Zoom H2n Handy Recorder Long Term Short Review (2023)

[@StEvE1961able]

Really helpful and inspiring review. Technical, but not “dry”, and the sound samples thoroughly back up the potential of this model. Thanks.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, Thank you!

[@點點心情]

Two thumbs up!

[@Kavika-xh1qj]

Gracias! This is exactly what I was looking for. Great work! Hallo from Spain. New subscriber.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Thank You!

[@alephsusvaldes]

Excellent review. To the point, with clean audio and video and most of all, very useful. Thank you, I have an H2n and really love it.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Thank you for watching it and thank you for your comment really appreciated!

[@koronevskis]

thank you for the review, thumbs up. The review is worth many extra views and likes.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Thank you for very kind words, sincerely appreciated!

[@cybergolio]

In XY mode you need to turn the screen in direction of the subject ;-) the led show you the direction

[@maikvanrossum]

Great experience based review 👍🏻 Nice tips, too. You did spark some insights on using the device again 👌🏻 Thanks, groeten vanuit Rotterdam 🇳🇱

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hoi, dank u wel voor mooi reactie, ik waardeer het hoog. Groeten van Den Haag!

[@Zimmerframerate]

Great review. It also has a setting to stop the sea just in time, which is very impressive for a small recorder. 🖖

[@RuiSousas]

🤣

[@RONALDSCHULTE]

Great video and am pleased with the shots that show clear differences. I am just getting started with the H2n and have some questions about two settings. I have the LO CUT set to on to eliminate noise as much as possible and have the limiter set to GENERAL to eliminate any peaking. So no compensator to prevent gain going up during quiet passages. How did you turn these on or off and why. I will be using the microphone for outdoor noise. Thanks for your explanation. Greetings from Franeker.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi! I'm not using any limiters or lo cuts, i prefer to use muff (cat) to eliminate rumble from wind and volume level on 3-4 during recording to keep signal nicely recorded with plenty of headroom. I'm editing all audio in DAW whereas it is possible to manipulate volume etc. If you using your H2n mostly for recording of ambient sounds and noises i would recommend to use lo-cut around 80 and leave volume at 4-5, in case if you would use limiter there is big chance of higher volume of background hiss on the recording. Thanks!

[@RONALDSCHULTE]

@@TechieViewVideo Thank you for your response. So my gain of 7 is way too high? I also thought I heard a sonorous hum in quiet passages, maybe that's because of that high gain. However, with a gain of 5 in MS mode, the db meters don't get much higher than -18 with some rumble sounds here on the kitchen table. Maybe I should go outside and record some sounds.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, Yes, 7 could be a bit too high for my taste, i always recommend to record digital audio somewhere - 18 - 15, in some rare cases it can go up to - 10, remember that you always need to have enough of headroom for work with the recorded file in DAW. Thanks!

[@truesight91]

I am looking to make therapeutic sound videos recording in nature with capturing natural sounds of the environment well as well as recording my instruments. What equipment would I need and what is a good camera compatible with this recorder? Do I need additional microphones or just the camera & recorder? Thanks

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, it depends on your budget and how big of "production" you want it to be, you can do it with phone camera for example iPhone or Galaxy and inexpensive audio recorder - something like Zoom H2n, Zoom H1 Essential, Zoom H4 Essential, Zoom Mictrack M2 or OM System LS-P5. You also can use your phone for editing video and audio. if your budget is slightly larger than that you can purchase dedicated video camera and computing device, it could be one of Canon, Sony, Panasonic video capable cameras and any more or less serious Windows / Apple desktop or laptop, you can also use an iPad for editing, regarding audio recorders you can take a look at more expensive ones, like Tascam Portacapture X6, Zoom H6 Black or Zoom F3. Build in microphones are good enough for high quality audio capture but separate microphones could give you more possibilities and even better audio quality specially if you would want to record acoustic instruments. You can also take a look at special audio + video recorders like Zoom Q8n-4K or Zoom Q2n-4K. Regarding software, on PC or Mac i would recommend to use Adobe Premier Pro or Final Cut Pro on iPad or Android Luma Fusion will do the trick flawlessly. Hope it helps. Thanks!

[@truesight91]

@@TechieViewVideo Great comment thanks

[@TechieViewVideo]

Very welcome! 😉

[@Filipi]

Great review! I'm going to buy one!

[@johnviera3884]

if it’s a two input / two output sound card you can DJ with it on an iPad or iPhone And you can monitor and mix simultaneously

[@JustTheHighlights]

I used mine only a few times then the toggle button used to navigate the menu stopped working. Only let's me navigate up and won't select anything. It's a shame as I quite liked it. Not sure if I can get it repaired or if I should buy something else.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, i believe you can get in contact with the seller for reparation or replacement. I've got mine H2n for longer than 2 years never had any problems withy build quality. Thanks!

[@droiid123]

Hi and thanks for video. I have H2N new for recording country sessions. I understand correctly that the XY mod is for recording from the front (from the side of the display) for recording one musician, while the MS mod is suitable for recording from back side of H2N, when there are more musicians in front of me? Am I understanding this correctly? XY for solo, MS for band. Is that so? Thank you.

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, XY mode is best “stereo” recording mode whereas one can record stereo signal in the best way, you can record musicians, ambient audio or just audio for video, side mic mode is good if you are recording solo musician or anything else whereas one can adjust mono to stereo later in the software, it also good if one would need to record just mono signal. So in short - no, XY is for stereo Side Mic for mono. Thanks!

[@droiid123]

@@TechieViewVideo Thank You very much.

[@TechieViewVideo]

You’re welcome!

