The sound of this product is exactly what I was looking for in recording concert style ambiance. The sound is very responsive capturing good detail from the crowd at a live event. I use it mainly as an "ambiance" recorder in addition to recording my full mix live via another device. I am able to put the two together at home and come up with some very snazzy sounding demo CD's, mixtapes, etc. No other product out there could help me achieve this at this price point.

Features galore. You can tweak every imaginable setting. Just download the catalog from the manufacturers website and see what I am talking about. I am extremely pleased in this department. Not only can I record the live ambiance of a show with the H2 but I can also decide to INSTEAD record the output from my console via 1/8" to RCA cable. The sound was extremely crisp! Not only that but with a 4GB card I am able to record a 4+ hour show. With an 8GB card 8.5 hours! Just for kicks I tried to hyped "Lithium" batteries for this unit and after 9 hours of recording the power meter is still at full! This is extremely convenient for me as it lets me turn it on and GO without additional power cables, etc... SWEET!

I thought I would have to fumble around with settings and crazy menus, etc. NO! Everything that needs to be accessed the most is available from the front buttons! If you need to get in the menu to tweak other settings such as limiter/compressor settings or file type, etc, the menu is not only straight forward but the front buttons make it super easy to browse. 2 thumbs up on interface design!!!

The unit is made of standard plastic. The Mic grill is metallic. Only time will tell if the button will hold up to extended use. The build is very light in weight which I love, but being that it is plastic some users may decide for a heavier product that may seem more durable. In my case I felt that it was just right. I bought a small camera bag where I put all of its accessories and keep it free from scratches and the bumps of the road. Its perfect! The light build may contribute to the sensitivity of the mics picking up sounds from your hand rubbing against the body of the unit, etc. But that is expected from any sensitive mic. Thankfully the unit comes with not one but TWO stands/adapters. One "tripod" style stand and a hand-held microphone for hooking up to your favorite mic clip on a stand, etc.

Unbeatable value for feature set, size and ease of use.

No support necessary!!! The manual is extremely well written with plenty of graphic samples that get you going quickly and answer any questions just as fast as they come up. Take a look at it on the manufacturer's website to see what I mean. The unit works just as expected so unless I find any problems later on I will be looking for firmware updates and so on. Did I mention that the unit I received is compatible with 8GB SD cards? the SDHC format is set to reach 32GB so I am pretty sure the H2 will be able to handle it.

Well, not necessarily a "sexy" piece of equipment, however its sexyness is based on sheer practicality!

10 years Djing and doing mild audio production in Home studio.

Dance, Urban, Latin

I can not say enough about this product. I had a sony mini disk for years and while the sound was good the tool was slow and frustrating. the sound on the h2? I have read mostly great reviews by other users. the ones that didn't get the sound were, in my opinion the ones who didn't know how to use the tool. when the settings are optimized the sound is top. I can use what i record in studio production. much can be used in final edits. unless you have a real need for something like the h4 where you can plug directly in, this the one. I tell every one get this tool.

great accessories. use them all. mostly though the handle that slips into a mic clip for use on a stand. great. I'd say the least useful feature was the included memory card. but that is to expected. I immediately got a 4gb card. I've used it to record didgeridoo, guitar, band, nature, crystal bowls, gongs, vocals, drums and the list goes on. It works great on everything. again just need to pay attention to the settings, like any recording.

Very easy for me to use but then I'm a tech toy junky. I have had to give lessons to some of my musician friends though. but they are probably challenged with tuners as well. :) the window is small and for those of us that have been around for a while a pair of reading glasses can make for a much smoother and easy session. not to mention recorded. That would be my only thing a larger screen but then that would make the whole device larger and it is so the kind size for in the pocket, guitar case, etc... so deal with the little window.

While at first it is for sure a plastic device and it feel like thin plastic (it is) the H2 was not intened for Toys R US. you drop it you break it, you bought it. It is $200 they had to cut cost somewhere. so if you are rough with your tools then this may not be your best choice. Having said that, I haven't broken it yet and I've had it for almost 2 months. I got a Pelican water tight hard case for it to travel in. a worthwhile $20 investment. I live on an island. lots of water all around. I've take in out on boats, recorder the ocean,still works great.

worth every penny. $200. after dumping a bunch on the mini disk I have been cautious of spending money on the next great tool to hit the streets. the technology is moving so fast the big investments only server the manufacture and their share holders. remember all the money you spend on Adat recorders? that came and went pretty fast. so save your money for other things and get this one.

have had not need for support thus far.

fine looks good, feels great, I would even take it out on a date, to record the stories that is.

