Recording - January 2014 - 48

BY LORENZ RYCHNER

Zoom H6 Handy Recorder
More of everything you need for field recording, in a very elegant package
Zoom portable recorders are legend-
we have brought you reviews of many
evolving models over the years, most
recently the H2n in our December 2011
issue. The H6 we're looking at today pushes the boundaries established by previous
Zoom models, in terms of size, weight,
and functions. This one requires a sizable
pocket, and it's a complex beastie-I'll do
my best to outline its many capabilities in
the space we have, and I encourage you
to download the reference manual from
https://www.zoom-na.com/downloads
and to consult the website for more info.
As it comes
The box contains the snap-shut plastic
carry case, the recorder (3" W, 6" L, 2"
D), two dual-mic assemblies (Mid-Side
and XY coincident) that the user clips onto
the recorder one at a time as needed, an
SD card (in our case a 2 GB microSD
with full-size adapter-there is no internal
memory), a USB cable, a spongy windscreen, the printed manual, 4 AA batteries, and a Cubase LE installation DVD.
We also received for review an optional
shotgun mic with "hairy" windscreen that is
not included in the standard configuration.
We did not receive the optional accessory
pack that contains a wired remote control,
an a/c adapter that works via the USB
cable, and a "hairy" windscreen for the XY
and M-S mics.
Add to that two more items that we didn't
get to play with, and you would have a very
complete system-the optional hot-shoe
mount (turns the H6 into an audio-for-video
location recorder), and a two-input preamp
module that accepts two external mics, taking the place of the Zoom mic assemblies
mentioned above and turning the H6 into a
recorder with six mic preamps.
Do looks deceive?
At first glance you see no mics on this
recorder. Where previous models from
Zoom (and practically every pocket/
portable digital recorder of similar design)
have microphones at the business end, the
H6 has a proprietary connector socket.
48

RECORDING January 2014

That's where the user clips on the included
mic assembly of choice, M-S or XY, or the
optional shotgun, or the optional two-input
module for external mics.
But these choices for two-channel
(stereo) recording are only the beginning
of the fun the H6 offers-on either side of
the recorder you'll find two combo sockets that each accept either an XLR or a
1
/4" plug. Combine those four with the
two you clip onto the end and you have
six mics (or signals from other sources)
coming in-there's your "6" as in H6.
A quick tour
The left narrow side, in addition to the
two TRS/XLR combo inputs, has the card
slot, minijack headphone output, playback
volume control, and the power switch with
Hold function. The right narrow side, in
addition to the other two combo inputs,
has a Menu button and a three-way slider
that scrolls around items on the screen and,
when pushed in, acts as the "Enter" key,
plus there's the USB mini-B connector. The
small end has holes for a carry strap, a
minijack for Line Out, and the socket for
the cord from the (optional) remote control.
The underside of the unit has a battery
compartment for four AA cells, a built-in
speaker for quick audition of recordings,
and a threaded tripod mount.
The front (top) is a complex control center. On top are four identical gain knobs
for inputs 1 thru 4, smoothly acting and
nicely calibrated in white on black, with
protective barriers towards the outer sides
to avoid accidental "adjustments", and a
toggle switch for each input that invokes
a Pad, reducing the nominal input gain
from 55.5 dB to 35.5 dB. Maximum
allowable input level is +22 dBu with Pad
On. Phantom power can be individually
activated for each of the inputs 1 thru 4,
not with a knob but as a menu setting,
selectable as +12/+24+48 V. Note that
you can think of inputs 1-4 as inputs
3-4-5-6, since the clip-on assemblies of
L+R mics (or external inputs with the
optional module) are, in a way, inputs 1
and 2, with their own controls.

Across the center is a row of 6 activation buttons for the inputs, L - R - 1 - 2 - 3
- 4. L and R (pertaining to the clip-on mic
assemblies) act in tandem, the others can
be activated individually, and a stereo
pair can be configured from 3 and 4 by
holding down 3 while also pressing 4.
Below that are the usual transport buttons. The Record button starts recording
when tapped once-it doesn't first go into
Record-Pause mode like many other such
recorders do. You don't need a Record-

https://www.zoom-na.com/downloads

Recording - January 2014

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