I am sad to report a somewhat negative development with my F6, and with my opinion on Zoom overall.
About 6 weeks ago I reached down to adjust my F6 and accidentally snagged one of the mic cables, knocking it off the Pelican case it was sitting on and onto the tile floor (about a 6 inch drop). It fell onto the attached NP-F battery, and the battery was now loose in its mount. I carefully set it down, and was able to keep recording the concert (the battery was still electrically connected). When I got home I got a close look at what had happened.
If you are familiar with these batteries, you know that they connect to two terminals on your equipment while four tabs slide into tracks on the sides of the battery which hold it flush against the mounting plate, with a latch of some sort to keep the battery from sliding out. It seems that all four of these side tabs had snapped off my F6, leaving only the terminals and the latch (which now doesn't latch because the battery isn't properly held against the mounting plate). From the areas where the tabs broke, I could see that the entire back plate is molded from plastic that is rather thin.
I reached out to Zoom technical support, explained what had happened, and asked if I could send my unit in for repair. No, they do not do repairs. I asked if they could sell me the battery plate separately, and I would gladly void my warranty and replace the part myself. No, they cannot sell parts. I asked if their service centers had any non-working F6 units they could send me that I could cannibalize parts from. No, they do not keep broken units on hand.
The agent then offered that I could trade my F6 in for a new one, at a cost of $300 plus shipping. I said that it shouldn't cost me $300 because a cheaply-made plastic part broke, and it made no sense to completely replace a unit that otherwise still functioned perfectly. There was nothing else the agent could do, so I declined.
Since then, I have been gaff taping the NP battery to the recorder. This works, but it's kludgy, and the whole experience irritated me. Obviously I could use a USB-C power bank and go on my merry way, but that's specifically what I wanted to avoid by using the NP-F batteries. They run forever and eliminate a potential failure point of having a cable to an external power source. It's one of my favorite things about the F6.
I've been a strong proponent of the Zoom F series recorders, thinking they had finally stepped up their game into "pro" level. But now I'm beginning to see how they save costs, and that they really are not yet in the same league as the established professional brands. The materials are not as high quality, and the hardware isn't made to be repairable.
I had already been thinking that down the road that eventually I will want 8 inputs, as I'm using 6 more frequently. The F8n PRO had been a candidate, but this experience has me questioning whether or not I want to give Zoom more of my money right now. I want something that is built to last with a company that will stand behind it for the long haul. I got to talking to some professional classical engineers who I respect very highly on Gearspace Remote Possibilities, and they convinced me that the best value proposition for me would be to pursue a used Sound Devices 788T-SSD. Many of them rely on the 788 every day. Yes, these are now rather old, but the 788 is superior to the F-series (and the SD MixPre-II line for that matter) in pretty much every category, particularly build quality, repair-ability, and support. I would lose the auto-ranging DACs and 32-bit float recording which I enjoy greatly, but I would be gaining pretty much everywhere else. Previously these units were priced in the stratosphere as it was Sound Devices' flagship recorder, but now used units in good condition can be had for very low prices. So,
this tank is now on its way to me for a 7-day free trial. Assuming I keep it, I will probably also keep my F6 but it will be relegated to backup duties for now.
