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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: stantheman1976 on January 26, 2008, 11:35:25 PM

Title: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 26, 2008, 11:35:25 PM
I'm going to have $500 from a wedding to invenst in some new equipment soon and I really want a second portable recorder.  I'm looking at either the Zoom H2 because it's relatively cheap and I would have plenty left over for other accessories I need.  So I need some serious opinions from anyone who's used it.  I will use it almost exclusively for recording line out from a mixer.  Occasionally I will hook up a lapel mic with SP-PREAMP unless the internal preamp is sufficient.  I like the idea of the internal mics but they will be a secondary feature that may be used for ambient sound or spontaneous recordings.

So what do you guys think?  I REALLY want the Edirol R-09 but that would blow most of my budget.  Is the Zoom a good compromise for my purposes?
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: dennisrtyler on January 26, 2008, 11:38:49 PM
can't an r9 be had for ~300? that's hardly most of your budget. just saying :D
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 26, 2008, 11:47:11 PM
If I bought one used, yes.  I want to get whatever I buy new.  I'm also going to use part of the money for another video tripod, batteries, tapes, and such.  I'm getting more serious about my video hobby as a paying deal so I want to get the most I can for what I can spend.
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: dennisrtyler on January 26, 2008, 11:57:38 PM
If I bought one used, yes.  I want to get whatever I buy new.  I'm also going to use part of the money for another video tripod, batteries, tapes, and such.  I'm getting more serious about my video hobby as a paying deal so I want to get the most I can for what I can spend.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Edirol-R-09-Compact-24-Bit-WAV-MP3-Recorder-R09-BLACK_W0QQitemZ120214208712QQihZ002QQcategoryZ41784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Edirol-R-09-Compact-24-Bit-WAV-MP3-Recorder-R09-BLACK_W0QQitemZ120214208712QQihZ002QQcategoryZ41784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 27, 2008, 12:02:55 AM
Tempting.  I'm going to think long and hard before I buy either.  Even at less than $300 I'd still have to buy a SD card which would still eat a good part of my budget.  Is the Edirol really that much better for my purposes?
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: dennisrtyler on January 27, 2008, 12:09:35 AM
Tempting.  I'm going to think long and hard before I buy either.  Even at less than $300 I'd still have to buy a SD card which would still eat a good part of my budget.  Is the Edirol really that much better for my purposes?
haven't used either one of them but i think it's safe to say that the r-09 is a higher quality unit. sorry to semi-hijack your thread. just didn't want you to rule out the r-09 thinking it would kill your budget. btw, you gotta buy a card for the h2 as well. ;)
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 27, 2008, 12:18:13 AM
Yea, I know, but at $200 for a new H2 I'd still have half my money left after getting an SD card.
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: dennisrtyler on January 27, 2008, 12:22:33 AM
Yea, I know, but at $200 for a new H2 I'd still have half my money left after getting an SD card.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoom-H2-Portable-2-Track-SD-Recorder-With-Free-SD-Card_W0QQitemZ300194191454QQihZ020QQcategoryZ15199QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoom-H2-Portable-2-Track-SD-Recorder-With-Free-SD-Card_W0QQitemZ300194191454QQihZ020QQcategoryZ15199QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

how about $175. sounds like you need the extra money for the video stuff. give the h2 a shot. if you don't like it, put it up in the yard. good luck!
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 27, 2008, 12:31:41 AM
I think I'm going to go with that.  It's worth a shot for the price.
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: Ozpeter on January 27, 2008, 02:50:49 AM
The H2 is good at anything you might want to use 2 or 4 internal mics for, apart (apparently) for very loud music, especially if you want to point-and-shoot and fix in a PC afterwards.  It's also perfectly adequate for line-in, except it's over-sensitive and best used with a source whose level can be reduced a little.

It's not good for mic in, for most people.  It's not good if you want to record more than 2Gb (takes 20 secs to start a new file at the split).

http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=9745&start=0 is essential reading (though I say so myself)...
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 27, 2008, 11:22:59 PM
Well I got the money and decide I'd give the H2 a shot.  I found a power seller that had it with a 4GB Transcend card for $199 shipped.  I couldn't pass that deal up.  So I'll see how it works in practical applications.  If it sucks I'll sell or trade here.
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: kbergend on January 28, 2008, 12:12:29 AM
Well I got the money and decide I'd give the H2 a shot.  I found a power seller that had it with a 4GB Transcend card for $199 shipped.  I couldn't pass that deal up.  So I'll see how it works in practical applications.  If it sucks I'll sell or trade here.

Well then, I'm sure we'll all be standing in line! ;)

Seriously, best of luck and I hope it works for you.
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: Kevin T on January 28, 2008, 11:53:49 AM
Well I got the money and decide I'd give the H2 a shot.  I found a power seller that had it with a 4GB Transcend card for $199
Thats $160 more tha I paid  for 4GB SD Way too much
 shipped.  I couldn't pass that deal up.  So I'll see how it works in practical applications.  If it sucks I'll sell or trade here.
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 29, 2008, 08:51:07 AM
The H2 is good at anything you might want to use 2 or 4 internal mics for, apart (apparently) for very loud music, especially if you want to point-and-shoot and fix in a PC afterwards.  It's also perfectly adequate for line-in, except it's over-sensitive and best used with a source whose level can be reduced a little.

It's not good for mic in, for most people.  It's not good if you want to record more than 2Gb (takes 20 secs to start a new file at the split).

http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=9745&start=0 is essential reading (though I say so myself)...

Is there no way to overcome this and make a seemless split yet?
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: Kevin T on January 29, 2008, 10:45:25 AM
start new file between songd or at intermition. Its a Windoz issue  >:(
Title: Re: Need serious opinions on Zoom H2
Post by: stantheman1976 on January 29, 2008, 12:36:59 PM
The Rockboxed iRiver splits seemlessly at 2GB.  THe file size is an issue but the split can probably be seemless if they worked on the firmware.