Zoom H2 recorder getting ready to ship
April 15th, 2007 by Derek
UPDATE May 17, 2007: IHR listener Mike tipped us off that the H2 is now delayed till August 2007, which is unfortunate.
Samson-Zoom has updated their website to include information about their H2 Handy Recorder, of which we saw a prototype at the NAMM Show in January.
Although the H2 doesn’t offer as many features as Zoom’s H4 recorder we just gave away in our latest contest (no XLR connectors, for instance), it is unique in offering mid-side recording using three (!) microphone capsules. That arrangement permits all sorts of interesting stereo processing (see episode 4 of Hens Zimmerman’s Sounds Good podcast, back in November 2006 for a good explanation of how mid-side recording works, or check out WikiRecording and Analog Obsession for more). The H2 can also record in Broadcast WAV format with timestamps, and offers a low-cut filter to avoid rumble.
We’re looking forward to checking one out when they become more easily available. Our affiliate zZounds lets you pre-order the H2 for $200 USD, but they don’t expect to have them ready to ship until the end of May.
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19 Comments Add your own
1. The Professor’s Not&hellip | May 6th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
[...] The Zoom H2 Microphone/Recorder is about ready to be released. according to Inside Home Recording [...]
2. The Brothers podcast̷&hellip | May 7th, 2007 at 6:59 am
[...] The Zoom H2 Microphone/Recorder is about ready to be released. according to Inside Home Recording [...]
3. GS&hellip | May 16th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Does the unit have a stereo line in, and stereo mic in, or must you record with the built-in mics?
4. Derek&hellip | May 16th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
It has both line and mic ins via 1/8″ jacks (scroll down the spec page to see), plus a line/headphone out.
What it does not have is XLR or phantom power, as the H4 does, but it’s much cheaper and smaller, so that’s a resonable balance.
5. MIke&hellip | May 17th, 2007 at 6:50 am
Sweetwater just called to tell me that the Zoom H2 will be delayed til August “because of problems with the microphones.”
6. GS&hellip | May 18th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Ouch. Problems with the microphones. Any indication as to what that means? Is it the beep issue the H4 has? The whining issue when the batteries get weak that the H4 has??? I was really hoping they would get their act together. I really need one of these, but of course I need one that records my audio, not weird sounds…
7. cal&hellip | August 7th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Is it possible to load files from iTunes to use it as a sort of iPod? What kind of formats?
8. David Adler&hellip | August 23rd, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Just received my Zoom h4. Recording volume is fine
using the built in mics BUT very low volume using
external Audio Technica stereo microphone. Is this a problem with the internal mic preamps?? I continue to investigate.
9. David Adler&hellip | August 23rd, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I meant to write the Zoom H2 regarding low volume
from external microphone. I had an H4 but sold it
figuring correctly that the H2 would be easier to use.
D. Adler
10. David Adler&hellip | August 23rd, 2007 at 7:20 pm
Just received my Zoom h2. Recording volume is fine
using the built in mics BUT very low volume using
external Audio Technica stereo microphone. Is this a problem with the internal mic preamps?? I continue to investigate.
11. Jeff&hellip | September 7th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
The H2 was released on August 31 in Japan. Approx. 24000 yen or $220.
12. Heinz&hellip | September 28th, 2007 at 11:11 am
The H2 has arrived in Germany at last and I got one of the first devices (199 Euros). First impression: Easy to use – just insert batteries and SD card and press the red button – excellent sound quality – low noise – no discernible draw-backs so far – no problems with connection to computer via USB – no problems with connection to external electret stereo mics – internal mics have slight low-frequency drop-off that can be corrected with any equalizer.
13. Buffy&hellip | December 8th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
When uploading the music from the H2, what software would I need to be able to have the computer fill in the notes so I would have “sheet music?”
14. Derek&hellip | December 15th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Generally, sheet music can be generated from MIDI files (such as in GarageBand or Logic) that are generated from a MIDI controller such as a synth or keyboard, but there’s no automated way to take audio waveforms like those you’d get from the H2 (or a tape recorder, for that matter) and turn them into sheet music — that’s what you need a human transcriber for!
Computers are pretty powerful, but they’re not magical, unfortunately, and taking recorded music, especially anything multitimbral and polyphonic, and interpreting it into musical notation requires an actual person. So I guess the short answer is that you’d need to hire a transcriber.
15. chuck&hellip | April 9th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I’m interested in recording a speech only program but with rich high quality. What is the best way to go? H2 and itunes? H2 and Garage Band? Any ideas here would help a great deal as I just got a new iMac but not use to it yet.
16. Derek&hellip | April 11th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
You can get pretty good results straight out of the H2 (which we did for our 50th episode http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=449), or even better with an H4 using an external mic (which is now I record my wife’s podcast at http://lipglossandlaptops.com). It’s best if you record to WAV for the best quality and for later processing, but if you don’t do anything else to the file, straight to MP3 also works.
You’ll probably need to do a bit of editing and post-processing, in which case GarageBand will do just fine. Running your speech through the free Levelator (http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator/) to enhance it and boost the levels without any additional work — just drag and drop.
My simple workflow for Lip Gloss and Laptops (less involved than what we do for IHR) is external mics – > Zoom H4 -> Levelator -> GarageBand -> Export to iTunes -> Add ID3 tags – > Upload. I’m planning on making an IHR TV episode about just that soon, actually.
17. AB&hellip | November 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I can’t figure out to access the H2 on my computer; I connect the USB cable in “USB mode”, and my computer tells me that the device is working properly, but no icon appears (as the manual says it should) anywhere that I can find. What am I missing here?
Thanks.
18. speedball&hellip | December 14th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
mid side ??????
my has a crappy useless 90 degree xy_like on one side and a wider 120 degree xy_like on the other.
they claim “360″ degree surround but its more liek 210 degree cone sound.
unless i am close there is not enough gain — to be useful for field work this thing needs to be changed.
if i have to be clsoe i want midside not the crap they stuck the USA with
19. dauntless&hellip | April 2nd, 2010 at 5:30 am
Hey, thanks for the article. I’ve been using the Zoom H2 for a while now and I think its great for field recording as well. so quick and easy to get going with out much hassle. Quality is pretty damn good as well. We’ve also used it to record some dj mixes and the results were superb.
Cheers
dauntless
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