Zoom M2 Portable Recorder: First Look and Overview in 32-bit

[@FreeToUseSounds]

If you like our content and want to support our small channel check out our All In One Bundle 2.0, which includes all of our recordings dating back to the beginning of our sound recording journey.! Get $5 off and receive over 1.8 TB of sounds from all across the world recorded by us! Updates are all free :) ►ftus.gumroad.com/l/allinonebundle/FTUS5

[@mistercohaagen]

Zoom, just do a 32-bit recorder that can use your old stereo mic modules. Your customers will love you for it.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

and the robust design of an H6. Shouldn't be so hard.

[@executorprime]

I have the H1n. I was hoping for a USB C charge and transfer, and a 18650 rechargeable. Is ZOOM still stuck with bleeding edge AAs? Sigh.

[@onQQuincy]

A few days ago I searched the internet looking for videos & reviews of the new Zoom products but didn't find anything & now this pop up

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you for watching! We make another one soon!

[@YoungBlaze]

So this needs to be implemented across the board with other companies to do 32-bit float where they create an actual microphone that won't distort

[@akszay]

Do you think Zoom H series is coming up with 32 bit float recording in the near future?

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi! I can't say this because we have no relation with Zoom but that could be the end for the H series. Maybe they bring out another M1 as a successor for the H1n.

[@spectralisation]

By the way, cudos for being literally FIRST - this is almost the only thing so far I can find on google about Zoom M2. It's not even available on Zoom website yet!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you!! We almost got the M4 today but literally on our way to Tokyo they told us its sold out. Well now we are in Nagano :)

[@EduardoBarba6]

Finally, great quick Video I can't wait for the review of other devices. It sounds very good. You guys should do asmr video like whispering haha that could be really Nice. You are the first channel doing a review of this New recorder in English. awesome! 🤗 congrats.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you!! Not sure about the ASMR videos but we definitely make more videos about gear :)

[@Goat.Herder]

Hopefully they bring out a v2 of the H1N but with better pre amps, it's such a great recorder but not for anything quiet.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

The H1n is not that bad to be honest. We just released another video about it.

[@Mr500music]

Hello. I am totally blind. Can you tell me how hard it would be for me to use this recorder? Also, are the menus dificult to navigate? I love how you describe your products. 8:14

[@masajeffrey3610]

You are so lucky! The timing of your coming to Japan is really good timing to get it. Default language is English but it can be changed into Desutch，Italiano，中文 ！

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thats right :). Great time to visit Japan. Greetings from Sapporo:)

[@mamun_1m]

It would have been better if it was smaller , Good Video

[@FreeToUseSounds]

That would have been great.

[@PubRunner]

I just brought a Zoom F2 and it is fantastic

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Zoom F2 or M2?

[@PubRunner]

@@FreeToUseSounds it’s the F2-BT and it’s fantastic

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@PubRunner Glad you like this one.

[@PubRunner]

@@FreeToUseSounds one thing I discovered was Audacity supports 32 bit float. Which is free. On of the cons many KZbinrs say about 32 bit float is some commonly used audio processing software that costs a bomb doesn’t and it causes disruption to the post production work flow. To that I’d be asking the software company why doesn’t it if we are paying you so much money? Davinci Resolve handles it extremely well add to that Davinci’s voice isolation in Fairlight in 18.1 it’s pure Black Magic.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@PubRunner check out Reaper DAW.

[@totoroutes5389]

For you next video locations: Sarasota Florida, Rochester NY, Los Angeles, Kentucky u.s., Wyoming, Nunavut canada

[@overjok]

I can't wait for you to do a real test, it looks like a great M2

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Coming soon!! :)

[@overjok]

@@FreeToUseSounds 😍😍😍

[@drstkova]

Looking forward to this…

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Watch to the end Neil! :)

[@dakotaovdan]

Hello, thank you for the video! I do have a question. What software do you use to edit your recordings and videos?

