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Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder |  | Brand: Zoom
Category: Musical Instruments
List Price: $609.99
Buy New: $274.00
as of 9/5/2010 10:01 PDT details
You Save: $335.99 (55%)
New (26) Used (1) Refurbished (2) from $265.00
Seller: philanona
Rating:  71 reviews
Sales Rank: 76
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.2 x 2.8 x 1.4
Zoom H4n is the most sophisticated portable handheld recorder with new features and improved user experience at every level. Among its many new features, Zoom's H4n offers superior, built-in X/Y stereo condenser mics that allow variable recording patterns at either 90 or 120 degrees. Higher quality audio capture through its new, digitally controlled, high-quality mic preamp, the ability to use internal and external mics simultaneously for 4 channel recording, a large LCD screen,more intuitive in
MPN: H4N
Model: ZOO H4N
UPC: 084354007953
EAN: 4515260007981
ASIN: B001QWBM62
Release Date: March 2, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Built-in X/Y stereo mics record at either 90° or 120° | | • | Four channel simultaneous recording using built-in and external mics | | • | Digitally controlled, high-quality mic preamp for improved audio quality | | • | Large 1.9-Inch LCD screen and improved user interface for easy operation | | • | 24bit/96kHz Linear PCM recording for pristine recording |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Zoom H4n is the most sophisticated portable handheld recorder with new features and improved user experience at every level.Among its many new features, Zoom's H4n offers superior, built-in X/Y stereo condenser mics that allow variable recording patterns at either 90° or 120°. Higher quality audio capture through its new, digitally controlled, high-quality mic preamp, the ability to use internal and external mics simultaneously for 4 channel recording, a large LCD screen,more intuitive interface and onboard reference speaker will take the user's recording experience to the next level.Purchase the optional remote control for a range of functions. Click Here.AC_FL_RunContent( 'codebase','http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0','width','308','height','245','title','Flash Zoom','src','http://www.americanmusical.com/images/flash-player','quality','high','pluginspage','http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash','movie','http://www.americanmusical.com/images/flash-player' ); //end AC code
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
 ill Bill's take. August 24, 2010
William Gilbert Jr
First off, I'm no professional audio guru. I'm a nerd that does outdoor videos with his Canon 5d Mark II.
I don't need to tell you about the technical aspects, but I will say that it does exactly as described. It also comes with a wind blocker so no need to buy one. The audio is great about picking up only the angle of degree you have it set to. I do some beach video and it was important that I didn't pick up a lot of garbage from passerby's, etc. If you're right up on it of course you will hear outside noises but for interviews or specific sounds where your camera is pointed this is perfect. I also bought an adapter so I could put it on the hotshoe of my 5ds which helped. For the price this can't be beat.
Bill
 Quad channel recording at a great price, minor drawbacks August 15, 2010
HMMWV (santa clara, CA USA)
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.
Excited to receive this. August 10, 2010
Narendran Subramanian
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I tried recording a few audio and it has been wonderful. But I am still having issues with couple of things. When I connect the output to my 5DMarkII there is a hissing sound and somewhere it is mentioned that I need a 25 dB attenuation cable or something. Not sure as of now on how to get the sound to record directly to the camera. I have the latest firmware on the camera. Secondly, they should do something about the windscreen. They should bundle the redhead windscreen with this recorder. The one provided with the product is pretty much useless to my knowledge. Need to do some testing with external microphones before I can provide a decent update.
What a great little device August 7, 2010
crockett15
I have never owned a portable recorder before so I have limited experience. Having said that, I am astonished at this little jewel's capabilities. I read reviews which said that it is hard to use, but if you can read and follow simple directions, I see no problem there. In fact I would say that it is quite easy to use. The onboard speaker is not great but plugging it in to a good set of speakers solves that problem. It is so much fun to play with. I would highly recommend it.
Works very well July 27, 2010
Scott FS (Sacramento, CA United States)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm helping a friend with a film shoot. It's tedious work, but if something breaks or goes wrong, guess what? You've now got actors and crew and hangers-on just sitting around, stewing.
The film is being shot in high-def, but the excellent camcorder is not burdened with doing the sound. The Zoom H4n Handy Recorder is. We've got it hooked up to a boom with a shotgun mike.
This is an excellent recorder. It handles recording the actors in exemplary fashion. The display is simple enough to be pretty intuitive, with very little instruction. Now I'm not going to say that you can go out and buy this recorder and start knocking on Steven Spielberg's door. This is not a mixing board with multiple tracks one can lay down. This is a four-channel recorder, and for filming, it's great. We have a young guy who wants to be a director (who doesn't) hanging around the set. The sound director took pity on him and let him run the recorder for a while on non-critical shoots. He picked it up in a couple of minutes, and did pretty well holding the boom and running the recorder.
I've been pretty impressed with the capability of this recorder, and the sound is excellent. I can only attest to its versatility on the set; I've not tried it with recording a band, or bird calls or whatever. But I can tell you that this recorder is just about perfect for location shooting. Combined with the shotgun mike, it works really well. Now if we can just get the actors to learn their lines better...
Highly recommended. It's worth every penny of its very reasonable cost.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
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