Active Musician, Recording Engineer, Production Consultant

yes

Very good sound for the price. Absolutely on par with $100 mics. Clean A/D. The AutoGainControl function works very well also. Using it to record corporate presentations and have had to do very little normalizing afterward.

Surprising amount of features. Captures to wav or mp3. Bought a 2GB SD card for it (comes with 512MB card) for more recording time. USB file transfer is slow (USB 1.1), but you don't need to install drivers like with a USB 2 device. Not only is the H2 useful as a USB mic, but you can use it as a USB audio out via the headphone jack. Found it to be a reasonable audio interface for editing with much better audio I/O than my Dell laptop.

Haven't used the manual yet. Menus are reasonable, but membrane keypad is a bit clunky. Given the price, it's a reasonable tradeoff.

OK fit and finish, but not sure how durable the plastic will be. Wish it had a case of some sort-- comes with a drawstring, unpadded pouch that holds only the H2 (no base or cables).

Lots of features and good sound for the price. Would buy again.

Hobby/Pro

various

I finally got one of these after waiting for about 3 months. I was surprised how good it sounded when recording acoustic instruments.

I really wanted the MP3 recording so that I could get lots of time when practicing with others, or going to workshops. I think this will work great. On the negative side, you can not normalize the volume of MP3 recordings only wav files. Normalization takes a good while, then converting to MP3 was took quite a long time. It would be nice if you could do some kind of overdubbing. Another nice feature would be a slowed down playback. The tuner worked well.

Easy once you figure out that you have to press the record button a couple of times for it to start recording. I think for the few buttons that it has, it is pretty good, but you still have to read the manual to get started

It is light weight and plastic, but what do you want for this price? If the buttons hold up, it will be fine.

Really a good value!

This is a great addition. If you had these features combined with a slowed down playback like Tascams guitar trainer, you would have the ultimate device for learning music.

Hobbyist

Jazz, Country, Contemporary Christian

The recorded sound quality is good, however handling noise is evident if you hold it during recording. There is no documentation regarding the microphone characteristics and frequency response.

Looks like Zoom thought of almost everything. For its size, you can't really add anything else. It would have been nice to have a built-in DSP.

Simple. I haven't even had to use the instruction manual yet.

It feels a bit too light for its size. I wouldn't keep it in my back pocket. I also have a feeling that the mic-clip adapter handle is not going to last too long with the plastic screw threading. And once the panel buttons start wearing through, it could affect usability. I have found that when recording audio for subsequent synchronization, the H2 loses a few samples on the way. In a recent job, I streamed audio to the H2 and a DAT recorder while filming on two video cameras. The two cameras and the DAT were bit-perfectly synchronized while the audio stream from the H2 was around 200ms shorter. This was not a sudden loss but a gradual linear loss over the length of the stream. So on its own it is a great recorder, but do not rely on it if you'll need to sync the audio to anything later.

Good for its price and for most applications. I would not use it in situations where audio needs to be synchronized later.

For what it can do it's long overdue - the technology has been around for a while. So kudos to Zoom for coming up with it before the competition, and with a great price tag too. And shame on all the other manufacturers who have not been responding to the pro-audio consumers need for such a device until now.

Professional producer and engineer

n/a

Sound with the built-in mics is very, very good for built in mics. I recorded a full orchestra rehearsal with surprising fidelity. Cello practice/lessons also come out well, as do random sound effects (running water, etc.). Records in a variety of stereo patterns and pseudo "surround sound." That said, my ADK cardiod condensor ($150 mic) through an $80 tube preamp delivers warmer, clearer sound (though in mono) with more dynamic range. Haven't used the tiny mic inputs, but I have my doubts about them from stuff I've read. The line-in, however, is very clean. There is handling noise when pressing buttons, but I suspect this would be true of Edirol R-09 and all other similar units as well. Mic "H" gain is too noisy to be much use. "L" will need a really loud source. "M" sounds good for most stuff.

