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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: Ozpeter on June 30, 2018, 10:33:02 PM

Title: Zoom H1N and Hooke Verse comparison at jazz club
Post by: Ozpeter on June 30, 2018, 10:33:02 PM
Setting aside reliability issues with the Hooke Verse system (see main thread), I thought it might be interesting to compare its actual sound with that of the modest Zoom H1N which I happened to have with me as backup on this occasion.  The Hooke device was in my ears, the Zoom handheld at knee level (seated).  Here's a sample of exactly the same two minutes of very contemporary jazz played in a 250-capacity jazz club, from a position about 25 feet from the stage, more or less central. 

The samples have been normalised and left/right balance but otherwise they are "as is".

Hooke sample - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CCuMO5PWr3i29Ws0v-yHpIwcLapI8pxw/view?usp=sharing

Zoom H1N sample - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cse-gLxddsnygAD4zLynVR1BuiQ2_0xe/view?usp=sharing

The Hooke recording sounds to me significantly flatter in terms of frequency response than the Zoom (let's face it, the Hooke is much more expensive).  The Zoom is a bit more coloured in the mid frequencies perhaps, but still captures the sound of the double bass quite adequately.

The Hooke stereo image is considerably wider, and the sound is more affected by the room.  The Zoom image is narrower than I would have expected, and therefore the musicians sound more focussed and there's less of the room in the sound.  In post production I would widen the Zoom image quite a bit.  There's no applause in the samples but I can say that applause on the Zoom was much wider-sounding than the band.  This leads me to suspect that the Zoom capsules are not that cardioid in pattern, half way to omni, but the image is still better than you'd get from a Sony M10's built in mics.

The band were unamplified apart from the string bass. 

I'd be interested in your thoughts.  In particular, my ears are so shot I can't really judge high frequency response, but both recordings sound to me a bit short of sparkle.
Title: Re: Zoom H1N and Hooke Verse comparison at jazz club
Post by: jerryfreak on July 01, 2018, 12:43:42 AM
hooke sounds plenty passable. was that bluetooth or line-in to a recorder?

Title: Re: Zoom H1N and Hooke Verse comparison at jazz club
Post by: Ozpeter on July 01, 2018, 03:17:13 AM
Sorry, I should have said it was bluetooth into an Android phone.  Very stealth, though it looks like you find the band so boring you are listening to something else on your phone instead!   Or that you are very hard of hearing and you have to listen with an industrial-strength hearing aid on.
Title: Re: Zoom H1N and Hooke Verse comparison at jazz club
Post by: jerryfreak on July 01, 2018, 06:45:47 AM
Sorry, I should have said it was bluetooth into an Android phone.  Very stealth, though it looks like you find the band so boring you are listening to something else on your phone instead!   Or that you are very hard of hearing and you have to listen with an industrial-strength hearing aid on.

usher; "are you recording the concert?"

"naw, I'm watching porn, dude"
Title: Re: Zoom H1N and Hooke Verse comparison at jazz club
Post by: Ozpeter on July 01, 2018, 06:50:42 AM
The lesser of two evils I guess! ;)