Topic: zoom h2

[Ozpeter]

Having now run through the manual looking for catches, I can see only a couple of minor ones -

1 - There's no ""record pause" as such, only "record ready".  So the cycle is

Press rec = record ready
Press rec = record run
Press rec = stop

Now you need to press rec again to get to the record ready state, ready for the next song/act/whatever.  And you end up with separate files for each time you "record run" which is no huge deal, but sometimes not as convenient as one long file.  Not a big deal but a slight catch.  Certainly the use of one record button for all recording related operations makes things easy.

2 - Clip indicators do not appear to be resettable.  So if you've got the clip indicator lit and you then lower the level accordingly, on the face of it you can't then see whether you've hit a new clip (unless you watch the meters all the time).  Whether this is really how it works in practice I don't know.

3 - Which way round left and right are isn't that intuitive - though it's clearly marked.   When you are recording from the back (120 degree) pair, left and right seem to be as marked.  When from the front pair, 90 degrees, (the side with the display), left and right will be reversed, and that will also apply to four channel recording with the back pointing to the main source.  I would have thought that within the software, when recording from the front pair only they could have reversed left and right for you.  Maybe that could be addressed in a firmware revision eventually.

4 - The manual doesn't actually state that recording level can be changed while actually recording (transport running, not just in standby mode).  A user might confirm whether this is possible.  I hope so!!

The mic configuration seems to be a bit like a Blumlein pair, which requires crossed fig of 8 mics.  That configuration can give a very nice image of something like a classical performance in a reverberant hall, but the rear of the image has left and right reversed (as the mic pointing to the right of the stage is also pointing to the left of the audience).  In the case of the H2 it looks like one should be able to get the same kind of good image of a reverberant space, but with the image from the rear having its left and right the same as the image from the front.  Here in Australia I look forward to whatever day in the future brings the H2 to these shores (said to be September sometime...).

[Barry S]

Oz--

#1  You're right, there's no record pause, but it's not something I miss and I honestly think a pause mode would have created more potential for user error without much of a benefit.

#2 Not sure what you mean.  If you see clipping, you can lower the levels until it stops.  The indicator light works continuously--steady to indicate the mic side is live and flashing to indicate clipping.

#3 I thought this was odd, but realized it was due to the 4 mic configuration and consistent with 4-channel recording.  Simple enough to swap channels in post.

#4  Geez, yes--level adjustments on the fly.

[Ozpeter]

Berry, re clipping indicators, I mean those which (it seems) are in the actual level meters in the main display. 

From the manual -

"At the rightmost end of the scale is
a clip indicator which lights up when
signal clipping (leading to distortion and
sound breakup) occurs. If clipping has
occurred at least once during playback
or recording, the clip indicator remains lit
until the end of playback/recording."

My niggle is that having seen that indicator, and it's staying lit, you'll want to reduce the level, then reset the indicator to monitor any further clips - you don't want it stuck on till the end of the show.  Perhaps changing the level resets the indicator automatically?

[Arni99]

the manual(page 37) says the H2 has 8 different AGC/compressor/limiter settings:
there´s also 1 for live-recording...maybe they learned from rockbox "safety-clip" setting which lowers gain-levels but never boosts them.

can anybody check this out who has the H2 in his hands?

the manual further said there is a live-recording-limiter setting, which attenuates the signal only...this sounds very much like a "rockbox-safety-clip"-feature.

[Barry S]

...My niggle is that having seen that indicator, and it's staying lit, you'll want to reduce the level, then reset the indicator to monitor any further clips - you don't want it stuck on till the end of the show.  Perhaps changing the level resets the indicator automatically?

Ok, I got you.  It's the little bar on the end of level display, one for each channel.  On record standby, if it gets lit by clipping, once you go to record--it gets unlit.  But once it's lit during a recording, it stays lit regardless of level adjustments.  I see how it would be useful to be able to reset it, but I don't see any such option.

Arni--I haven't checked out the limiter options, but I'll try em out and report back.

[Roving Sign]

...My niggle is that having seen that indicator, and it's staying lit, you'll want to reduce the level, then reset the indicator to monitor any further clips - you don't want it stuck on till the end of the show.  Perhaps changing the level resets the indicator automatically?

  I see how it would be useful to be able to reset it, but I don't see any such option.

You have to be able to reset it! Otherwise it is rendered USELESS after the first clip...

What were they thinking?

Sounds like this could be a quick firmware fix - ?

I want a "peak hold" like on my old cassette decks...manual reset would be fine...but how about an "X seconds" hold? (user definable)

[goatfarmer]

Man, I totally agree. This is indeed a letdown. I've been messing around with it for a half hour and cannot find any way to reset the clip indicators during recording.