Way more stuff than I need. The tuner isn't bad, but isn't close enough for classical work (I use my ears, anyway). Different mp3 bitrates are great. 96KHz WAV would be nice if it meant anything with the signal/noise ratio of devices like these. It doesn't. Really, the 24/48 setting already slightly exceeds the analog capabilities of the unit. 90 / 120 degree mic patterns are nice. Played around with others, but not enough to say much beyond that you can record out of both sides of the thing at once. Would have been GREAT -- awesome, even -- if they'd have included even the most rudimentary multitrack feature on this thing (like the h4), but no other unit does, so you can't fault Zoom too much.

Easy, easy. A couple of tiny things I'd change, but not much.

Worst aspect of quality: Plastic slider switches (like mic LMH) don't have clear detents -- these feel like they came off a toy. The membrane switches feel fine -- if they last. I don't have much experience with these. Don't know if a plastic film will help. Mics aren't shock-mounted (see handling noise above), but otherwise nothing feels like it'll fall apart. It's lightweight and plastic, but it's compact, sans protrusions.

$100 less than an Edirol R-09, and I can't think of any advantages the R-09 might have. I haven't used and R-09 myself, though.

No experience, so I give them a neutral "5".

It's about the right size -- small enough to one-hand operate, just big enough not to be too tiny. Nice enough aesthetic (preferable to the H4). Mic configuration features are cool. The fact that you can make good stereo recordings AND transfer to computer (unlike the old Minidiscs) is the best thing, really.

Cellist, grad student (music ed), guitar and bass for fun

Classical, primary -- jazz, funk, rock, as hobbyist/fan

This sounds better than did the Zoom H4 which was more expensive and more complicated. One must take care not to overload the microphones.

It accepts 1/8" microphone plugs which the H4 did not do. It has more features than I'll ever use.

The handling is quite easy. Haven't tried all the limiters and other features but will get to that eventually. The manual is very clear.

Don't know how the plastic switches will hold up in the long run but they are working well at present.

I think it is well worth the $200 price.

I contacted Zoom many months ago to check the microphones in their H4 model. I felt they lacked treble. It took about TWO MONTHS before they sent it back with a note that there was no defect!!

I've used several different recorders during the past 15 years. This is the simplest and the most dependable.

Recording hobbyist and classical music lover.

Classical

For me the Zoom H2 has been wonderful. The sound is better than I had anticipated, in fact for what my purposes are it is perfect; Podcast with phone interviews, group jam sessions and poetry readings at local pubs. It is easy to use, I can record straight to my laptop if I want or set the recorder up on a mic boom for hands free recording sessions when you want to get all of the input. The onboard mics are very good, but you can plug a mic into the device for different types of recording depending on whether you want a condenser mic or a dynamic, you control the quality to some extent.

I bought the package deal, 4GB SD card, studio earphones, protective hard case designed for the device, wind screen...the device comes with a 1GB sd card and a AC adapter, table stand and hand/microphone adapter as well. All very useful and very handy...

This where the Zoom H2 buries the competion. You will look but you will hard pressed to find a simpler device to setup and use. The menu choices are very intuitive, if you have any experience at all with recoding devices you will have no problem with the H2, if you're a novice the included manual is written well and it will turn you into an expert in the device if you take the time to read it. Very easy to use.

The H2 is made of plastic, this is hard to get around if you want to build something affordable and yet present a user with options and ease of use. Having pointed that out I must say I have been using it everyday for a month and neither I or any of my band mates have had an ounce of trouble with it and let me tell you drummers are not easy on equipment even the smallest surface will get a light brum roll now and then. I suppose if you wanted to make it out of high grade airplane aluminum it would be light enough but that would drive up the cost; and would it improve teh quality of the sound? Not a bit. Light weight, fits in your had (screen is kind of small, but not really hard to read)made of plastic but feels durable (past the drummer test)I guess sometime you get a little more than you paid for.

once again for me $150 dollars was a steal. Compared to the others; well you have trade offs but I kept coming back to the H2; I'm still glad I did.

I'm scoring high because I have no need to call for support, that's quality to me.

its a rounded square, sexy no...practical yes.