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thanks for watching! We're using Adobe Audition, Final Cut, Reaper and Ableton.

[@BillMoriarty]

Can you please do a comparison of the internal mics for quiet nature recoding vs Sony or Tascam’s internal mics? Thanks!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Bill! We will do that for sure!!

Hello Thanks for your videos Could you make a test with the Olympus LS-P5? Have a great day

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Timothée. Oh we won't buy this device.

[@thejoeyluckclub]

I'm still hoping for a compact 32-bit float recorder with stereo 3.5mm stereo input to use with my Sound Professionals MS-TFB-2 binaural mics. Unfortunately, the 3.5mm input on the F2 is mono. I'd also like a 32-bit float recorder that supports Zoom capsules. I have the F1 which checks those boxes (compact, 3.5mm stereo input, capsule support), but it doesn't have 32-bit float. Maybe an F1n? 🤔

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Joe! Ah Sounds Professional is the company that makes the binaurals. I couldn’t remember it. Thank you. Yeah that would be nice to have something like that.

[@thejoeyluckclub]

@@FreeToUseSounds Yeah they're really great! Maybe not quite as nice as your DPA 4560 :) but they sound great and are very comfortable. I feel they are the best sounding in the lower price range. I captured some really great thunderstorms with them! I like the way they sit in the ear-not an earbud type like the Roland ones. So they don't block my hearing at all.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Yeah I saw it in some photos how they sit behind and in the ear. I feel like they hiding better than the DPA’s

[@dacota1006]

welcome to Okayama!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you!!

[@gregwilsonnaturephotography]

I am very new to sound recording and have the H1n and H6. I don't understand the size and form of this as well as the why you need to mount it. It's just another piece of gear I can save money on.... so... I see that as a good thing! 😆 lol Greg

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Greg!! That’s why we make these videos. We spend the money so that others can decide if they want it or not :). Thank you for always watching our videos.

[@manutecsounds]

Good to see you with new Microphone zoom M2, Display looks like zoom h1n but with a menu button, also capsules are covered. Looks like Zoom h1n with bit new feature of 32 bit. but so lengthy.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you for watching!

[@petercampobasso1802]

It’s Mr. microphone on steroids Hey good looking, be back to pick you up later.

[@milkouille]

Maybe it can be useful for interview (long body and 32bits) but it loses the stealthness of the H1n

[@FreeToUseSounds]

That would have been nice to have it in the size of the H1n.

[@mizuhasi_yukkie]

Thank you for the great video. It's kinda funny because I'm Japanese and I didn't know about this new product until I saw this video. (even i am a ZOOM fan since the first version of H4). To me it sounds a little less detailed in the treble, but the compactness is appealing. Seems like it would be good for big sound of city and vehicles(ex. pass by Shinkansen). Looking forward to your next video. arigatoo gozaimasu!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you so much for watching!! We try this out! We travel right now around Japan in the trains :)

[@MatthiasKappeler]

How do you denoise an athmo track that has a lot of water sounds? Also I didn't hear a big difference between the part without noise reduction and with noise reduction. How did you judge the noise in a recording like that? Really looking forward to the in-depth video! Thank you for making this kind of content. Much appreciated. :)

[@spectralisation]

I bet the device probably has it's own pre-amp noise profile digitally encoded and simply runs a sample-based noise removal algorhythm upon saving the file (same thing you would do with Izotope RX). 32bit feature seams like a bit of an overkill given the cheap pre-amps will not have a huge dynamic range anyway, so only really useful if you don't wanna bother with gain level at all during recording... I'm guessing the target market for this one are journalists, documentary makers, vlogers, interviewers, etc. - not field recordists.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Matthias, there is constant hiss that was present and I simply removed it with Bertom. For me the difference was significantly and the water wasn’t running like crazy. We definitely make another video about it in different situations. That was the very first recording:)

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Marius, thank you for watching and I removed the noise with Bertom which is a great free plugin that cuts out some of the noise. We film another video today about the handling noise.

