So I'm looking into purchasing one of these and getting into the hobby. Originally I was planning on getting the H4N because of the 4-track recording (I assume that means I can record the out from the sbd and the ambient noise at the same time, is that right?).
It seems like the PCM-M10 has much better reviews though, my only hang up on it though is would I be able to record the soundboard and the ambient noise at the same time with it, or if not what would be necessary to do so? I've got some extra money in my budget for cables,accessories, ect. so I'm open to the PCM-M10 if it's doable.
The PCM-M10 only takes a stero input through mic-in or line-in. You'd need a mixer if you wanted to do SBD + ambient.
The problems widely reported with Zooms are cheap build quality and noisy inputs. I've never had one so I can't say. But if you have access to the SBD you might want to budget for a PCM-M10 plus mics and mixer.
I, too, would DEF recommend the Sony M10 over the Zoom ANYDAY of the week
If you wanted to do 4-track recording, like SBD>recorder + Mics>recorder and do both stereo sources on ONE recorder, the Tascam DR2D is the way to go. Under $200 and you can run SBD>LINE IN DR2D and Mics>MIC IN DR2D
If you just want a 2-channel stereo recorder, the Sony PCM-M10 is HANDS DOWN the way to go IMO. Has an AMAZING battery life, the M10s preamps and ADC are way above expected for such a small and cheap handheld recorder, and it does 24bit, just like the Tascam DR2D
So, do you need 2-channel or 4-channel
Once you answer that, we can go from there