At 07:03 PM 2009-04-13, Curt Olson wrote:
> >> So I guess the moral of the story is to watch your levels and allow
> >> plenty of headroom. By doing that, I've had pretty good results so
> >> far.
>
>So... my 2 cents is that the H2 is a decent "bit bucket" for a good
>external preamp, but pretty much useless otherwise if quality is
>important.
Hi, Curt,
I haven't yet characterized the external mic inputs of the H2 because
I'm rather uninterested in the box for external mic recording, having
an SD722. What I do like about the internal mics of the 722 is that
they seem to do a reasonable job and I like the 4-channel mode for
recording conversations--especially round-table conversations. It is
more than adequate as a "cassette recorder" replacement. In fact,
it's perhaps the best all-in-one unit I have used and the mics might
be almost as good -- and perhaps with a less-annoying high-end -- as
the AT822 stereo mic.
But, that's a digression from this thread, and I apologize.
I have taken some time to characterize the line inputs of the H2 and
have written it up here:
http://richardhess.com/notes/2009/04/13/zoom-h-2-line-input/
The -10 dBV input spec only allows about 3-5 dB of headroom above -10
dBV. This is why, I think, some reports have indicated that the
device shows some clipping.
Don't ever run down the digital level control on a line input--it
serves absolutely no purpose. The H/M/L switch does not work for the
line input, which is too bad.
Remember, when we normally say a -10 dBV line level, we're referring
to a lineup tone referenced to a VU meter and the meter lets through
peaks of typically 10 dB (but can be more on some program material),
so the input gain structure is a little bit too "hot" in the H2.
I would use some sort of external pad so that if you set the H2 to
100 and then set an alignment tone at 0 VU and set that to at least
-12 dBFS on the H2, preferably -18 dBFS.
Setting the H2's level control to 60 creates clipping in the preamp
at about -12 dBFS. A few peaks 1-2 dB more than that might get
through, but you'll never get anything up to 0 dBFS into the file
with the input control at 60, at least with version 1.50 firmware on
my machine. The machine we have at the church seems to behave about
the same way--it's also been upgraded to version 1.50 firmware.
Cheers,
Richard
Richard L. Hess
Aurora, Ontario, Canada http://www.richardhess.com/
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm =
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