The Zoom H2 recorder was introduced at the NAMM show in January of
this year. It looks like Zoom will deliver the first H2 models in a
couple of weeks. Initial street price will be $200.
The Zoom H2 recorder now has an official web page with photos, here:
http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=3D1916
The recorder's dimensions are approximately 6" x 3" x 1.5", and weight
is 4oz without batteries. That's larger than the Edirol R-09 and
M-Audio Microtrack 2496 flash recorders, but still small and light
enough to hold in one hand.
The H2 can record from its built-in mics, or from external mic or line
level sources. There is no digital input. The H2 digitizes input at
rates up to 24/96 for WAV file recording. MP3 recording is available
at rates up to 320kbps. Variable bit rate MP3 is supported.
Zoom says the recorder uses 2 AA alkaline cells to provide 4 hours of
recording time. Rechargeable AA cells or lithium cells would provide
longer run time. No phantom or plug-in power is supplied to external
mics, so an external condenser mic has to have its own battery power.
An external mic may not be necessary. The H2's most interesting
feature is a built-in 3 mic array that uses a mid-side recording
technique. A 90 degree, 120 degree or 360 degree mic pattern can be
selected. It's not clear to me if the mid-side mic signals are
recorded directly, or if the signal is decoded into standard stereo
before recording.
Also not clear at this point is how the H2's four channel recording
function works. The H2 photos show an indicator light for 2 or 4
channels. It's likely that you won't be able to record four channels
at 24/96.
The web page says the Zoom H2 will work with a Secure Digital (SD)
flash memory card up to 4GB capacity. There's no word about SDHC.
The H2 package includes a 512MB SD card, a useful size.
The recorder has a socket in its base to enable it to be mounted
upright on a standard tripod. That's a nice feature missing in many
other recorder models.
It remains to be seen if Zoom has improved on the recorder's
performance. The larger Zoom H4 has problems with noise created by
the internal battery. The H4 built-in mics are of low quality.
Klas Strandberg reports the H4 preamps work very well when he replaced
the H4's built-in mics with his Telinga EM23 mic capsules. So there's
a chance that the H2 preamp will function well, too.
Hopefully, the H2 will be a success, and that success will induce
other recorder manufacturers to introduce models at a lower price point. =
--oryoki
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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