Zoom H4N reduced pricing for those interested

[Mark Post]

Hi Terry -
Well, I don't mean to imply that the H2 is a piece of junk, as I 
certainly don't think it is (although the internal mics are pretty 
thin-sounding and are not very useful for multi-speaker recordings 
unless you love ambient noise). But all it takes is a pairwise test with 
a good self-powered stereo mic to hear the difference (and even see it 
on your squeaky-clean spectrogram!). Plus, the H4n is very 
sturdily-built (the SD card flap on two of our H2s broke within weeks, 
exposing the SD interface to dust, etc.). If you're determined to use 
inbuilt mics, I also think that the H4n's capsules are quite a bit 
better, and the internal gain is a bit better as well. If neither a 
couple hundred dollars nor about 3 ounces of weight are deal-breakers, I 
can't think of a single argument in favour of an H2 versus the H4n!
Cheers
Mark

On 25/05/2010 16:49, Terry Klokeid wrote:
> Thanks for your prompt and frank response, Mark.
>
> The only thing is,
>
> (a) our team has never had any H2 break. That's 4 H2s that have held 
> up over about 2 years, and they travel about a fair bit.
> (b) we find the sound quality excellent
> and
> (c) we use the built-in mikes, not plugins.
>
> Consideration (b) concerns me. We find the sound quality excellent - 
> is that due to the fact that our ears are all over 60 years old?  Some 
> being in the 75-80 year old range. Do younger ears hear differences in 
> speech sound quality that escape us?
>
> I could go buy an H4n tomorrow, as I'll be visiting the Big City (as 
> we call it), but I do need to be convinced.
>
> Dr. Terry J. Klokeid
> Nuchquu-a
>
> Adjunct Professor of Linguistics, University of Victoria
> Coordinator, Nuu-chah-nulth Language Council
> Developer, Huu-ay-aht Language Recovery Program
>
> North Island College, Room S111A
> 3699 Roger Street
> Port Alberni, BC  V9Y 8E3
> 250.724.8743
>
> klokeid at uvic.ca <mailto:klokeid at uvic.ca>
>
>
> On 2010-05-24, at 11:19 pm, Mark Post wrote:
>
>> In my experience, the H2 (a) is cheaply made and prone to breaking 
>> (b) has terrible inbuilt mics and (c) only has a 3.5mm input, hence 
>> requiring either an XLR->3.5mm adaptor or willingness to settle on a 
>> substandard mic. For the additional money, the H4n performs *much* 
>> better on all of these fronts. I still use H2s as emergency backups, 
>> and they are certainly nice and lightweight/small, but the H4n really 
>> does produce far, far better recordings!
>> Mark
>>
>> On 25/05/2010 16:11, Terry J. Klokeid wrote:
>>> On this list, I discern an avoidance of the Zoom H2, which can be 
>>> purchased for less than half what the H4 costs. Can someone please 
>>> explain what  reasons there are for not using the H2.  Our language 
>>> team uses H2s and we are happy with the gadget. Are we missing 
>>> something?
>>>
>>> For example:
>>>
>>> On 2010-05-24, at 10:56 pm, Daryn McKenny wrote:
>>>
>>>> ...The Zoom [H4N ] gets mentioned a bit here, I just thought I 
>>>> would let you all know that our supplier in Newcastle is currently 
>>>> selling them for $439... This product first started at $899 then 
>>>> $649 and now this price, too good.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Mark W. Post, PhD
>> Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Anthropological Linguistics
>> The Cairns Institute
>> James Cook University
>> QLD 4878 Australia
>>
>> EML:mark.post at jcu.edu.au
>> TEL: +61-7-4042-1881 (AU)
>> TEL: +91-97183-63544 (IN-Del)
>> TEL: +91-94360-42352 (IN-NE)
>>
>> Web:http://jamescook.academia.edu/MarkWPost
>
> Terry J. Klokeid
> klokeid at uvic.ca <mailto:klokeid at uvic.ca>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dr. Terry J. Klokeid
> Nuchquu-a
>
> Adjunct Professor of Linguistics, University of Victoria
> Coordinator, Nuu-chah-nulth Language Council
> Developer, Huu-ay-aht Language Recovery Program
>
> North Island College, Room S111A
> 3699 Roger Street
> Port Alberni, BC  V9Y 8E3
> 250.724.8743
>
> home office
> Amblewood Multimedia Consulting
> 126 Amblewood Drive
> SaltSpring Island BC V8K 1X2
> 250.653.4099
> mobile 250.208.9567
>
> klokeid at uvic.ca <mailto:klokeid at uvic.ca>
>


-- 
Mark W. Post, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Anthropological Linguistics
The Cairns Institute
James Cook University
QLD 4878 Australia

EML: mark.post at jcu.edu.au
TEL: +61-7-4042-1881 (AU)
TEL: +91-97183-63544 (IN-Del)
TEL: +91-94360-42352 (IN-NE)

Web: http://jamescook.academia.edu/MarkWPost

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