Zoom Intros Portable Audio Recorder
Jul 13th, 2007 | By James Lewin | Category: Digital Music, Podcasting Hardware 
Zoom has introduced a new portable recorder, the H2 Handy Recorder, designed for capturing interviews, musical performances, seminars and conferences. According to Zoom, the H2 provides studio-quality stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device.
Description:
The H2 is the only portable recorder with 4 mic capsules onboard in an W-X/Y configuration, for recording from the front at 90° and the rear at 120°, or use all four mics for 360° recording in 2 or 4 channel mode. The H2 features one button recording, gain controls on the side and an intuitive user interface.
For maximum flexibility, the H2 can record in up to 96 kHz/24-bit WAV format, or as MP3 up to 320 kbps. Additionally, it can record 360° in 48kHz/24-bit format which can then be converted to Surround 5.1.
The H2 has a street price of $199.99.
The H2 records on Secure Digital (SD) media and a 512MB SD card is included. With a 4GB SD memory card, it provides up to 2 hours recording at 96kHz, 6 hours at 44.1kHz, or 138 hours in MP3. Recordings can be moved to a PC or Mac with its USB 2.0 interface,
The H2 includes time stamping and track marking functions in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF). Earbuds, stereo adapter cable, mic clip adapter, tripod stand, USB cable, AC adapter and a 512MB SD card are included. Two standard alkaline AA batteries provide 4 hours of continuous operation.
A low cost recorder that can record in loss-less WAV. Nice…
I’ve pre-ordered one. It looks like it could be a nice replacement for my iRiver.
Just received my Zoom H2 recorder today.
90 page booklet very straightforward.
Records nicely with internal microphones but
using an Audio Technica external mic I don’t seem to get the volume I need. Question whether this is the fault of the internal microphone preamps or some other reason. This mic works well with several different recorders. Any answers?
David
Here’s three things to check out. First, there’s a Mic gain setting on the side. Make sure you’ve got it set to M or H, not L.
Make sure that the external mic doesn’t require phantom power.
Check and see if Zoom has a list of compatible mics – they may recommend certain mics that deliver enough volume to get a good recording.
Good luck with this and let us know how it works out for you. Looks like it should be a nice portable studio.