AlisonGrayson Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hey lovelies, sorry I've been lurking lately and less than vocal, buuuut What are y'all thoughts on the zoom h6? I'm thinking about it as a backup/second recording unit, primarily for those situations where I need to have a lower profile than my standard bag can provide, or where I'm expected to both record from a board feed and need to be a roaming unit at the same time. I do a lot of documentary run and gun, so these situations pop up enough that I'm willing to spend a couple hundred on making my life easier. Initially I was leaning towards the Tascam dr-100mkll, but the 4 xlr inputs on the h6 are a little tempting (though I'm pretty sure I'd just use my beloved nomad for anything over 3). I realize the zoom is well into the "prosumer" genera regarding quality of recordings and I've read a few reviews regarding preamps and noise and whatnot, but my main concerns for what I need from it are physical. The xlrs don't lock, and the control nobs don't lock either and don't have any sort of a protective covering- I'm expecting to occasionally have it in a non-audio bag and I'm concerned about controls getting tousled around. The tascam locks and most of the controls are internal, so I'm imagining it can take more of a thrashing. Has anyone used the zoom6 or have any input? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 I'd prefer a TASCAM over a Zoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I, too, prefer Tascam over Zoom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jozzafunk Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I've been carrying a h4n for backup for a while and it saved the day once but really the sound quality is not great, only really just good enough for tv/doco ( that I'm happy to hand over ), even feeding it with a 552, really only good for loud atmos's, and the thing breaks pretty easy. I've heard the pres on the h6 are better, but have not used it - would you be happy to hand over inferior quality stuff on an important job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard-NYNY Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 we had this discussion a while ago about the zaxcom zfr 100 recorder. why not look into something a few steps up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonG Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Agreed. This has been discussed many times, and we always come to the same conclusion: Tascam > Zoom You get what you pay for It depends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrd456 Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Tascam more better----bruder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe Dolinger Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 As a fellow lover of beer and the Nomad, I have to recommend the Sony D50. I love the sound, the battery life, and the onboard mics. It's a mini connector, which is the only bummer. But that thing is pretty much the king of saving the day. Just bring cables. Also, I bet you rarely need or want to deal with 4 tracks in a drop-and-go station, but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Just bought a Sony SOPCMM10B Lowest noise level mikes just for those moments when you hear something and do not have your 664 and Sanken stereo Did some roller coaster recordings with a Mini-Disc and a Sony MS 907 that were pretty good Interesting how domestic gear is so portable and good mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlisonGrayson Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks, all! I'm definitely leaning towards the Tascam, but I'll give the Sony a look. Since I'm getting it primarily as an alternate for guerrilla projects, the clients that I'd use it for are willing to sacrifice a little higher end quality for a non-conspicuous production profile. Different tools and compromises for different jobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamacchiacosta Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hi there, as a H6 owner I suggest to have a look also to the Olympus LS100. http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/ls-100.html I haven't tried myself but a lot of Nature Recordists agree about the better engineering and sound quality for the same price range. Back to the H6. I'm using it for few months now as a fourth option (after my 788T, my computer based Nuendo, my Edirol R4 pro) and it is always with me when I am travelling. My decision to get it followed the H4N I had and having the option to have 6XLR inputs is very attracting. Compared to the H4N is a bit more a toy. Is bigger, so less comfortable to hanldle and keep in small pockets. Is heavier, so is a bit trickier to use with my Jobi gorillapod. In sunlight you won't see the screen. The file management suck. Preamps sound quite thin (but we can fix that in post :-D ). The MS mic is a good idea but is very noisy. The minijack input for PIP mics is not as good as the one on the H4N. On the old one I could plug my DPA4061 straight in and it worked, while now is not. I think they are using a different model/brand which is slighlty different in size. When I handle it I have to be more careful than the H4N as it resonate a bit more. Battery life is amazing. I'm just back from a three weeks travel in Mexico and I changed to new batteries once, just for safety because I wanted to do a very long recording. You can use it as SD card reader, which is very good. You can put any SD card from your camera or other brand recorder and it read it. You can use it as computer audio interface, which is splendid, thinking you can have a six track computer based system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VM Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Zoom has improved many points with the H6 recorder... I recorded a test, you can hear it there : http://leblogsonore.com/zoom-h6-test-rapide/?lang=en you will hear the same voice with the H6's MS mic, then with a Schoeps MK4 plug directly in the H6, then via a SD302, then recorded on a SD788. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 If you don't need phantom I always advise the Olympus LS-5. Small, rugged, good sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundmanjohn Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 And soon the H5 will be available. Neater, smaller and cheaper, but with the same plug-in mic system. John Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witesol Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have the H4n and the H6. I rather like the H6. Much better preamps. I use it on music projects, as backup, interviews and misc.. /The pad switch is welcome. Good battery life. the line out along with headphone out is nice. I wish they would have just offered a regular mono mic instead of the MS. As a portable 6 track recorder, it's cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted February 26, 2014 Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Zoom H-8 ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witesol Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 I see they have a new H5n... Hmmm: H2= 2 channels, H4= 4 Channels, H6= 6 channels, H5 = 4 channels it takes the modules from the H6, has real gain pots and pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Sjostrom Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Hm. The h5 looks like the recorder I wanted the h6 to be. I like the Zoom h4n for several reasons: 1. If paired with a great mixer, like the 302, it creates decent results. I've mixed commercials and recorded foley with this setup. 2. It's a great handy tool for small effects. It's not at all good for quiet sounds, but for small insert sounds it can really be a savior. That said, I think other handy recorders of the same size can probably do that a bit better, BUT: 3. It doubles as an interface. This is the prime reason I bought it actually. In the field, with any laptop, I can record stuff into a DAW for example and not have to lug around another sound card like a Focusrite or whatever. I'll definitely look at the h5. If the pres are updated then I think it could prove to be really useful. But not replace any other recorder. That's not what their intent is. I wonder if you could use it without any module. That'd be cool. What's not so cool is that it's not up on their website yet. That really stinks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witesol Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 I've done lots of informal interviews , nat sounds and music stuffs on the H4n. it works. I've paid for it many times over. pretty tough to plug in line level. The external pots/pads on the h5 are welcome, as would be the H6 preamps. I did understand the little cables sticking out, going to the XY mics though...seems odd since it takes the plug in modules http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1026852-REG/zoom_h5_handy_recorder.html/c/product/#inpage:IN+STOCK#inpage:Free+Shipping+(USA) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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