Recording Studio Equipment

I bought my zoom as an openbox/demo unit for $100 off the regular price, full warantee, from a major a/v house, and figured at that price I could not go wrong. I never look back as it being a bad purchase with the heavy discount since everything was perfect in the box, and the quad channel recording is a great feature to have around (for those wondering about the abiguity if you must use the builtin mics for the other two channels, the answer is no, they have a 3.5 mm TRS jack that kills the internal mics and thus allows you to input 4 mic level signals to be recorded in time sync.

The unit’s microphones can be optimized for different stereo pickup patterns, which again I much appreciate.

The cons:

You can never turn off the H4n’s mic level amps – you get a 1% – 100% attenuator on the front of the amps, but they are still mic level amps. Compare this with the Marantz PMD-661 Marantz PMD661 Portable SD Recorder and you have a 3 way switch – mic w/ 48VDC, mic w/o 48VDC, line – but the marantz lacks the 1/4 TRS combo inputs which I like on the H4n.

Still getting back to the attenuator – the connection goes like this

int/ext source –> attenuator 1-100% –> mic pre-amp + amplifier noise –> a/d –> SD card
while the marantz has 2 chains:
line level input –> a/d converter –> SD card
mic level input –> amplifier to line level + amplifier noise –> then just like above line in

The net result is that BOTH the PMD-661 and H4n can handle high level line signals, but the H4n first cuts them down to mic level, then internally amplifies them to the recorder’s standard a/d level. By shutting off this mic amplifier in the marantz you also shut off the noise that comes with the amp, leaving a cleaner signal into the a/d converter. I always try to get line level signals from mixing boards, wireless microphones, etc because I can cut out the extra noise of having the un-needed mic preamp running when I am feeding a line signal to begin with.

One negative that was only recently discovered applies equally to both the H4n and the PMD-661 units – these are part of a category of “soft off” battery powered devices. This means there is no 0/1 snapswitch that powers the product on, but rather a slider on both units you hold in the power toggle or button to turn them on, afterwhich it returns to “neutral”. The benefits from this system are that the units can watch their battery life and if they are going to kill your NiMH cells they turn themselves off, which is commendable. Unfortunately, when turned off, they draw a very very small amount of power looking for that “ON” slideswitch/button to signal turnon. This small amount of power puts a small drain on the batteries while the units are turned off, and you might put your best eneloop cells in there and come back in 3 weeks to find they are 1/3 full now due to the self discharge. I worked with another reviewer on amazon regarding this “soft off” feature and it’s not just for recorders – flashlights and other battery powered systems that don’t have a hard on/off switch (e.g. click “on” – click “off) are all in the same boat – all draining their batteries while not being used. It’s part of the design and the best solution is to get the largest NiMH cells (I prefer sanyo 2700 mah conventional) and have them on a trickle charger waiting for when you need to use your device.

So to sum up the H4n, it’s one of the most innovative recorders made today with features far ahead of the competition. It’s remote Zoom RC4 Wired Remote Control For Zoom H4n duplicates the face of buttons on the unit and even includes an extension cord if you need to go long distances. Unlike the PMD-661 which I had to make a case from an old microphone case, the Zoom comes with a plastic case ready to go. Both the PMD 661 and H4n have 1/4-20 tripod mounts on the bottom if you want to snap them into a tripod then use their internal mics. The zoom adds an oversized wind protector that covers the entire microphone array.

I’d give the H4n one more star if I could route the signal around the mic preamps when driving it with line level inputs. This is good practice in the recording / mixing industry and one of the main reasons I default to the marantz if I don’t know what signal I will get a copy of to record. The H4n’s quad recording ability is a great addition for videographers. I’d recommend you get an azden cam-3 small mixer to help level things out in the field and output a 3.5 mm signal for the H4n. AZDEN CAM-3 On-Camcorder Mini Audio Mixer The price on the H4n is great – when I had the open box special I just could not walk away from it and I have no regrets. It’s been a true performer. Finally, the H4n has many features for musicians and small bands (like a metronome and 4 ch recording) to capture jam sessions.