[@droiid123]

@@TechieViewVideo Thank you very much for your response. Where and in what mode would you place this microphone in a situation where several musicians (up to 10 - playing country music) sit around a large table (in a pub) and play? Unfortunately, sometimes someone plays solo, sometimes only a couple, sometimes everyone plays. The singers also take turns (mostly the one who leads the song sings mainly, but that changes). You would place the microphone in the middle between them, or rather try to record from a distance. I know it's a bad recording situation. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of "traffic" (other people are having fun in the pub).Thank you very much.

[@TechieViewVideo]

@@droiid123 Hi, Ok, I see, I would place the small 1-1.5 meter tall tripod in 1-2 meters (depends) distance from a table, i would use XY mode (better stereo image). The other solution would be placing your H2n higher up to 2-2.5 meters in front of the performers (overhead) therefore letting people travel through the area under your installation without causing much trouble, i believe you could find some sort of hook which could be used for montage out of the ceiling, just need to be careful placing it and "target" performers from up to down also have to use "low cut" so the standing sound waves and low end rumble will not be recorded, volume level 4 - 5. It should work. Thanks!

[@echoesofeverest1]

You gain a new subscriber . What will be your advice for someone like me. My channel is about city walk and i want to improve the sound quality. H1n and h2n which of them will you recommend and also which software can i use to process the audio to get the best quality out from the recorder

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi! First of all, thank you for subscribing, much appreciated. It's all depends on budget, for starters with limited budget H1n would be a great option, one can mount it on top of the camera rig, made a connection to the aux in and record sound from the microphone of H1n directly to the camera. H1n could also be used as stand alone recorder whereas one can sink audio with video later in software. H1n able to record very good audio with 24 Bit 96 KHz. H2n will be an absolute great option for anyone who is busy with video production of any kind. Its truly versatile and very capable device, it has multi-microphone design whereas it is possible to record spatial, surround, stereo or just mono audio in high quality with very low noise level. H2n could be mounted on a rig or used as stand alone main or back up audio recording solution. It works 20 hours on batteries which is much longer than most of the devices of that sort. Regarding software, ProTools is the best for audio manipulation of any kind, it also has a free version which is more than enough for editing audio for video. Cubase would be my number 2, Adobe Audition is at number 3. Besides that you can always improve recorded audio in Blackmagic Davinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro all of those packages have quite good or even extended audio editing capabilities. Also, you might be interested in some of Izotope products. Hope it helps! 😉

[@echoesofeverest1]

@@TechieViewVideo wow this is full package. Thanks so much I really appreciate for your time and effort 🙏 🙂

[@TechieViewVideo]

Anytime! :)

[@EnglishEloquenceMoscow]

The Zoom h2n is the best product in terms of mics for me. I've tested some other (more expensive) zooms and I still think h2n beats them.

[@johnviera3884]

at 6:50 That’s awesome I have the zoom H 1. It does not do this well. It’s a very cheap microphone only preamp that clips nonstop if you try a line level input

[@keozzsounds]

What would be the best setting for me when i play my records on technics, mixing with a rodec mx180, the wheel on the side is already pulled way down to minimum but as soon i mix a second track in i have to be very careful or the red lamp starts lighting up(clipping) is there a sort of limiter option to work around that? So if I get a bit high in volume the limiter avoids clipping? Because i want my recordings to be a bit higher in volume, other than mixing the file in Ableton to a higher volume.

[@keozzsounds]

Any idea? :)

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi. I understand your question but i believe there is no easy solution, the thing is - if you going to use limiter your recorded file could not sound as good as you wanted to because of limiter which will reduce volume on peaks and create a "slightly overblown" effect on your recordings. My solution is to reduce gain on input per channel on your mixer therefore create lower volume on output. Thanks!

[@keozzsounds]

I understand. My first thought was a workaround with limiter and /or compressor. Same way i use some of my Channels on ableton. Just saw the zoom has both on board and I was wondering if I could use that instead to save myself te time to import it into ableton and boost the whole file. Something i find is that my recorded files just by monitoring my channels not to redline are not that impressive in sound. Then again. I’m used to mix and master tracks. Only not of that size 😊 thnx for the answer man. Appreciated

[@TechieViewVideo]

You're welcome! :)

[@GabrielRevelas]

Hi so when I started up my H2N, and i click on the menu button, I do not have as many options as I see in other videos. I only have 4 options and they do not nearly have as many options as I have seen you and others have in videos. I cannot even format my SD card, would you happen to know why that is?

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, it is rather strange issue, i do not know what exactly is wrong with your device but i think if you try to update it that problem could be solved. Thanks!

[@Songbook398]

Is it good in 2023 ? How about h5 & h6

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi! In short - yes, it is! It is not a new model, but it is very capable little Handy Recorder which is able to make serious audio recordings in 24 Bit format it is also one of not so many recorders which is supporting "spatial audio" standard. Besides of array of the microphones it also has 3.5mm jacks for in/out which is quite handy if you want to make simple stereo recording from basically any source. There is plenty of other things it can do, so it is a very good recorder even in 2023 after long years of presence on the market. H6 is my favorite recorder I'm using it quite often when in need for "pro" connection and / or multi-channel, it's perfect for what it is. Thanks!

[@d0ntbeevil]

IS IT TOO SENSITIVE? Did you come across a situation when this device picks up TOO MUCH noise from the room? Which makes public recording almost unusable. Using with batteries to record piano in a public space. Same with recording around a conference table, If so, any setting you recommend to avoid this kind of situation? Thanks!

[@TechieViewVideo]

Hi, i think you have to stop using limiter and keep volume at 4-5. Thanks!