Vee-Eight skrev:H4n har enligt Zoom´s hemsida 48V fantommatning.
Stämmer. Finns ett batterisparläge för 24 V. Egentligen brukar man välja 12 V för att spara batterier. P24 används mera sällan. Ett krux är att många minispelare kan krokna om mikrofonen vill ha lite högre ström och då sjunker spänningen.
Finns ett test av Ken Rockwell. Jag trot att Line Audio's mikrofoner förtjänar en lite bättre inspelare.
Shortcomings
Bare, unprotected microphones. Be careful!
No true stereo (spaced-microphone) mode. The mics don't move; the 120º position is still coincident.
Slightly bright microphones if you're picky (but great if you want crisp recordings).
No Margin (maximum held level) display, nor do the peak indicators hold indefinitely. The only long-term level indication is that the CLIP indicators stay on.
Unimpressive audio performance, even compared to a DAT recorder, for serious classical music work — but more than good enough for audio-for-video.
No analog line-level inputs: needs an external pad to record from a board, mixer, preamp or other recorder into the mic/instrument-level inputs, but that's not why people buy these.
No dedicated digital audio inputs, except for USB and SD card.
No time-code.
Only one analog output: the headphone jack is the line output jack.
No level knobs; just up-down clickers for mic and headphone level that will be heard on the recordings if you change either while rolling with the built-in mics.
While this $300 recorder would never be my choice for serious symphonic recordings because it lacks the serious audio chops (noise and distortion performance) and the spaced microphone placement I prefer (ORTF), the Zoom H4n is a huge hit with DSLR videographers because its quality is way more than enough for film, and it has phantom-powered XLR inputs and four-channels of recording, which other similar recorders lack.
Exactly like a camera, the quality of the final result has nothing to do with the technical quality of the microphones and recorder, and everything to do with your talents as a recording engineer. Placement and direction are everything. A real recording engineer knows how to take his tools at hand and get fantastic sound from them, while a casual user will often buy the best gear on Earth, use it blindly, and get poorer results.
Used well, the H4n will sound absolutely awesome for audio-for-video, although if you really know what you're doing for recording symphonies, it's not exactly like a Schoeps MSTC 64G, some real preamps and then your choice of serious pro recorder — but the H4n isn't as heavy, and the H4n runs on batteries, too. My background is large ensemble recording, but this is a mobile recorder for reporting and DSLR video.
If you need to record from professional XLR or phantom-powered mics, the Zoom H4n has been the least expensive recorder that does it all. That's why the Zoom H4n is so popular.
The Tascam DR-100 also has phantom-powered XLR inputs, but costs more and lacks 4-channel recording. The new Tascam DR-40 costs less and has XLRs, phantom power, true stereo recording and four tracks, too. I haven't played with it.
4 channels on the H4n lets you record both the subject, and the background with external microphones, each in glorious stereo for later mixing for your project.
If you don't need XLR inputs, I'm also going to look at the Sony PCM-M10, which costs less, looks better, has spaced microphones, might perform better technically, has a real input level control, has 4GB of internal memory, and is smaller and lighter.