I’ve been interested in the new Zoom H6 since it was announced back in April of this year. I’ve long hoped to find a multi-channel portable recorder with performance comparable to a nice consumer audio interface at a friendly price. In other comparisons I’ve done the lower priced battery powered gear added a bit of noise that I don’t hear with a comparably priced audio interface, even when using the same mics. But technology moves on and there have been some terrific new preamp-on-a-chip products released in the last couple of years, so Zoom’s claim of improved preamps seemed plausible. Now that I have my unit I’m trying those comparisons again.
Level Matching Fiasco
If you’ve read Homebrewed Music before you might have noticed that I’m all about level matching. The fact is, human hearing is remarkably sensitive to level differences, but small changes are often perceived as quality differences rather than volume differences. So I go through a somewhat elaborate ritual with test tones and post production tweaking when I try to compare recording devices. And I did that in this comparison. I started off with the grand idea of comparing five different recording chains at the same time, but that failed because I couldn’t achieve good level matching. The source I use, my iPhone running Studio Six software, is too quiet to place far away from the mics, and too directional to deliver the same volume to all of them when placed close.
Once I gave up on an all-at-once comparison I set out to do head-to-head match up between the H6 and various other configurations. Even this proved to be too ambitious because my efforts to retain a stereo signal for each recording left me frustrated. I might be able to do a better job of level matching if I reverted to a mono recording for each chain, but the stereo image is a big part of these devices. And face it, I’m just too lazy to do these comparisons over and over, I’m ready to put this stuff out. So the clips are not well matched, and a lot of the apparent difference between the recordings is probably due to level and balance mismatches. You should keep this in mind, and try adjust levels and panning when you compare these clips.
The Comparisons
I have too many recorders, it’s a sickness I suppose. My current collection before adding the H6 includes a Zoom H1, H2n, and Q3HD, Sony PCM-D50, and an RME UFX interface (it will record direct to a USB drive without going through any computer). I used the H1 for a narration recorder, and I already know it is not a top level contender. The H2n and Q3HD have pretty similar XY audio, so I skipped the Q3HD in the comparison.
That left the Zoom H2n, Sony PCM-D50, RME UFX with a mic setup and finally the Zoom H6 XY mic module compared to the Zoom H6 using external mics. Even though my efforts at level matching failed, I did go through the ritual with each setup, applying a test tone which I used to set preliminary levels then recorded on the track so I could do finer adjustment in post.
The Video
I shot a lot of video while doing these comparisons. Then I threw most of it away. Doing audio comparisons on YouTube is basically a waste of time, so I pulled together just a few moments from each comparison to make a teaser and hopefully get people to download the samples and listen to them carefully.
But since I shot it I might as well share it. Watch the upper left corner to see what microphone and recording system is being used for the audio in each clip.
The Samples
I don’t think these samples convey much about the subtle differences that actually exist between most of these recording chains. I think that most of the difference we hear between them has more to do with poor mic positioning and poor level matching rather than real differences. My main interest is hearing the noise added by the H6 compared to the other recorders. So I listen to the “tails,” the end of the recording after the music stops and a note rings for a while. I listen for extra hiss in that quiet part of the recording.
These clips are all uncompressed WAV files, 44.1 khz and 16 bit word length, CD spec in other words. They won’t stream very well it at all. You should download them, save them to your computer, then pull them by pairs into a program that makes it easy to switch between them. I like to use the ABX comparator in foobar2000, but any multitrack editor like REAPER or even Audacity will do the job. These programs will make it easier for you to adjust the levels and left right balance, too. So on your PC right click on the link and select “Save Link As…” or on a Mac Ctrl+Click and “download linked file” to start a dialog and save the sample file.
Also please note that these are separate comparisons. The different clips for the Zoom H6 XY module are in fact different recordings, so download the H6 clip that goes with the device you want to compare.
Our first sample compares the Zoom H6 and its XY mic module to the Zoom H2n:
Next we’ll hear the Sony PCM-D50 and the H6 XY:
The Zoom has its own XLR inputs with phantom power. How do they stack up when connected to external mics? You can hear a Rode NT4 stereo mic through inputs 1 and 2 alongside the XY module:
And finally, how do those XLR preamps compare to a fine audio interface, the RME UFX. In this comparison the Rode NT4 is connected to the Zoom H6 while a pair of Shure KSM141s are configured as an XY pair and connected to the RME:
My Take on the Zoom H6
I’m enjoying exploring the Zoom H6. Several details indicate that the Zoom design team has been listening to their customers. This new recorder has a hefty “made from metal” feel that answers those who have complained that Zoom products feel flimsy and plastic. The line inputs have lower sensitivity than those in the Zoom H4 or H4n plus a switchable 20 dB pad on each input, so I’m expecting less problem with clipping when recording from a mixer or house PA. The fidelity and noise performance of the XY mics seem very close to the Sony PCM-D50, a recorder that has been on top of the heap for a number of years but has been discontinued by Sony.
I’ve been looking for a low cost recorder that matches the performance of a traditional audio interface, and in my listening the H6 can keep up with the RME UFX in audio quality. Of course the workflow with the RME is superior, it has more inputs and outputs, it works with Firewire as well as USB. But having this level of audio quality in a small portable package at a reasonable price point strikes me as a game changer.