With my last post on the Tascam audio recorders i wanted to summarize the list of audiorecorders. Of course Mark Nelson (O’Reilly) made his excellent comparison list (read here), but to make it even more concise i present my list.

In order of liking:

1. Edirol R09HR – comes with remote control and internal speaker.. Hard to beat but pricey for some
2. Zoom H2 – Although very plastic still a good second and very cheap
3. Tascam DR07 – no reviews yet but looks promising. 2GB SD card is included
4. Olympus LS10 – Small and Tiny. Excellent battery life.

There are more recorders out there but i think the list above will fulfill the needs of devotees. If you are on a budget you can consider the H2, and now the Tascam. But at the moment the pound is very low compared to the euro so ordering in England can lead to good deals!!!

I recently bought the Zoom H2 recorder. We reviewed the Zoom H2 earlier, but now that i have some practical experience i wanted to share it with you.

Here are some of my experiences:

1) USB connection

When you plug the USB cable into the Zoom when it is not switched On then something funny happens.

First windows recognizes it, but than later will say that this hardware is not working properly. Switching on the Zoom will not help at this moment.

So you need to switch the zoom off and take the USB cable out. Then turn the Zoom On and go into the menu. Find the USB menu item and choose “Storage”. Then you can connect the USB cable and windows will recognize the Zoom properly.

2) Copying files to/from the Zoom

When you want to copy files from the Zoom then remember this is slooooow. It still uses a USB 1.0 connection… Saving money here SamsonTech ???

3) Responsiveness of the machine

I found that switching between menus and tracks can be painfully slow. Also starting recording and stopping is also quite slow. I am comparing it against the Edirol R09 and the edirol seems much more quicker in responding to the buttons.

4) Recording quality

Although this is very user interpretable i found that the microphones are less noisy then the Edirol R09. I dont know if the noise issue was resolved in the new Edirol R09HR. I will report on that when i have worked with this new gadget.

Concluding i can say that you certainly get what you pay for. The Zoom H2 can be found for around $120-150. The new Edirol start from $330. But the Edirol comes of course with a nice remote control, slicker design and overall more responsive user experience. So the Edirol stays my favorite, but if you are on a budget and dont mind the shortcomings the Zoom is an excellent choice.

O’reilly is a great source for audio related reviews and blogs. The blog of Mark Nelson in particular always sports nice articles. But now he did it! He made a comparison between current audio recorders. So here it is. (You can also visit his blog)

The table could be unreadable. So here you can download the pdf.

Recorder	Price*	Pros	Cons	Bonus Coolness Factor
Edirol R-09	$450 Get current price on Amazon	Easy to use Good onboard mics Good menu & interface	Windscreen not included Tripod adaptor is optional	Optional case & tripod are terrific
Korg MR-1	$899.99 Get current price on Amazon	Outstanding audio quality 40 gig hard drive Rugged metal housing with leather case Universal power supply	No hardware rec level control Internal battery Hard to set recording levels	1-bit audio is a huge improvement over PCM
M-Audio Microtrack 24/96	$499 Get current price on Amazon	Easy to use Audio quality 1/4″ TRS mic inputs with phantom power	Internal battery Potential damage from phantom power & TRS jacks	Smallest recorder with 1/4” inputs and phantom power
Marantz PMD620	$499 Get current price on Amazon	One-touch recording Mics well shielded from wind Sharp OLED display	Awkward menu interface Flimsy covers for USB port & SD card slot	Mono recording useful for broadcasters
Olympus LS-10	$399 Get current price on Amazon	Size Easy to use Audio quality 2 gig internal memory + SD card slot	Zoom mic effects color sound AC power supply not included	Outstanding battery life and great audio in a tiny package
Sony PCM-D50	$599.95 Get current price on Amazon	Rugged and ergonomic Very high audio quality 4 gig internal memory + removable memory	Heavier than the competition Cannot record MP3s Optional windscreen is expensive	Outstanding limiter means worry-free live recording
Zoom H2	$199 Get current price on Amazon	Front & rear stereo mics Inexpensive Doubles as USB audio interface	Feels flimsy Not exactly stellar audio	Records 4-channel “surround”
Zoom H4	$494.94 Get current price on Amazon	3 devices in 1: recorder, 4-track recorder & audio interface 1/4” & XLR combo-connectors with phantom power	Tiny display Confusing interface It’s big, Jim	It’s a portable USB audio interface with effects

Introduced on Feb 2007 this “handy” little recorder is cheap and versatile. I personally dont have a lot of experience with this gadget so i shall refrain from giving recommendations. But instead i will point to some nice reviews done by other experts.

• Good review at oreilly.com
• Reader comments on the H2 at oreilly.com

I have said it before and it bears repeating: if you want professional features, prepare to pay professional prices. If you want a dandy little recorder that won’t break the bank, fits in your pocket, and does a fine job, then get this H2.

• Short review at stinkfight.com

I’ve wanted something like this my whole life, and this thing delivers. I give it a ten out of ten for performance and price.
The H2 is my little friend. I’ll whisper my secrets to him and he’ll paint my thoughts on the ether. IT SOUNDS GREAT!

• Wiki page at wikipedia.com
• Product page at Zoom (Samsontech.com)
• Latest firmware (1.30) at zoom.co.jp
• Find and buy it at google  (around $180)

 Nice to know

1. Records in WAV and MP3
2. Runs on 2 AA Batteries
3. USB connection is the older 1.1version (so 12 MB/s)
4. Connected to the computer, can be used as a audio capturing device.
5. Is very cheap
6. Has not 1, 2, 3 but 4 internal microphones…
7. Uses a SD/SDHC Memory card.

Still i prefer the Edirol R-09HR