Active musician

Rock/Folk

The Zoom H2 SD Recorder is awesome! The sound quality is great, it's easy to use and is very sensative. I use it to record my private practice sessons as well as band practice and live sessons. It is an invaluable tool in helping the band and I to critique our sound as musicians as well as for sound check. When I use it personally I am usually using a drum machine plugged into one acoustic amp, my vocals sometime plugged into another acoustic amp and my acoustic guitar unplugged, the recorder is on a mic stand about 5' in the air and positioned behind me, the amps are on the floor facing the recorder while I am singing and playing away from the recorder... the mix somehow comes out perfect! With the band I have it centered in line with the PA speakers and recording from the back (to catch the reflected sound) and it allows us to hear what the audiance hears. All in all I am very pleased with this product!

It comes with an adaptor to use in a mic holder that I find very usefull in addition to the desk top stand and AC adaptor. It also comes with a wind screen and ear buds.

I am still learning how to use every option this recorder has! I especially like the devide feature which allows me to seperate a recording into as many segments as I want.

This product is very well made. Seems to be heavy duty... good for studio and on the road.

I believe this is the best product for the money

No need for support yet

Sex appeal!?! It is a SD recorder! I guess it is pretty cool for a SD recorder...

Worship Leader

Contemporary Christian, Praise and Worship

I bought the H2 to record sounds from life that I would like to use in electronic music. It has Extremely sensitive microphones. The recordings I get from this thing are scary they are so good.

The digital display is just enough to be effective without wasting power. The accessories included are functional and no-nonsense. When I first saw the tiny tripod that is included I thought "yeah right", but I was wrong. The center of gravity of the H2 itself, combined with the simple design of the tripod make it extremely stable. It doesn't have a built in speaker, but comes with a set up ear buds so you can listen to your recording instantly to check for quality. Note that it does not include batteries, but they are very helpful for portability.

Easy to use, comprehensible instructions. The H2 is easy to use, and is compatible with modern computing devices, meaning it has USB connectivity. I wish everything did! Recording is simple. Saving data is easy.

No blemishes or lose parts. Accessories fit well. The casing is plastic, so when handling it after starting to record you do get that hollow noise. If I were to take this on the road a lot, I would worry that it might break. Not the kind of thing I would toss around, but it doesn't feel fragile. I've only had it for two weeks.

I got this massively on sale for $179 and it was worth every penny. Can't say I would have been able to write this review if it were going for full retail.

Nothing to special about the design of this product. On the other hand, who needs design, when there is function? It's not ugly, any way. It does fit in the hand, even for females. The buttons on the control pad are small-ish, but you get used to them.

hobbyist

techno/house/minimal

The sound is amazing. I have never heard anything like it. It records EVERYTHING!! Even from 20 feet away. This is also one of the drawbacks. If there is any kind of other noise in the room it will show up in the recording.

One thing I didn't know about the features of this recorder is that it can also be used as a USB microphone. You can turn on the USB port and plug it directly into the computer and use it with your recording program and it does great! I use Cool Edit PRO and it works great. I love it. I just bought a USB mic recently and I like this better than the dedicated USB mic. The head phones included with it are great. What you hear through the head phones is what you get in the recording.

It is very user friendly. I was recording 5 minutes after I got it. Very easy to use and easy to transfer wave files to your computer. Oh, it also normalizes your wave files for you.

I have only had this for a couple of days but from what I've seen it seems to be very reliable.

I think you can't spend your money any better. This is a great product.

I can't say anything about the support, I haven't had to use them yet, I guess that is a good thing though right?

musician, recording engineer, singer, choir director, radio program host

gospe, country, bluegrass

I got it for on the fly quick recordings. I find Zoom recorders are well thought out and easy to use. The different mic settings are a nice touch. Whereas you can record in front or back of the unit in two patterns AND both front and back in surround sound. The quality of the recordings that I have made are excellent. It stands to reason if you bang it around while recording you get noise.

It comes with a small stand that screws into the base so you can stand the unit on the table and get recording. A bunch of useful other things, a carrying pouch, and a foam windscreen.

