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Author Topic: Zoom F8  (Read 127589 times)

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Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #285 on: September 08, 2015, 07:23:39 PM »
Quote
They seemed ready to check
me out for $12,000. I then emptied my cart and put one back in.

And some guy at Adorama is probably still wiping away tears even now... :)

Offline jbell

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #286 on: September 08, 2015, 08:14:17 PM »
Starting to gain some interest in the F8!!  Thanks for all the links
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Offline obaaron

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #287 on: September 08, 2015, 09:14:14 PM »
wow....all of this excitment here for a Zoom product have I oficially entered Bizarro-world?! lol..jk...glad to see they have stepped up their game....the more quality choices the better gonna keep an eye on this thread   :P
Mics:  Gefell M20,M21- sms2000/nbob | Schoeps MK4V;MK4- cmc1L/cmc6/nbob | AKG ck1,3,8,22;ck61,62,63,69- c460b/c480b/Naiant/nbob actives | Neumann KM140/150 | AT853, AT933 | CA-11 | DPA 4022 (on loan)
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Offline bdasilva

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #288 on: September 09, 2015, 06:42:37 PM »
Just pulled the trigger
Looking at this being my last recorder... big selloff off of DR-680s to come
« Last Edit: September 09, 2015, 07:29:22 PM by bdasilva »
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Offline Ozpeter

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #289 on: September 09, 2015, 08:42:58 PM »
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Looking at this being my last recorder...
Reminds me of the Revox adverts from days of yore - "The recorder you will eventually own".

Offline mepaca

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #290 on: September 09, 2015, 11:06:23 PM »
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Looking at this being my last recorder...

    Whatever!!!!!

Offline Life In Rewind

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #291 on: September 10, 2015, 12:31:01 AM »
If this works out - the one company who has "stepped up their game" will be Zoom...

No offense to TASCAM - who's products I own and like...

But ZOOM has - perhaps - stepped into a void - where a product was needed.

Offline ArchivalAudio

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #292 on: September 11, 2015, 09:53:08 PM »
How do the Zoom F8 preamps sound?

I recorded Lotus over the weekend from the same location on consecutive nights, with and without my AETA PSP-3 preamp.

Saturday night - Schoeps m934b/CMMT30 > AETA PSP-3 > Zoom F8
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-09-05.m934b_24bit

Sunday night - Schoeps m934b/CMMT30 > Zoom F8
https://archive.org/details/lotus2015-09-06.m934b_24bit

Thanks
Marking now to listen later...
Looking forward to  my own ears comp
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Offline voltronic

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #293 on: September 11, 2015, 10:14:50 PM »
Thanks for the comparison. Agreed both are very nice recordings. Think carl made a good point with bass heavy mics if your looking for a brighter pre-amp section this would be a choice of a way to go. Though if you have bright mics the brightness in the preamp section may be too much.

FWIW, the two recordings weren't really posted as a comp.  Since the two shows were 24 hours apart, I don't think any conclusions can be made from the tonal differences from one to the other.

I'm pretty sure alot of people here know the PSP3 sound, so I thought it might be useful to listen to the F8 preamps against those made with the PSP3 to form a conclusion of the general quality of the onboard preamps in the F8. 

I think they have similar detail and general quality of sound. 

As mentioned earlier, sometime soon I'll connect all four of my M934B/CMMT30 mics, one pair through the PSP3 and the other straight in, so that the comp is done using the same type of mics recording the same music.  I think that would be the comp to really make some conclusions about tonal differences.

I also preferred the direct-in recording without the PSP3, though it's really hard to judge two different performances, etc.  The direct-in recording had better clarity in the treble, but that could also be a slightly different PA mix that day.  They both sound great.

If you're going to do a 4-mic test like you describe, you'll have to have the 2 pairs pretty much coincident in order to really make a real comparison.  (You probably thought of this already.)

It would be interesting to hear a test of how quiet the pres are by recording some quiet room ambiance, or a solo instrument in an empty room, etc.  Not sure if that's ever a situation you're in or not.
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Offline hi and lo

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #294 on: September 12, 2015, 12:30:19 AM »
As always, thanks for putting this up Steve. These things are always hard, but I actually got a lot out of this and found it quite revealing. I listened to both nights as well as the recordings from Bean, just to get a sense of possible FoH mix differences.

The one definite is that the Zoom is a touch brighter in the preamp section than the PSP3...