[@spectralisation]

@@FreeToUseSounds Oh, thanks for clarification! From video caption I somehow got an idea that noise reduction was a feature on the recorder itself :)

[@keinpodcast4053]

Thank you so much for this first test recording. Even through my bad in-ears on the laptop I can here the noise. Its comparable to the Zoom H2n, which I don't use anymore. Also the material of the housing looks similar to the H2n. I would think that the M2 is a good recorder for interviews on the streets. Maybe you can use it for louder sounds, recorded from a second or third position. Or for dangerous situations, where its not as bad losing this recorder than losing a more expensive one. Viele Grüße und einen schönen Tag noch (oder bei euch schon Nacht) - Til.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Till! Oh the handling noise is really bad to be honest. I already did some recordings and without the low cut filter on, it's extreme. I will showcase this in another video. I think for overnight recordings attached to a tree or placed in a bush, could definitely work. Otherwise I won't use this one very often. I hope to get the M4. 11:20 pm now :)

[@walthamwalker]

Zoom h1 was too good

[@FreeToUseSounds]

And still is :)

[@Cluniocu]

Hi Marcel, thank you for sharing your first impressions. Replying your question, I would like to see the differences between the Zoom h1n and the Zoom m2 MicTrak, because there are differences, yes, (size, ergonomy...) but I would like to test other features like quality, duration, etc... The first one is old but cheap (about 90€), and the second one new and costs the double (200€)... For a non professional people like me, is justified to buy the new one? (And I am not talking about M3 or M4) Anyway, is it possible to see a M1 to replace the H1n, or M2 is the natural replace to this one? Thank you both!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hello Jorge, thank you so much for watching and we can definitely make this video. I can’t see if that is the successor of the H1n but I personally hope there is another smaller and compact version coming out. The M2 is too long and nothing I could carry in my pocket. We left the H1n in Osaka but will be back in a week.

[@cryptotrader2779]

Cool. As I said, I'm not a big fan of the design at all, but what matters is the sound. I read somewhere online that the design was to make to be more like a traditional microphone, but I still don't really like it. It may be OK for general content creating, but as a field recorder not so much. It really needed a 3.5mm input and a tripod thread. The M4 in KZbin reviews is also a very big unit with the same kind of height but very thick. So I'm not really sure what to think of these new releases really. Especially now you say it's noisy. I was really hoping for a 32bit H1n that fits easily in a shirt or jacket, which I am sure they can do because most of the M2 size is taken up by that odd battery configuration. Anyway, thanks for showing it to us, and I can't wait to find out more about it in the next videos. 👍

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you Simon! You're the reason why we spent another $180! :) So make sure you watch the next video too. I had the same hope but who knows maybe there is another M1 coming. Odd that the numbers started with M2, M3 and M4. So maybe there is room for an M1.

[@cryptotrader2779]

@@FreeToUseSounds Ha ha. You made me feel guilty now ;o)) Ha ha. Not sure about an M1. I heard M2 means 2 channel and M4 means 4 channel. Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed by them and I'd be very confused whether to get an M4 or F3. Maybe the F3 is the best buy for the money and I can use my Usi's with it. I think the M4 is about $399 so it's even more than a F3. Anyway, looks like I keep using my H1n for now and I'm OK with that. Still a great recorder and does what I need. Such a shame they didn't make a 32bit H1n with cleaner sound, like a copy or with small design updates. Oh well .....

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Ha Ha no need to feel that way. The F3 and the F6 are amazing. The H1n one of the best mini handheld recording device and yes, same size 32 bit would have been a huge success. One day :)

[@CameraRay]

I don't see any value in the M2. But, the M4 will give you an F3 with built in mic recording. I might consider the M4 but not the M2.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@CameraRay We try to get the M4 too.

