Zoom H2 Digital Audio Recorder - Simplicity Sounds Great!
Written: Nov 17 '07 (Updated Jan 23 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Good Sound Quality, Reasonable Price. Dual Stereo Microphones, WAV or MP3 Recording up to 96kHz/24bit
Cons: Severe Handling Noise, Weak Build Quality, Tiny Menu Screen, Noisy External Mic Preamplifiers
The Bottom Line: Powerfully simple, easy to use and delivers excellent audio recordings to a removable SD memory card. For $200 or less, you get a great recorder. Build quality disappoints.
The Zoom H2 may be a "scaled down" version of the Zoom H4, but it delivers more of what most users want or need. By way of introduction, this is an audio device that goes well beyond the term "Digital Voice Recorder." It can record audio at higher quality and a greater frequency range, so it will reproduce music.
Whether you plan to record concerts, your own acoustic guitar or do interviews and capture the sound of the environment, the H2 Zoom Recorder is a lot to like in a small, battery-powered package.
It even includes a metronome and Guitar/Bass tuner.
╔▓░ OVERVIEW ░▓╗
Selling at around $200 at many outlets, the Zoom H2 aims to bring quality digital audio recording to a wider range of users.
The H2 fits nicely in your hands, but you probably won't want to hold it while making recordings. There are two variations of microphone stands or adapters that come with it.
As much as we like the H2 for what it offers at this price point, we don't think it is a professional choice for radio journalists etc. The EXTERNAL microphone preamps are noisy, producing an audible hiss when plugging low-impedance microphones into the MIC IN jack. A $400 portable pre-amp (Shure FP23) going into the LINE IN fixes that right up, but you get the point.
UPDATE: We have tried lots of microphones used externally with the H2. One we have used is the Sennheiser ME66 with the K6 power module attached. The ME66/K6 "short shotgun" really does deliver very good external mic performance to the H2. Keep in mind, that's a $410 microphone...without the really necessary accessories like a windscreen and shockmount that bring the price to $650.
The Sennheiser ME66/K6 microphone yields a very "hot" signal that the H2 likes. Its characteristics bury the hiss found in the H2's external mic preamps. As noted, it isn't cheap. Professional Digital News Gathering crews may already have that microphone and that could change their decision about buying the Zoom H2 recorder.
There's plenty of good news. Most user will treat the Zoom H2 as a "point and shoot" device...taking great advantage of its strengths, like the internal mics.
The recorder's internal microphones are capable of 4-Channel Surround Sound recording. Users can easily select between a 90-degree stereo pattern or a 120-degree stereo pattern or use both simultaneously for 2 or 4-Channel Surround.
It uses removable SD (Smart Digital) cards that can be upgraded all the way to 8GB for hours of high-quality recording. Users should be aware of 2GB "wall" for recordings. That is the maximum single filesize.
The Zoom H2 has upgradeable firmware that can also add new features when they are developed by the manufacturer: Samson Tech. Already, this fulfilled a request by journalists to have "Mono Mix" so a monaural recording can be made with either the internal microphones or an external mic plugged into the low-impedance mini-jack.
It is suitable for recording concerts, conferences, web presentations, podcasts, interviews, band rehearsals and the list just goes on and on.
There are no speakers built into the Zoom H2, you will rely on headphones or ear buds to listen to your recordings.
You can use a USB cable to easily transfer your recordings from the Zoom H2 to any computer equipped with a USB port.
╔▓░ WHAT COMES IN THE PACKAGE ░▓╗
• ZOOM H2 Digital Stereo Recorder
• 120V AC Adapter
• Charcoal Foam Windscreen
• Ear buds
• 512MB SD memory card (2GB in some kits)
• Printed Manual
• Small flat plastic stand with 1/4" threaded screw
• Adapter to hand hold or attach recorder to mic clip on stand
• Audio Cable Stereo Mini-plug to 2 RCA male plugs
• USB cable to connect Zoom H2 to a computer
• Carrying Bag
The Zoom H2 relies on 2 AA batteries (not supplied) for its power unless it's connected to its AC power supply. These can be either Alkaline batteries or rechargeable NiMH batteries but you have to specify which type you are using in the software menu.
The cheap bag that comes with the Zoom H2 is not going to protect its plastic body from serious damage. Look for MP3 player cases, large sunglasses cases or other solutions.
╔▓░ FEATURES ░▓╗
The Zoom H2 will record MP3 or WAV files. For quality or editing when recording music or voice, its undoubtedly better to record with uncompressed WAV format. If you want to convert the finished product to compressed MP3 format, you could do that later in either the H2 or, much faster, with your computer.
The Zoom H2 probably gives its best performance when recording WAV files at 48KHz/16bit.
That also happens to be the standard used by video editing programs like Final Cut Pro.
While it is capable of higher 96KHz/24bit stereo recordings, you probably aren't going to actually hear much difference, but your file sizes will be much larger.