At this point, this is my initial reaction. But I don't think it's just a touch brighter, I think think it sounds as though the high-end EQ was cranked up 8dB and exactly like the tell-tale sign I hear when I've gone way overboard with the high-end EQ in post.

For me, it's most revealing during loud audience roars. I would recommend listening to the end of "Cream On Chrome" from both Steve and Bean on night 2. Listen to the end of the track. The guy screaming near the mic stand sticks out like a sore thumb to me on the Zoom only recording. It's incredibly grating on my ears and sounds distorted. On Bean's, it's certainly loud, but not harsh.

Having listened to all 4 source (2x Steve, 2x Bean), my opinion is that the PSP-3 recording from night 1 and both 70d recordings have far better balance. Definitely more potential for work in post. With the Zoom only recording, I think it needs legitimate first aid... a high-end cut for sure.

My opinion isn't made up just yet, but from these recordings I'm hearing a pretty glaring difference in frequency response.

Offline mepaca

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #295 on: September 12, 2015, 05:05:44 AM »
   I would think that the timbre of a guy's screaming near a mic stand is probably not the best measure by which to
evaluate any piece of audio equipment.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2015, 05:27:09 AM by mepaca »

stevetoney

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #296 on: September 12, 2015, 01:22:10 PM »
Here's a true blue side-by-side comp.  Both sets of mics are m934b capsules and CMMT30 bodies...one set sent through an AETA PSP3 and the other directly to the Zoom F8 preamps.  The mics were on the same stand, one set directly above the other by about four inches or so.  This recording was made in a really small room with 30 or 40 people in attendance.  I set up at a table about 15 feet back.  The mics were just above the height of the table.  During the second set, people stood up so there was some minor level of interference.  I'm not sure if that's noticeable though because of the small size of the room and the generally loud sound level. 

M934b/CMMT30 > PSP3 > Zoom F8
https://archive.org/details/jazzam2015-09-10.m934b_24bit

M934b/CMMT30 > Zoom F8
https://archive.org/details/jazzam2015-09-10.934b_24bit


Offline voltronic

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #297 on: September 12, 2015, 02:16:12 PM »
Here's a true blue side-by-side comp.  Both sets of mics are m934b capsules and CMMT30 bodies...one set sent through an AETA PSP3 and the other directly to the Zoom F8 preamps.  The mics were on the same stand, one set directly above the other by about four inches or so.  This recording was made in a really small room with 30 or 40 people in attendance.  I set up at a table about 15 feet back.  The mics were just above the height of the table.  During the second set, people stood up so there was some minor level of interference.  I'm not sure if that's noticeable though because of the small size of the room and the generally loud sound level. 

M934b/CMMT30 > PSP3 > Zoom F8
https://archive.org/details/jazzam2015-09-10.m934b_24bit

M934b/CMMT30 > Zoom F8
https://archive.org/details/jazzam2015-09-10.934b_24bit

Well both recordings sound absolutely identical to me, and identically great at that.  So identical in fact, I was curious and did the classic "null test" on tracks 7 and 12 from each recording and they null absolutely perfectly.  As in, spectrum analysis of the resulting file is nothing at all, waveform stats have all values at negative infinity.  Are you sure you didn't upload the same file set twice with different labels?  Even with your levels of all 4 channels exactly spot on and 4 capsules closely matched, it shouldn't be that absolutely perfect a null unless I'm missing something.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I downloaded the FLACs for this.  I also just analyzed the original files in RX, and the min/max/RMS values for both sets of files are identical down to .01 dB resolution, and spectrum is perfectly identical as well.  I think that proves my suspicion that you accidentally uploaded the same file set twice.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2015, 02:23:45 PM by voltronic »
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stevetoney

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #298 on: September 12, 2015, 05:34:07 PM »

Well both recordings sound absolutely identical to me, and identically great at that. 

Argh.  Thanks and sorry about that.  I just finished uploading the corrected files. 

Offline voltronic

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Re: Zoom F8
« Reply #299 on: September 12, 2015, 06:40:06 PM »

Well both recordings sound absolutely identical to me, and identically great at that. 

Argh.  Thanks and sorry about that.  I just finished uploading the corrected files.

Just downloaded Track 7 to compare again.  PSP in the chain wins easily for me.  The bass guitar and kick have so much more presence that the direct to F8 seems very lean by comparison.  The treble is pretty close though, at least on this quick listen.  Spectrum analysis also shows that the right channel is about 5dB lower than the left in the direct track, and is lower in general throughout.  I'm sure you matched your levels well, so that part was surprising.
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