[Barry S]

Playing around, I noticed something interesting.  If the level is set at or below 97, it's impossible to get the clipping indicator to light regardless of the gain setting (l/m/h) no matter how loud the source.  As you lower the level setting, the level meters display what looks like a hard stop at decreasing levels under 0 db.  The mic light still flickers with loud sources.  Not quite sure what's going on here.  I don't have the limiter turned on.

[WiFiJeff]

Playing around, I noticed something interesting.  If the level is set at or below 97, it's impossible to get the clipping indicator to light regardless of the gain setting (l/m/h) no matter how loud the source.  As you lower the level setting, the level meters display what looks like a hard stop at decreasing levels under 0 db.  The mic light still flickers with loud sources.  Not quite sure what's going on here.  I don't have the limiter turned on.

Brickwalling?

Jeff

[Ozpeter]

Presumably if the level at the mic is clipping the preamp before the signal gets to the variable level control, that "brickwalling" might happen.

[vegas06]

Just so others know. 
I was able to format and use 8GB SDHC cards. 
I purchased this 8GB Transcend SDHC card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208293, and was able to format the card in the H2 itself and use it.

[Ozpeter]

Yeah, the new Zoom H2 site at http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h2/index.php lists that card as supported.  There's also a flash 360 degree view, frequency response curve, and other goodies, though as I have queried elsewhere, I think they've got left/right and front/back a bit muddled in some of the diagrams (compared with what the manual says).

[guysonic]

Yeah, the new Zoom H2 site at http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h2/index.php lists that card as supported.  There's also a flash 360 degree view, frequency response curve, and other goodies, though as I have queried elsewhere, I think they've got left/right and front/back a bit muddled in some of the diagrams (compared with what the manual says).

Interesting site with additional technical information, but no frequency specs shown, just auto level start/stop recording graph.  Also LINE input spec stated as -10 dB which seems a bit low, but may be nominal not maximum input level before clipping.

[skiphunt]

I've had an H2 for 3 days now and have run all of the features through the paces... done some field recording, ambient bar noise,VO, etc. And so far, I have to say it's everything I was looking for.

I'm not an audio engineer but I've worked with some over the years... edited video/audio for broadcast... shot film and recorded dialogue to DAT... done a little recording and editing of audio for local radio spots, etc. So, I'm not completely foreign to the audio realm. I'm just not an engineer or bit cruncher.

Yes, I'm sure there are units costing 4 times more that can give a more faithful reproduction, etc. But, I only wanted something light and small to put in my camera bag that didn't require ectra mics, cables, etc. That was capable of getting decent recordings in a variety of situations without much fuss. I'm a photographer and wanted to play with doing some ambient work as soundtrack for my images (http://www.skiphuntphotography.com). So, the H2 is perfect for me.

However, since I've now gone through every feature.. I've notices a few problems. First, I DID get some dropout (I think). I can hear a series of click sounds in random fashion. But, ONLY if I first record in 4channels 48k 24bit OR 44.1 24bit and then use the unit to 3D Pan the mix and encode the two pairs down to one stereo pair. The resulting stereo pair will have this "clicking" sound consistently. Yes, I'm aware it's better to do your post in the computer. But I wanted to test everything. If I do a 4channel recording in 16bit and re-encode to a single stereo pair.. it's fine, no clicking. And, even if I record in 4channel 24bit.. the source pairs are fine without clicking. ONLY when re-encoded to a single pair via the H2's onboard processing.

Second problem is that when I select a stereo file to "nomalize" within the menu, the H2 takes an awfully long time working on it. Says "searching peaks".. then after an hour it says.... "Now Processing". This goes on for hours or until the battery dies. AND once you start the process, it won't let you cancel. It just keeps either "searching" or "processing". I couldn't even get it to force quit by turning off the power. The only thing that worked was pulling the batteries. I tried again with another file and the exact same thing.

Like I said, it's not that big a deal since I'll do all my post later and NOT with the H2, but there are definitely a bug or two under the hood... at least with mine. Likely a firmware fix. Can anyone test theirs and tell me if it does the same thing? Maybe I got a flawed one.

Everything else is great. I love this little thing and will get much use out of it. But, I really wish they had put a metal tripod mount on this thing. I've carefully mounted the H2 on several devices over the last three days, and the threads are already looking pretty worn.

[Ozpeter]

Guy, on the new Zoom site there's a link to the frequency response chart which you have to click to get it visible in a popup window.

The -10dB figure for line in is normal for non pro gear (which is +4dB) and is to be expected.