free copy of Cubase LE but it works just fine with regular versions of Cubase.
Battery life is decent. It’s certainly as good or better than anything else, but it’s still less than I’d hope for. I does use AAs so you can just replace the batteries as needed, or use rechargeable batteries. I use those rechargeable batteries with the USB port as much as I can and those work quite well. Standard AAs tend to last for about a ten hour work day of use (that’s been my experience, anyway). The battery life is definitely sufficient, but it’s not impressive.
The zoom comes with a number of recording settings, allowing you to select various levels of quality in your WAV and MP3 files. If you’re willing to bring your sampling rate to 44.1 Khz and your bit rate to 16, you’ll be able to turn on a power efficiency mode that’ll increase the battery life significantly. So, if you need to get that extra power out of your batteries, the H4n offers an option. While it won’t always work for everyone, I think it’s a nice addition.
A downside of the device, for some, may be the size. I definitely like the pocket-size of the M-Audio MicroTrack/MicroTrack II, but zoom definitely achieves a much higher level of quality (the important thing) and so I think the increased size is worth it. It’s ultimately necessary for the XLR inputs anyhow. Still, this is not something you’re going to put in your pocket. A cargo pocket, maybe, but not a regular pocket. I don’t really care, but it is a fairly large device for a portable so that may be worth noting for some.
The H4n comes with a bunch of accessories. You get a screw in stick for holding or, I assume, placing in a microphone stand (it looks like the base of a microphone). You get a case, a 1GB SD card (which is often sufficient), a power adapter, a wind screen for the stereo mics, a USB cable and probably some other things I’m forgetting. My point is that they give you pretty much everything you need to get started out of the box, except for the batteries. I always like it when a company includes the batteries, because it says to me that they want their product to be usable as purchased, but it’s obviously not that big of a deal. The accessories you get with the H4n pretty much say that already. In my experience, it’s uncommon to even get an SD card.
There are a lot of things to talk about here and going into them all would take a long time. The H4n offers a lot of great options. It has a somewhat clunky but very usable interface. It’s very simple to operate with virtually no learning curve. It would be great to go into detail about the interface and other features and so on, but it’s all pretty good. They did an excellent job with the most important parts of this device and that’s really what matters the most.
Overall…
+ Phenomenal recording quality for a portable recorder
+ Excellent built-in stereo microphones
+ Record level adjustment buttons on the hardware, rather than just on the software
+ Two combined XLR and 1/4″ inputs
+ Battery save mode by recording 44.1 Khz 16 bit WAV
+ Replaceable batteries
+ Doubles as a USB audio interface
+ Comes with many accessories (most of which are actually useful)
= Reasonably fast operation
= Good but not exceptional battery life
= On the larger side
Rating: 5 / 5
Still could not find the synchro beetween two hn4 units, which is a great problem if you have to record using 4 canon mics.
The buzz is there ( -50 db ) if you connect to the lines your device and try to record in 4ch mode. The only way to overcome this problem is to use fresh batteries every time you have to record in such a way, that won’t last more than 50 minutes ( rechargeable ) or one hour ( alkalines )
Even new r16 digital recordre does not accept more than 2 canon mics at a time, with phantom 48 modality, even if it shows 8 inputs. And it will only record in 48.000 16 bit sampling mode maximum.
( Getting things a little worst…??? )
Same problem then. But the synchro problem has been solved connecting a usb cable to two units.
Then i found a new one….
There is a possibility to wait for this product, made by Zoom Samson and called r24 that they will sell as soon as they have sold their r16 stock, which apparently has up to 6 canon +48 inputs that one can activate singularly.
The program u find on the net to mix the 4 channels for a good spatialization result, unfortunalety worls only with 44000 16 bit samples, which is too bad for professional results.
Comparing the xy rec to the canon one, you will notice that the small turnable microphones 90° 120° lack in capturing lower frequencies, and sound quite middle /high in normal recording conditions.
The only way to solve this problem is to use a 2 inches membrane that will add the low tones that cannot be captured by tiny membranes.
I need an r24 as soon as possible, or an upgrade to synchronize my two hn4 recorders so that i can use 4 professional mics at least at a time together with 4 electret condensers that I will plug in the rear input of the device, which unfortunately is a tiny one.
I have sonograms that could show you the cut of the xy mics, that does not match with the example given.
I hate the fact that You will never find either in the manuals or the web site the range of these two tiny mics, which is the kind of information that should legally be written down on the specs and technical data page. Normally, mics with no specs of this kind cannot be sold. ( how come….? )
I use these devices currently, and love them, though i am criticizing aspects that zoom could get better.
Virtual tracks look quite a good idea to some makes, and i hope zoom will add an upgrade to their devices, even h4ns, to bring up to 16 the tracks you can record.
It is just a software problem, and the first one that will de-freeze this function, will have the gratest part of the cake.
But i still need 8 xlrs 48+ recording at the same time, which makes 4 x h4n recorders working at the same time, ( with no synchro ) or an r16 connected via usb to an r24 which is device that i will test as soon as anyone will sell it on a web site.
take care, have a nice day,
jedi
following …
Do you remember the usb mics they made a couple of years ago? No devices of that thay have produced lately show a 5v usb input to use them. I needed them to record on my portable pc, but would like to use them on their products aswell.
I did not love the fact that you could not listen in you earphones to what you where singing whilst you where recording, and unfortunately this is something that I discovered after I bought them. c01u and c03u so cannot be used on samson recorders and have been abandoned. They shoud either add a couple of inputs that would solve the canon limitation problem ( x2 phantom + x2usb ). and will allow via software the connection between 256 devices in chain.
take care
jedi