The Zoom H2 has a menu of choices for recording. But one of its best features is the very handy layout of buttons on the face of the recorder that allow you fast access to the most common settings you may want to adjust.
• Menu button to bring up the menu on the LCD display
• 2 Mic Pattern Keys to move through a list of patterns
- Front 90-degrees
- Rear 120-degrees
- 2 Channel Surround (both Front and Rear)
- 4 Channel Surround (both Front and Rear)
There are small red indicator lights to show which microphone pattern is currently selected. In addition, there are small red lights on both the front and back of the Zoom H2 along the top to remind you which microphone is active.
• REC button is pressed once to monitor record levels and adjust them with the REWIND or FAST FORWARD Keys. The Record button is also the selector when you are in the menus. Pressing REC a second time will start the recording. Pressing the PLAY/PAUSE key will abort.
It's pretty easy to just select the kind of recording you want to make, then test the levels which will display on the LCD screen so you ensure you're not over modulating (distorting with too much volume) your recording. The Red Recording light FLASHES when you are adjusting and gives a solid red light when you are recording.
Using the REW/FF keys after pressing REC will allow you to adjust the levels, but the best advice is just to leave it at 100 (or some say 104) and do all of your volume adjustments in the audio editing program on your computer.
On the right side of the Zoom H2, there is a selector switch that adjusts the Microphone Gain for Low, Medium or High. The best advice: Put it on Medium and leave it there.
The exception is if you got tickets that put you in the 4th row at the Twisted Sisters Concert. Then move it to Low.
Along that right side you will also find an EXT MIC input for an external microphone (which will then cut off the internal stereo mics) as well as a high impedance LINE IN input (for CD players, Mixers and other Line Level sources.)
There is also the small USB port for connecting the Zoom H2 to your computer.
On the left side of the recorder, you'll find your earphone jack, playback volume rocker switch, ON-OFF Power switch and DC 9V jack.
WARNING: Many devices use a 9V "wall wart" power source like the H2. But the H2 Reverses the polarity so the center pin is negative. DO NOT use other AC adapters with the H2, that are mostly designed for that center pin to be Positive.
The SD memory card is removable via a small (flimsy) flip open bay at the bottom of the recorder.
THE SOFTWARE MENU CHOICES
The Zoom H2 offers lots of choices that enable users to control their recordings. Many of these apply settings that can be duplicated in post-recording edit sessions. As a general rule, it's better to get a quality recording first and apply minor adjustments that can be easily undone in the edit process.
LO CUT - trims off the lowest frequencies for either the built-in microphones or an external microphone. Useful for reducing wind noise, unwanted pops etc. Also easily done in any audio editor.
REC MODE - Choose the Format/Quality/Size of your recordings
There is also an option to use Variable Bit Rate recording in MP3 format that promises a smaller file. But the actual settings used aren't revealed. Those settings don't appear to be high quality.
Only record using MP3 compression if your card isn't big enough or you must make a recording that will go on for hours and hours.
A 2GB SD card will allow you to record about 3 hours at 48KHz/16 bit.
AGC/COMP - Use if you think you need Automatic Gain Control or Compression. This is always OFF on our recorder, but there are a number of presets.
AGC1 - Standard Gain Control
AGC2 - Speech
COMP1 - Standard Compression
COMP2 - Vocal
COMP3 - Drum
LIMIT1 - Standard Limiter
LIMIT2 - Concert
LIMIT3 - Studio
AUTO-RECORD - Recording is activated when a threshold of audio level is crossed and continues until silence is encountered for a given length of time. All adjustable in the Menus.
PRE-REC The recorder will constantly be saving a few seconds of audio, when the threshold is crossed, those few seconds will be at the start of the recording, so you don't miss the beginning of a song at a concert or the first word of a speaker at a conference.
MONO-MIX - Records a stereo signal as monaural or allows you to plug in a mono mic in the external input and record both channels instead of only the left channel.
PLAY MODE - Choose to play ALL and be able to go through them in the order in which they were recorded or PLAY ONE so the latest file is the only one played. REPEAT ONE and REPEAT all are other options.
FILES AND FOLDERS - The Zoom H2 allows you to store your recordings in various folders. By default, there are 10 folders creatively named FOLDER01, FOLDER02 etc.
Recordings made in 4-Channel mode have their own dedicated 4-Channel mode folder.
Files created in any folder use a naming technique so you can easily see how it was recorded.
STE-003.wav
MONO-015.wav
SR002F.wav
SR002R.wav
Obviously this is handy to make new recordings in their own folder rather than trying to find them in a folder with a month of old recordings. You can also change the left side of filenames for stereo recordings to a sequence of letters of numbers of your choice.
You can DELETE files using the menu system but it's far easier to connect the Zoom H2 to your computer and delete them that way.
There are many other choices in the Menu to set the Date and Time and Format your SD memory card. All of these are useful.
But other capabilities, like dividing files or "normalizing" them (bring them up to a standard audio level,) are much better accomplished on your computer.
