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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
 Posted - 08/28/2006 : 08:58:08 AM
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Zoom has announced a new flash-based recorder, due to hit the streets sometime in the Sep/Oct timeframe:
http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901
While not perfect, this unit has the potential to do everything right that M-Audio's MicroTrack did wrong and become the handheld recorder to beat (especially for musicians). Check out the specs at the above link.
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Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 08/29/2006 1:30:06 PM |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2006 : 09:47:56 AM
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Craig,
How does this compare to the Edirol R09 which Mark is reviewing? Except for the $100 difference, of course, which is considerable. I googled and could find no reviews yet. Seems too new to know. Several on-line stores don't have any and are taking "preorders".
Seems like a bigger bundle, but I didn't see anything about record level setting and stuff like that, not to mention quality issues.
Probably just have to wait a while to see how this shakes out. Right?
...Reid |
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kihoalukid
Lokahi
USA
289 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2006 : 11:12:00 AM
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| Looks like a Klingon stun gun... |
Lee |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2006 : 07:45:11 AM
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First of all, the H4 isn't shipping yet, even to reviewers...when I spoke with Zoom's marketing manager last week he was expecting internal units any day. Look for it in stores late September/early October.
Because nobody has these yet, you're obviously not going to get an answer to the quality issue. However, with respect to the Edirol I can say the the H4 is not only less expensive but also offers combination XLR-1/4-inch inputs (vs. 1/8" for the Edirol) with 48V phantom power, built-in X/Y stereo condensor mics (for a more realistic stereo image than the Edirol), 24-bit/96kHz recording (vs. 24/48 for the Edirol), and 4-track recording (2 tracks at a time). On the more gimmicky side, the H4 also offers built-in compression, limiting, mic modeling, and guitar/bass amp modeling. No stunning though.
Both units offer MP3 recording up to 320kbps, use SD cards for storage, run up to 4 hours on 2 AA batteries, and offer a USB 2.0 mass storage interface for transferring files to your computer. (The H4 can also act as a USB audio interface for recording directly to your computer.)
Sizewise, there are no specs on the H4 yet in order to compare it with the R09 although the photos certainly make it look slightly larger.
I'll post details when I receive my review unit, which should be in a few weeks. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 08/29/2006 1:33:40 PM |
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cmdrpiffle
`Olu`olu
USA
553 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2006 : 11:18:31 AM
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Aloha Craig......long time no talk!
Maybe I missed it on the site...but what is the price range on this thing gonna be?
I'd agree, it looks like someone may have finally done it right.
I'll wait for your review.
Cheers,
Mike |
my Poodle is smarter than your honor student |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2006 : 1:26:07 PM
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| Hey Piff, good to hear from you! The MSRP is $299 (check the title of this post then slap yourself), $100 less than the MSRP for the Edirol. Also, the size (of the prototype anyway) is 1.3" x 2.8" x 6.1" compared to the Edirol's 1.2" x 2.5" x 4.1", which makes the H4 ever-so-slightly wider and 1.5 times longer. (FWIW, M-Audio's Microtrack is virtually identical in size to the Edirol.) |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 08/29/2006 1:29:11 PM |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1003 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 08:13:21 AM
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| Aloha e Patch. I'd be inerested in getting one of these, so I'll be anxiously awaiting your review. Hope you can swing by Kaisen's some Tuesday. Everyone would like to see you. |
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cmdrpiffle
`Olu`olu
USA
553 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 09:35:59 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by cpatch
Hey Piff, good to hear from you! The MSRP is $299 (check the title of this post then slap yourself), $100 less than the MSRP for the Edirol. Also, the size (of the prototype anyway) is 1.3" x 2.8" x 6.1" compared to the Edirol's 1.2" x 2.5" x 4.1", which makes the H4 ever-so-slightly wider and 1.5 times longer. (FWIW, M-Audio's Microtrack is virtually identical in size to the Edirol.)
DOH !! Ummm yeah, I was just testing y'all |
my Poodle is smarter than your honor student |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2006 : 11:45:54 AM
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| The H4 just started shipping and I have a review unit on its way. I had a chance to play with a pre-production model last weekend and I have to say that as long as the pre-amps are as good as several company reps claim they are, this is going to the portable recording device to get. More once the review unit arrives. In the meantime, for anyone interested, the user manual is now available online at the link posted previously. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2006 : 1:06:03 PM
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Hi -
I've had my reveiw unit for about a week. It does look promising -- but I'm not going to say too much until Craig's had a chance to post his thoughts.
One thing: I ran into some serious problems with recording MP3 files. It is (now) a known bug, and Zoom is working on it. Here's a reply I got from a rep at Samson, Zoom's parent company.
quote:
We have spoken with Zoom engineers, and there is apparently a bug in the mp3
encoding software currently used for the DSP unit in the H4. The following
bitrates appear to be affected: 256, 64, 56 and 48. The following bitrates
are error free to the best our knowledge: VBR, 320, 224, 192, 160, 144, 128,
112, 96 and 80.
