Thank you for such a great review, didn’t expect the sound quality to be that good, sounds absolutely amazing.

I was considering a MXL USB.009, but your demos have made me think differently. Particularly given that its half the price of the USB mic, and also portable, wow!

Take care and thanks again.

David

Yeah, I agree with your conclusions. Before the H2N I hadn’t considered any device without XLR jacks, and my big surprise was that I could use the H2N to record “broadcast-quality” interviews without needing to use my external XLR mics. But If you want to use it as a computer audio interface or as a DI with guitar, the H4N is definitely the better tool for the job. Having played around with a friend’s H4N, I’m not terribly thrilled with the sound (hiss!) of the XLR combo jacks, but simply having them as a connectivity option is a huge plus, particularly if you’re lining-in a healthy signal. And being able to adjust each input’s gain independently on the H4N is another huge plus. The H4N really wins on features and flexibility, if that’s what you’re looking for.

I did try the H2N in audio interface mode and though it works just fine, ultimately it’s a lot less useful as an interface without the XLR or 1/4″ inputs. Latency on the H2N was pretty typical for a USB audio device (on a Mac, at least), which is to say “good” but of course highly dependent on your buffer settings.

One other thing I noticed about the H4N was that the boot-up and menu navigation speed seemed a lot slower than the H2N, which is another reason the H2N makes a better “on the go” recorder. The H2N boots up and is ready to record in about 1 – 2 seconds.

It’s a different kind of recorder, but have you looked at the Zoom R-16/R-24? If you’re wanting a recording interface more than a portable 2-track recorder, it could be an interesting option: a battery-powered portable 8-track field recorder+audio interface+control surface. I’m skeptical about the preamps, though, having never used one myself.

I think the h4n is more complete though, even especially for the direct multitrack capability and the various “onboard quick” effects, as well as better external quality (xlr in) and the ability to select 2 different gains for each stereo input (internal and external) and other little options. Well the included accessories add one more point to the h4n… writing all this stuff I’m realizing that maybe the 90 euros difference are worth it…

By the way, in conclusion I think that maybe the h2n is more practical and immediate for “on the go” recordings and maybe its 5 mics offer more versatility (and maybe better quality too) than the 2 of the h4n…

mmm… guess I’ll take little more meditation before my purchase.

Have you ever used it as an audio interface? does it have any latency?

Yes! If you select 4-channel surround mode AND plug in an external mic (or any other 1/8″ input) the H2N will record two files, each as stereo pairs–one through the MS mics and one through the external input. (Note: you can only use the MS mics at the same time as the external input, as the X-Y mics are disabled by plugging in the external input.)

There are a couple caveats, though:
1) There’s only one gain knob for the entire device, so you can’t adjust the levels for the external input and the built-in MS mic independently. (So obviously you have to set your gain for whichever signal is hotter.)
2) For reasons that aren’t clear to me, you can’t record the MS mics in “raw” mid-side mode. This means that the stereo pair recorded by the internal mics aren’t encoded as MS coming directly out of the H2N. (Though, as Fran mentioned below, you could re-encode them in post.) You can still adjust the stereo width of the MS mics on the device itself before actually hitting “record,” and you can select anywhere from mono cardioid to 150 degree stereo. I suspect the folks at Zoom simply didn’t intend for people to be using the 4-channel “surround” mode for anything other than surround recording with the internal mics. Recording via the external input and the MS mic feels sort of like a serendipitous hack. (And the manual doesn’t seem to mention it.) I’m glad to have it, though, and have already found it useful for recording a concert direct from the mixing board and via the internal mics. It would be nice if Zoom enabled RAW mode in 4-channel mode in a future firmware update.

Absolutely true! Any stereo signal can be encoded, processed, and decoded, giving a lot of control over the image in post (regardless of whether it was originally recorded via MS).

And here’s a free (!) plugin (AU, VST and RTAS for both Windows and Mac) that helps tweak and visualize a stereo image: http://www.fluxhome.com/products/freewares/stereotool

My H2n is supposed to arrive today. I can’t wait. Thanks for sharing your impressions.

Fran