How is the ZOOM H2n?

[jippie952]

Hi! So maybe you remember me asking for microphone advice or maybe you don't or maybe you just didn't see that post. Anyway, that's not important.

 

And I have been thinking. At first, I thought the Blue Snowball would be sufficient. Later, I reckoned the Blue Yeti could be more valuable. Now, I'm even considering the H2n from ZOOM.

 

I am planning to use the mike for speech primarily, but also some music, like, recording an acoustic guitar or hitting stuff with my pencils or something.

 

As a price perspective, the Snowball is at about $100, the Yeti about $140 and the H2n about $160 where I live. So my question is, is the H2n the better choice? I kind of think that the portability of the H2n seems cool, I can then record things without my computer. How good is the battery life? I don't really care much about build quality as long as it isn't... Something that would break if I just touched it.

 

Is there even another microphone I should consider? What do you think, please let me know.

 

 

[Langdon]

You can also consider the AT2020.or ATR2500 from Audiotechnica.

[ShearMe]

Never heard of Zoom, and I aint a big pro audio guy, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm basing this opinion on the price point it sells at, and taking into consideration all the components for making a portable mic. 

 

As a microphone I'd bet the H2n isn't as good as the popular non-portable mics. However, if that portability is something that interests you, I'd say go for it, as it's likely not terrible. I'd guess somewhere in between Blue Snowflake and Snowball quality, which is good enough for serious recording but may take more work to perfect how you use it.

[antiquoob]

I recommend the zoom h4n, you can find them for cheap(er), as the h6n has taken the spot light from the h4n. Why? The h4n can power (with batteries) two XLR mikes (condensers needing +48v phantom power). That means in the future you can buy something like the AT2020 (non USB version, much better 20-20k vs. 20-16k freq resp). It (h4n) can record 4 mics simultaneously onto 4 separate tracks and act as an I/O for any DAW too.

Zoom was back in the day considered the "behrenger" of audio (bad). The H4N was their break thru product, which got em much respect.

Look into similar units by Tascam, Yamaha and Roland.

[jippie952]

Yeah, I suppose the H4n is better than the H2n, but then you have to consider the fact that the H4n costs almost $150 more.