[RWP] Zoom H6

[Patrick Perdue]

If the Olympus LS14 had better internal mics than it does, I might 
recommend that. I don't particularly like them, but maybe they would 
work for you. These things are all so subjective.
It runs forever on a pair of AA's, much longer record time than the H4N 
or H1. My biggest complaints about the LS14 are the following:
No 24-bit recording under 88.2 khz. In otherwords, you have five options 
-- 44,100 hz, 16-bit stereo, 48000 hz, 16-bit stereo, 88,200 hz, 24-bit 
stereo, 96000 hz, 24-bit stereo, or 44,100 hz, 16-bit mono. I would 
rather record at 48000 hz, 24-bit stereo, but this particular unit 
doesn't have the option. Also, the headphone output is pretty weak, so 
in my case, I have over-compensated with input gain a few times thinking 
it should be louder than it needed to be. It does have a pretty good mic 
preamp though.

Tascam and Roland's recorders all seem to feature omni-directional 
capsules, yielding very little image. However, the Tascam DR100 has both 
omni and cardioid microphones, as well as XLR. I've not used this 
recorder, and haven't heard anything from it, but it looks interesting.

I guess it depends on which set of issues you're willing to deal with. 
Nothing is perfect.

On 8/12/2013 10:16 PM, Goldfinga Productions wrote:
> So Patrick, what do you suggest I look into? I want something with internal mics. I don't really feel like carrying a whole lot of extra gear with me. I just want to grab my recorder, point, and shoot.
> I had an H2, and didn't really care for its interface.
> The h1 seems a little cheap and plasticky to me.
>
> I would like something kind of small and pocket-sized, but if I have to go with something a little, bigger, it's all good.
> On Aug 12, 2013, at 8:07 PM, Patrick Perdue <patrick at pdaudio.net> wrote:
>
>> I had a Zoom H4N for about six months. Made it go away because I was so disappointed about how noisy the XLR mic inputs on it are. Having come from the original Zoom H4, that part of it really was quite a downgrade. I eventually replaced the H4N with an Olympus LS100, which, granted, costs about as much as the H6. I didn't buy the H4N to use it's internal microphones. Same for the LS100. Most people I know who are happy with their H4N's just use the internal mics, and nothing else. Those mics sound pretty good, but they're a little noisy, more of an issue if you want to capture quiet/detailed stuff. You won't notice or care if you're, say, recording bar gigs.
>>
>> The 3.5mm input on it is OK if you want to use plugin powered mics or whatever, but honestly, that part of the recorder is almost identical to the much cheaper and floppier Zoom H1.
>>
>> I've heard the H6, and I'm not a fan of it's included mics, either. I can't call them internal, because they're technically not. The fact that it has four xlr/phone jacks, and you can use it as a multi-channel or stereo USB audio interface with the ability to mix levels and pan on the unit itself would be kind of nice in certain situations, but I don't think I would personally need something like that enough to justify buying one, at least not at the moment.
>>
>> Also, one really bad thing about the Zoom H4N, which could have been fixed with a firmware upgrade but wasn't, is that the bigger your SD card, and the more stuff you have on it, the longer it takes to boot. Then, on top of that, the longer it takes to actually start recording when you press the record button. Sometimes it could take nearly a minute from cold boot to recording if you had, say, a nearly full 32GB SD card. A great way to potentially miss things.
>>
>> I really wanted to like the H4N, but I just couldn't.
>>
>> On 8/12/2013 6:55 PM, Kevin Brown wrote:
>>> OK,...The "Zoom H4N" is going for $270...At "American Musical Supply",
>>> you can setup a "3" payment plan for $90 per month...
>>>
>>> The "Zoom H6" is going for $399,...You can setup a "3" payment plan at
>>> "American Musical Supply" for $133.33 per month...
>>>
>>> I usually get all of my gear from "American Musical Supply", because
>>> they have an extensive payment plan that won't break the bank...
>>>
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>
>
> GF
>
> Check me out on twitter
> http://www.twitter.com/goldfingas
>
>
>
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