The Zoom H2 can convert a file from .WAV to .MP3 but it is very slow. Again, better to copy files to the computer and convert them there.
We haven't tried the metronome or the guitar tuner.
CONNECTING THE ZOOM H2 TO A COMPUTER
This is simple. Just make sure the H2 is powered down. Connect using the supplied USB cable and the Zoom H2 automatically goes into "Connect" mode.
If you just want to tranfer files, Press REC and the Zoom H2 will be automatically recognized.
You can also select the second choice from the menu that automatially pops up when you plug the Zoom H2 into the USB port, Audio Interface.
AUDIO INTERFACE - Allows you to record directly to your computer from the H2's built-in microphones or an external microphone plugged into the H2 in 16-bit, 44.1 or 48Khz
PLUG-IN POWER - You may own a microphone that doesn't seem to work with the Zoom H2 when plugged into its EXT MIC jack. Try turning on Plug-In Power in the menu. It will supply 2.5V to the microphone. That worked for one of our lapel microphones.
Microphones requiring 48V of "Phantom Power" are only going to work if your model supports using a small battery in the microphone itself.
VERSION UP - One of the nicest features of the Zoom H2 is the ability to upgrade your firmware. When new features come out, you can download them off the Zoom website and place those files on the SD card when its connected to your computer.
http://www.zoom.co.jp
The latest upgrade (1.2) now support Mac OS/X Leopard.
╔▓░ CONCLUSION ░▓╗
The Zoom H2 Digital Recorder really does all we expected and more. Certainly, there are better digital recorders costing upwards of $2,000. But at a tenth that cost, the H2 delivers the feature set we need at the quality settings our work requires.
The weakest point of the Zoom H2 is the amount of handling noise. The microphones are not isolated from this at all. The recorder's design makes you want to hold it up and easily record an interview a few inches from someone's lips. But your hands moving on the case will produce very audible noise that will ruin the recording. Yes, you could be very careful, or as some have tried, use the adapter that comes with the Zoom H2 and try to hand hold it using that. It's still not isolated enough and you could still ruin your recording.
Some users report that the "handle" that screws into the base of the Zoom H2 recorder is prone to breaking off. The screw itself is glued into the plastic and this apparent weakness calls for some caution.
Radio journalists wanting to use the Zoom H2 to record interviews are going to be using external microphones to get around that. It's too bad. The internal microphones are excellent.
The news is mixed on the external microphone front because the quality of the preamplifiers in the H2 means low-level dynamic mics like the Electrovoice 635A will struggle to get above the noise floor. In fact, any microphone appears to get some pretty serious noise added.
While the 635A can be plugged directly into the low-level input using an XLR-mini adapter (no transformer needed,) users will be wishing they had a pre-amplifier to use the Line-Input. For most of us, a $200-$1400 preamplifier in the field just isn't an option.
Similarly, the ME66/K6 microphone that does work well with the H2 is three times the price of the recorder itself. But that doesn't make the Zoom H2 less attractive if you already have one!
Audiophiles can fairly argue that to get the highest quality, users need external microphones that are separated further apart, put through a microphone preamp and fed into the LINE IN input. True. The MIC IN is pretty noisy.
But that defeats the obvious advantages of the Zoom H2, its simplicity and size.
Users of external microphones will no doubt improve their recordings by post processing the audio to remove noise. Adobe Audition or Soundtrack Pro (Mac) will do that, as will Audacity. See a link below to download the free Audacity software and a program called Levelator.
The H2's own internal mics deliver a better quality signal if users develop the technique to avoid handling noise.
Here is a digital audio recorder that goes well beyond what's offered by Sony or Olympus dictation devices that can't record uncompressed audio files. Users of the more expensive Edirol R09 report the H2's internal microphones are better.
You can compare the audio of the Zoom H2 with other recorders here:
http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/sound-samples.html
This review doesn't attempt to detail everything the Zoom H2 recorder can do, from panning surround sound recordings to functioning as a tuner or metronome. There's so much built into this small, convenient device that it's hard to even take away a star for its handling noise.
No, it's not perfect. But the Zoom H2 comes very, very close.
FINAL NOTE: FREE SOFTWARE
Want to work with Audio? You can download some free editing software and get the most out of your Zoom H2. These programs are available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Audacity - Audio Editing and Recording, plenty of special effects filters. Combine recordings, control your final output and export to WAVE, MP3 or OGG formats. It's a "Swiss Army Knife" for audio!
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Levelator - Podcaster's delight, even out levels for people closer to the microphone with people further away. Excellent results, drag and drop ease of use. The Levelator is a normalizer, limiter and compressor that analyzes and adjusts your audio files. All you have to do is drag the file to the Levelator's program window and it will create a new one and leave your original intact.
Zoom H2 Portable Handy RecorderIt s a simple idea: provide brilliant Stereo Recording in an easy-to-use ultra-portable device. The H2 is the only port...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.