H2 recorder - low sens. line input ?

[Fernando]

Hi,

I just purchased an H2 and I'm very surprised with the sensitivity of

the line input. It seems to be looking for a hot headphones level

maybe?

Coming from the aux out of my SD 302 and with H2's input level at max.

(127) the signal level is way too low.

The only way of achieving a normal recording level is through H2's mic

input, wich I would like to avoid.

Is my H2 behaving normally or there's something wrong in it?

Anyone else observed funny input sensitivity, either low or high?

Thanks,

Fernando

[Alan H. Chang]

My experience with the H2 and H4 is about the same.

I usually send -20 to -16 line level from my SD302 into them with their input sensitivity set to low at about (98).  No matter where I clip on my 302, the level recorded will never exceed -0.3 when viewed afterwards.  Thus, giving me the best signal-noise ratio.  This is "my" best setup to use with these little devices.

Alan

[Glen Trew]

Hi Fernando,

What you described is definately not normal. Here is a reprint from a similar ramps thread about the SD tape out to the H2 line in:

We tested this setup today. We confirmed the overload distortion that

some had mentioned, and came up with what seems to be a good fix:

Our test setup used a Sound Devices 442 instead of the 302 (sold out).

The TAPE OUT of the 442 seems to be the same as the TAPE OUT of the

302, so the results should be the same. The first cable used was a

straight-through TA3 to 1/8' stereo plug.

Using the tone from the 442 at its default setting of "0" (20 dB below

max) we aligned the H2 recorder at -20dB (also 20dB below max). With

this setting, and while talking into a microphone (Senn 416) plugged

into the 442 mixer, the H2 had clipping distortion on peaks of about

6dB before max ("14" on the SD Mixer's meter scale). The distortion

was still present even when reducing the input gain on the H2

recorder. Also, lowering the output level of the 442 and making up the

level with the H2 gain allowed the H2 to record clean dialog even at

full scale on the H2 meters. These tests indicate that the H2's

distortion was occurring before the input level adjustment.

The specs for the H2 line input call for a nominal level of -10dB.

Since the specs for the SD mixer's tape out is actually a little lower

than than, I can't yet explain what is causing the overload

distortion.

The fix was to add a 22K in-line resistor to the two Right and Left

conductors (2 resistors total). 10K was not enough but 22K was. This

is not really a pad because there is no shorting (shunt) resistor. In

fact, the in-line resistors did not noticeably reduce the input level

to the H2, but the distortion was gone. This arrangement is

reminiscent of the Nagra IV-S input cable that required 47K resistors

in line. Nagra referred to these as "current limiting" resistors. I

don't have a technical explanation for the cause of the distortion

(hopefully SD or Zoom can explain it at some point), but the in-line

resistors solved the problem.

Anyone who has purchased a cable from Trew Audio specifically to

connect the tape out of an SD mixer to the line input of their Zoom H2

recorder can can contact the Sales Department for a free exchange.

Glen Trew