Field recording and occasional gig recording - the Samson Zoom H2 or the Edirol R-09?

[smith6079]

Hello, I'm a newbie here...

I have a pair of binaural microphones that I want to use as an external mic or line-in with a recorder. What I want to record - sounds of surroundings and occasionally shows (rock/pop, orchestra).

I'm in a dilemma over which recorder to get, and narrowed my choices down to the Samson Zoom H2 and the Edirol R-09. Right now I'm leaning towards the Zoom H2 because it's cheaper, much cheaper...

For the Samson Zoom H2, I got a quote from City Music that it's $272.
For the Edirol R-09, I got a quote from Global Broadcast Supply that it's $588.50.

Any thoughts/comments/sample recordings welcome please!

 

[THOA]

You're not considering the H4?

 

[smith6079]

Hi Thoa

H4 much too big for me to carry around stealthily or inobtrusively... plus I prefer one with 1/8 jacks as my binaural mics are 1/8 inch. I don't have or need XLR jacks.

Also, the H4 is substantially more expensive than the H2. The H2 is really affordable but I'm concerned about the ext mic and line-in recording quality of the H2. Need to know if it's much better on the Edirol R-09 because I guess ultimately, out of part-hobby-part-work interest, I'd still want to have good recordings... over price.

The Edirol R-09 is a couple hundred more expensive than the Zoom H2 but, it'd be the maximum of what I'd be willing to pay...

 

[rottenramone]

i'd say go for H2. i have it and its roks. recorded line in and no problems, if you're not expecting superclean digital.

micwise just have to set the levels and get a decent sound. its pretty much a shoot n go piece of gear with some nifty features.

 

[ac]

Hey where'd you get the binaural mics from? The net?
i'm using the H4. There's a new update on the zoom site that will allow >4GB. The thing with the H4 is phantom power, which if you're into up close and personal recordings, paired with a large diaphragm condenser, it's going to be as good as it can get.

 

[THOA]

Can I ask you why is there a need for you to record in stereo? Isit for music making or isit a matter of preference? Cos from what you wrote, the situations you are trying to record aren't really a "need to be stereo recording" type situation.

The Edirol R-09 is a couple hundred more expensive than the Zoom H2 but, it'd be the maximum of what I'd be willing to pay...

If you are willing to fork out that amount, I seriously think that H4 is a better choice cos an 1/8" inch binaural mic is gonna sound really thin, no matter what you record with. The wide soundscape you want may not be as good as you like it to be.

Think of it this way: you can have a water tank made of gold, with its own automatic filtering system and all the high tech gear you can think of, but if the pipe you wanna pour the water in is as thin as your little finger, it's still not gonna justify the cost of that tank.

As AC mentioned, the H4 has phantom power capabilities, which means it can power up a condensor. However, that maybe too much cost for you, so I suggest that, if you wanna get that stereo effect, use 2 dynamic mics (one for each xlr - 1/4 in put), assign a track for each mic (H4 got 4 tracks to play with) and record. That way, your stereowould be even WIDER, since the left and right channel are recording 2 mics at a larger distance than the binaural.

This is, of course, just a suggestion. If you are REALLY dead set on just those two, then H2 would be my choice, cos I personally think that getting the more expensive Edirol won't make much difference if you are relying on the binaural.

 

[smith6079]

Thoa - I'm recording in stereo because these binaural mics I have are stereo mics. They're in-ear, they're inobtrusive and I like them very much. I like stereo recordings, how they sound and binaural recordings interest me. I already ruled out the H4 because it's too big for me. Personal preference of course.

I tried the H2 today, it's neat! I think I will go for it when it's in stock in a few weeks. Tomorrow I'll try the Edirol R-09...

ac - I got my binaural mics from www.soundman.de, do have a look! Mine are the OKM II. I also got the A3 adapter.

Thank you everyone for your feedback and comments, I appreciate it.

 

[soft]

Those mics look interesting. One of these days must try it out.

Did you have good results with them?

 

[smith6079]

Hi soft - yes I like the mics quite a bit. You can check on that website for sample recordings done with them.

Personally I've used them for some shows and there's a fair bit of hiss with the recorder I used so I'm looking for the next-best affordable and portable recorder to put the mics to better use.

I've tested them with the Edirol R-09 already - still a bit hissy and much more expensive; I think I will get the H2.

 

[Fussy-X]

im looking to get my hands on the Zoom H4 which costs about $400 at citymusic. but the reviews i saw on the net about H4 is that it produces a very low 'tick' sound when recording on batteries. is it true? please enlighten..

 

[ac]

It's not audible. It's due to the power not being properly regulated. There are a few mods out there that involve soldering some capacitors to do this.

The dudes that complain about this tick/beep/cyclical sound usually have punched in at a low level and boost the audio later. So unless you're doing some close ups of crickets chirping, it's absolutely great.

I'm not sure whether the H2 suffers from this as well, but the H4 has phantom power *thumbs up*

 

[yc_]

im looking to get my hands on the Zoom H4 which costs about $400 at citymusic. but the reviews i saw on the net about H4 is that it produces a very low 'tick' sound when recording on batteries. is it true? please enlighten..

Fussy-X, please let me know the eventual price you get for the H4, I'm interested in the H4 as well.

I've googled for reviews and noticed that it's signal-noise ratio / frequency response / clipping problems due to very coarse input controls suggest that it can't replace a typical tascam portable multitrack + mikes, but the concept of the H4 is just so cool