They are planning a firmware revision by November 1. If recording to MP3 is a priority, you might want to wait a bit.
cheers,
Mark |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2006 : 10:58:08 AM
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| Unfortunately I missed the first round of shipments and still haven't received mine...they're promising this week so if Mark wants to go ahead and post his initial thoughts that's fine with me. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2006 : 1:23:49 PM
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Craig,
Mark is vacationing on Maui, amd is probably waiting for the firmware revision (some Etailers are saying that they are getting the next shipment on Nov 1 - which is when Mark said the patch would be installed). So, if and when you get one, don't be shy. No pilikia. Tell us what you know when you know it and thanks for doing it.
About multi tracking: I stumbled upon various fora :-), some European, and the deal according to them is that this has been out on the street in Japan for quite a while already. The forum discussions have been all over the lot because they can't figure out which market niche the Zoom H4 is meant for. ENG (Electronic News Gathering, which I find too funny), or sound recording a la the Echo Gina/Layla, or what (because it has guitar and mic modeling and certain "effects"). I could care less. I know what I would use it for and I would ignore the other stuff.
Anyway, tell us what you know.
Mahalo,
...Reid |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2006 : 08:14:16 AM
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quote:
Mark is vacationing on Maui
Actually, Mark is cooling his heels in the Portland airport. After that I'll be working in Hawai`i. I vacation in Gary, Indiana. 
Since Craig hasn't got his recorder yet and graciously asked me to post away, here's my first impression:
quote:
Looks like a Klingon stun gun...
More like a Klingon dipilitory device. And I'm using that quote in the review, thank you.
OK: before the MP3 meltdown I did some basic recordings using the internal mics at various lo rez mp3s and all the default wavs (it defaults to 16 bit 44.1, 16 bit 48 (I think) and 24 bit 96).
Pretty EZ to use as long as you don't try to do anything useful (such as setting levels), the display is so tiny I needed a magnifying glass to read it. In other words, you can make recordings right out of the box by pressinga couple of buttons, but the menu - driven stuff is problematic. (As it is with every single little recorder I've ever seen, including minidiscs.)
I also plugged in mics (AKG 1000s) and recorded guitar at 44.1 & 96. Phantom worked fine, BTW. I did not do any critical listening -- cuz these were the first tests and the MP3 debacle cut 'em short. So I can't say a lot about the pre-amp noise, overall audio quality, etc.
Via my sony studio cans (that's headphones to you) the low rez mp3s sounded like, ummm, low rez mp3s. There was a lot of fuzz when monitoring at any rez-- whether that's due to the preamps or the headhone amp or something else I don't know yet. But it's something to watch. I haven't put the files through a decent set of converters or monitors yet.
Unlike the Microtrack, I could hear a discenable diff between the wav resolutions, even with the cans. Interesting.
Uploading files to my mac was a piece of cake. Oh, it'll operate with rechargeable AA batteries -- big plus in my book.
The rest of the features may or may not be useful, but I'll be looking at 'em. So will Craig, I'm sure.
The one that would have the most use for doing live recording (in a remote field, wearing down) is the comp/limiter function. Brickwall limiting without destroying the signal would be a very good thing. I'll reserve judgement until I hear it.
Oh, the little tripod adaptor doesn't fit my little tripod. Cute, tho'. I kludged something that'll work.
How's that to pique yer interest, Reid?
Mark
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MahinaM
Lokahi
USA
389 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2006 : 09:14:59 AM
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| Thanks for your comments, Mark! Craig and Reid, your input will be valuable to me as well, since I am thinking of getting this little device too. I'm not as knowledgeable or technically saavy as you guys, but would really like to know if this product is as good as its tauting to be. Having you guys put it through the acid test beforehand sure helps folks like me decide on whether or not to buy this product. I have been in the market for a recording device for quite a while now, so I sure appreciate any information you can pass on. Mahalo! - Maggie |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2006 : 1:59:21 PM
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| I finally got mine today but have only had a few minutes to play with it so far. Mark's right about the screen, although I found the menus easy to figure out and had no problem navigating through them without the manual and figuring out how to set everything up for internal or external mic recording. (I haven't figured out how to customize the compressor/limiter settings though, if that's possible, and I agree with Mark that setting levels could be easier.) I did do a quick test with the internal mics at 44KHz/320kbps MP3 and was very impressed...the stereo imaging is amazing and the noise floor seems much lower than the Microtrack and PMD660. More later. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 10/19/2006 2:00:16 PM |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2006 : 03:17:42 AM
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My interest is piqued, but not yet peaked. I'll wait for the firmware update.Actually, it is Sarah who wants and needs this, I am just her humble servant. Interestingly, one Etailer printed that its next shipment will be on Nov 1, the date that Mark said the update would be out. I talked to Sweetwater and they said that I could talk to their Tech Support guys at that time to confirm that the update was in place (it is downloadable, apparently).
There are a few user reviews. One guy hated it and 2 others liked it, at one site, including it's wav sound quality. Some interesting comments about its functioning that I probably couldn`t figure out myself. The reviews are (remember, these are *user* reviews and it is hard to know what they really know) at:
http://www.zzounds.com/productreview--ZOMH4
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H4/reviews/#anchor
...Reid |
Edited by - Reid on 10/20/2006 03:37:32 AM |
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