ProAudio Review - April 2008 - (Page 38)

BROADCAST | ZOOM Continued From Page 36 REVIEW of use. I feel that it is one of the best values on the market. If you're looking for a low-cost portable stereo/surround flash recorder, the Zoom H2 is definitely a winner. Bruce Bartlett is the author of "Practical Recording Techniques Fourth Edition" and "Recording Music On Location" published by Focal Press. Left and right signals are audibly reversed from the audience's perspective unless you mount the unit upside down. I recorded a loud rock band with the mic gain set to low. Stereo separation was wide. There was no audible distortion on playback. The H2 preamp clips at about 120 dB SPL but is clean at 116 dB SPL. Even though the mics are cardioid, handling noise was not excessive. Neither was wind noise with the included windscreen in place. The H2's stereo stage is much wider than that of the Edirol R-09 recorder, which uses two omni mics about 2.5 inches apart. To test the line input and A/D converter in the H2, I recorded an acoustic guitar with a top-quality mic into a good mic preamp, which fed both the H2 line input and a PreSonus Firepod audio interface line input. In an A-B test, the two recordings sounded remarkably similar. The Firepod might have been slightly more open or transparent in the high frequencies, but the difference was subtle. I wanted to transfer my recorded files to a computer for editing. I plugged in the USB cable with the H2's power off, pressed the REC key, and dragged and dropped the files to my computer. Simple. The transfer rate was about 0.83 MB/sec. The operation manual is very clear and explains everything a user would need to know about the H2's operation. It also includes an index and sections on troubleshooting and error messages. | SUMMARY I was very impressed with the H2's sound quality, features, and ease FDW-Worldwide, the exclusive distributor of Violet Design and Nevaton microphones in the Americas and the exclusive international distributor of Cable Up pro-line cables and accessories is seeking to establish new strategic partnerships with manufacturers exploring the outsourcing of their sales and marketing operations. We operate out of a 75,000 square foot facility in Wisconsin and provide a wide range of services including sales, marketing, customer service, credit, service, warehousing, and shipping. We have sales representatives positioned throughout the USA and Canada and can react immediately to expand your current distribution. Contact Garry Templin, Brand Manager, at 615-308-7808 or visit www.fdw-w.com for more information. | WHAT IF IT IS TOO LOUD? I haven’t seen this mentioned in many reviews, so I’m guessing that I must be attending the loudest concerts in town. My problem is that I’m finding many performances which are too loud for your average portable recorder to handle. A few online forum users confirm my observation. Rap and metal fans also know what I'm talking about. Earplugs can protect my hearing, but sometimes I wish my recorders had their own earplugs. Sony’s two popular portables (PCM-D1 and PCM-D50) smartly feature a true -20dB pad and they both handle loud volumes well. Zoom and other manufacturers should follow Sony’s lead. It’s easy to confuse pad dB with preamp gain when looking at specs. Too many portable recorder and USB microphone manufactures wrongly believe that -10db is a sufficient pad strength. Analog mic gain on the Zoom H2 is determined by a 3-position input switch. Buttons (+, -) conveniently placed on the face of the unit digitally fine-tune the recording level from there. Moderately-loud band practices with the H2 and it’s built-in mics were not a problem. Rock club environments, with the H2 placed back at the soundboard area, also recorded without clipping. Even the punishingly loud snare hits of a legendary 1980's drummer, on a reunion tour, failed to spike maximum level. I’ll call him “Stu” and he came very close to clipping the input. Being stuck in the back of the room sometimes yeilds a too-ambient recording. I prefer to be up where the action is in order to capture better stereo. This usually involves bringing along external, unpowered mics. The Zoom H2 recorder has an 1/8" stereo jack for external microphones, so as a work-around I have occasionally used Nady RSM4 ribbon mics to capture the loudest concerts. The naturally reduced output of the ribbons is easier on the analog front end of the recorder. Unexpectedly, their unique ribbon coloration even suited some of the more abrasive concerts. Low-energy dynamic mics will work almost as well. Do remember to turn off the H2’s trickle-power when using ribbons. Phantom power is bad for ribbon mics. A dual-XLR to stereo mini-jack adapter is also required. — Davis White 38 | ProAudio Review | April 2008 http://www.fdw-w.com http://www.fdw-w.com http://www.fdw-w.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - April 2008

ProAudio Review - April 2008 Contents A Little More Recognition Please Studio News and New Products API 1608 16-Channel Analog Console TASCAM X-48 Digital Audio Workstation SSL Matrix Super Analogue Console Toft Audio Design Series ATB Analog Console KRK Systems Exposé E8B Powered Monitor Broadcast News and New Products ZOOM H2 Portable Digital Recorder Producing Surround Sound at 50th Grammy Awards JBL LSR4312SP Linear Spatial Reference Powered Subwoofer Audio Production For Gaming Euphonix S5 Fusion Digital Post Production Console NAB Hot Gear Soundcraft Vi6 Digital Live Production Console Go To A Show! Contracting News and New Products Studio Consoles Studio Wireless Microphones Alicia Keys “Superwoman”

ProAudio Review - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.