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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: Modulo3 on October 02, 2016, 11:50:20 AM

Title: Zoom H4N Pro -- Expected Noise From Built-in Mics?
Post by: Modulo3 on October 02, 2016, 11:50:20 AM
I had decided to buy a Zoom H4N Pro because it includes a few features I really like, such as punch-in recording capability and built-in configurable X-Y mics. I was looking for a recorder with decent built-in mics to begin with, for lack of any external ones to use, and had read the Zoom is good and it fits my budget. So I went ahead and started recording in a relatively quiet room (the quietest I could find)... Each recording lasts only a few seconds, and both were sampled at 44.1kHz (16-bits stereo), with the only difference between them being the recording levels: the first was taken at a level of 40, the other at 80. The hiss at level 80 is quite pronounced, in my uneducated opinion, even for such a high level. Since I have only 7 days to exchange the product, I ask: is the noise/hiss from the built-in mics expected from this model? (Please bear in mind I've got less than a month's experience with recording under my belt, so please excuse my questions if they seem a bit naive.) Note that what has been recorded is silence in the room to accentuate the mic noise.
Title: Re: Zoom H4N Pro -- Expected Noise From Built-in Mics?
Post by: dogmusic on October 02, 2016, 12:45:05 PM
I had decided to buy a Zoom H4N Pro because it includes a few features I really like, such as punch-in recording capability and built-in configurable X-Y mics. I was looking for a recorder with decent built-in mics to begin with, for lack of any external ones to use, and had read the Zoom is good and it fits my budget. So I went ahead and started recording in a relatively quiet room (the quietest I could find)... Each recording lasts only a few seconds, and both were sampled at 44.1kHz (16-bits stereo), with the only difference between them being the recording levels: the first was taken at a level of 40, the other at 80. The hiss at level 80 is quite pronounced, in my uneducated opinion, even for such a high level. Since I have only 7 days to exchange the product, I ask: is the noise/hiss from the built-in mics expected from this model? (Please bear in mind I less than a month's experience with recording, so please excuse my questions if they seem a bit naive.)

Since you have only 7 days to exchange the product, have you tested the punch-in recording capability to see if it works for your purposes?
Title: Re: Zoom H4N Pro -- Expected Noise From Built-in Mics?
Post by: Modulo3 on October 02, 2016, 01:11:08 PM
Since you have only 7 days to exchange the product, have you tested the punch-in recording capability to see if it works for your purposes?

Yes I have... After reading the manuals of a few other recorders, I think this is about the best I'll find in a portable digital recorder in that price, and dropping-in can be a physically managable process once I start doing it on a regular basis -- so long as I remember to switch to MTR mode. I don't think there's a single machine out there as simple as a basic tape recorder, but the Zoom comes pretty close by being very intuitive.
I was thrilled from the outset with the H4N Pro in just about every respect. Unfortunately, I don't know what I can reasonably expect from the built-in mics since I have nothing to compare it with (the Tascam's microphones are listed as omni-directional and wouldn't make a fair comparison, as far as I know).
And thanks for the reminder!
Title: Re: Zoom H4N Pro -- Expected Noise From Built-in Mics?
Post by: Mike Stranks on November 06, 2016, 01:12:14 PM
It's the preamps...

I had an H5 and good as it was, when you had to push the preamps to get enough gain then you do start to wander into hiss city. Generally I found it was OK with the internal mics, but had significant problems when using external dynamic mics. In the end I got a MartiAudio cascade preamp (like the Tritons/Cloudlifters but cheaper) and that solved the problem.

Just a thought... and apologies if this is blindingly obvious... you are only peaking at -12dB aren't you and not attempting fullscale deflection?

I've jsut upgraded to the F4... no internal mics, but 75dB of clean gain.  ;D