[@stephenbarlow2493]

I heard a Wigeon (duck) at the end of your recording. That whistling sound.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

I know!! The ducks are so cute!!!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Please let us know in the comments if you have questions!!!!

[@GadesChannel]

Of course I count on the comparison with F3 and X8 :) I have X8 and H1n, and I'm curious if this device is in the fact F3 in H1n body ;) (yes, yes, I know, this is ridiculous, but you know what I mean ;))

[@cezar_visual_artist]

Would you like planet Mars to explode? Let know in the comments below....geeeez

[@vidworxsfx]

Reminds me too much of a handheld Karaoke mic, not really even prosumer, very much seems targeted as a simple consumer device maybe for somthing like a meeting. So that may be why it has no XLR or anything that you would really need in a field recorder. Just My 2 Cents an odd device at that in my opin.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

I can only agree with what you're saying. Libbys first reaction was exactly this. Karaoke Mic but with way too much handling noise. I can see people using it to record instruments at home or singing while attached to a mic stand. For field recording it's not very versatile. I would recommend to wait for the M4 and what people are saying about it. If we can get it here in Japan, we make a video about it for sure.

[@cryptotrader2779]

The M4 has same inbuilt X/Y mics and two additional XLR-1/4* (like the H4/H5), so i guess this M2 is the H1n replacement. Don't really like it though.

[@vidworxsfx]

@@FreeToUseSounds Hey thanks for the reply, its funny she had the exact same response to that mic as I did.

[@jamfree]

1. Am I going to be a superstar with this thing? 2. sm58, sm57, ... or this crap? 3. Is there a toothbrush function here? 4. Does the karaoke function have a large list of songs?

[@rbingraham]

Such a weird form factor. It really looks like it's best suited for capturing interview type audio or something else where the convenience of holding the device in your hand is the top priority. At first I thought maybe it's a wireless handheld microphone that also happens to have a recorder built into it. That could be pretty useful actually, but it would cost significantly more if you wanted a good wireless RF section to it. Looking around the web, the M3 and M4 seem like far more useful products than this M2.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Interview type could become difficult because the handling noise is extreme. I will showcase this in another video with the different low cut settings. For recording instruments or singing attached to a mic stand it should work fine.

[@rbingraham]

@@FreeToUseSounds Good to know, thanks. But now it makes even less sense. LOL. But maybe a lot of folks were just asking for a recorder that more easily attached to a standard microphone stand? Don't know.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Yeah maybe:)

[@godsakes]

Did Zoom sack their design team and replace them with interns? I'm really not sure about this design direction, it seems distractingly ugly to even be used for video interviews which it's form factor seems to be designed for

[@krishnanishad7366]

It's op sir,😘

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Op? :)

[@edulopezphoto]

Es lo más feo que he visto en tiempo 😅 y no entiendo como zoom sigue sin poner baterías de litio en sus productos.

[@thethirdrailchannel]

I’d like to see a video of you packing it up and returning it for a refund. It seems more like a toy.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Ha Ha Ha! I can’t return it because I left the box in Okayama. We already left and there was no space in the luggage.

[@TheMarcellusWesley]

1st

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Almost first :)))

[@DaveChorowskiMusic]

Oof, this is product is looking like a bit of a flop! The noise, the lack of mounting options and 3.5mm input, the form factor, the way it captures voice. And also a good handful of people that will buy this product will likely treat it like a handheld dynamic mic and get some really bad proximity effect and sibilance and some really bad plosives without a supplied proper windscreen.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi David! Thank you so much for your feedback and you got some really good points here.

[@ericfernando4296]

Zoom really likes to dissapoint their customer by ommissioning useful features like external mic input aren't they?

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Seems like it Eric.

[@CreativeRamy]

Wow what a complete fail, the noise and no 3.5 mic input! Pass...

[@FreeToUseSounds]

We are waiting to get our hands on the M4 now!