Press the record button to arm the unit a red light flashes, press it again to start recording and then to stop. Learning curve is ten seconds. Put the S-disk in your computer and download the wav. files. I only read manuals when I can't get things to work out of the box.

Like everyone says "its plastic". I don't plan to throw it across the room.

Active Musician

Acoustic

Remarkable quality. I am no sound engineer, just an enthusiastic writer and recorder of folk tales, but the H2 has increased sound quality by several 100 percent.

Once I got the hang of it [I hit a steep learning curve initially] it was a doddle. I use it exclusively for voice recording and it never lets me down. I didn't think I would ever own a proper recording studio, but the H2 proved me wrong.

Compact, well engineered, good looking, blemish free [despite my rough usage]. It seems too good to be true but it is true. It is ideal for external recordings in a variety of situations and lends itself to finding the right 'ear' for whatever the situation demands. If a miniature speaker could be incorporated so that immediate playback is possible, it would be a huge plus, rather than have to fiddle with buds, etc.

I thought it a bit steep when I first came across it. I mean, it's the size of a packet of ciggies, so what's the big deal. What sold me on the product was the miles and miles of glowing consumer feedback. I have to say that I bit the bullet, but with a product that really does what the manufacturers say it will do it is money well spent.

I have had no contact with the company, support, or complaints procedures because the recorder simply works and works well.

This is a very subjective question, but I was attracted to it by what it will do, not by looks, physical attraction, etc. you could say I am in love with its 'mind' and expect to stay that way. It is the best piece of recording equipment I have, but since it does what I want it to do it is perfect for my needs.

Erstwhile professional balladeer, soloist, vocal performer

Country, Folk, Strong Ballads, Gospel, Sacred, Writer & Recorder of Folk Tales, Doggie Tails, Devotional, Apologetic, etcetera,

I bought one for recording music and sermons at our church and it works great. I returned an H4 which had a faint buzzing noise in the recording whenever the LEDs came on. This one is silent with no input.

It has more than we need, but the features are nice. It works great with both a PC and MAC (we sometimes use both to download the mp3s)

It wasn't too hard to get it setup and working. I don't like the standby mode - when I turn it on, I'm ready to record - I rather not have the intermediate standby mode: Once I accidentally forgot to pushed the record button twice, I pushed it once and thought I was recording only to find out I recorded nothing. Other than that, it is really easy to use for recording. Be careful to plug in line in into the correct input, not the mic in if running from a board. Also, once I ran out of card space (I have a 2GB card) - it does tell you how much space is remaining, but it is really hard to read. Now I just delete files every month to be on the safe side (we use it every Sunday, about 100MB each time). I would like to see some kind of warning like only '2 hours left' or something in big letters.

Cheap feeling plastic, but it holds up well to our use, so no real complaints. I keep it in a separately-bought hardshell case to prevent it from getting banged up.

I'd rather have fewer features at a lower price.

Haven't had to deal with anyone. Product works solid.

I like the compactness, but the plastic feel doesn't do much for me - I bought it purely on ease of use and function.

Sound engineer and bass player

Alternative Rock, Alternative Christian

I am submitting this review because of one important problem with this device that potential buyers should know about. It doesn't record loud music well. It will record up to medium volume rehearsals and sound fantastic. It's truly awesome. However, one of my bands is fairly loud rehearsing in a smallish room and that is where the H2 falls short. There is no way to stop the clipping. I am very glad to have the H2 for all it does, but I am going to have to find something else for loud music recording. Something that has analog limiting before the analog to digital conversion.

There are a lot of great features on this device. The ability to use an 8GB SD card, pull it out and load the MP3 files directly into your computer is awesome. Being able to record directly to MP3 is amazing. I once forgot to turn it off after a BBQ Jam and it recorded for two days straight and was still going when I discovered it was not turned off. You can also record directly into your computer while monitoring from the line out. I am knocking it down to 8 just because it cannot handle loud bands, which is mostly what I bought it for. Unfortunately, there was no information available about that when I bought it.

It is very easy to use, however the LCD screen is small and can be hard to read. I'm just over 50 years old, and my eyesight is getting worse (20/20 for years) and the little LCD is tough to read.

It has worked great for me, except for the problem with loud music. It feels a bit cheap (plastic-y) and I wouldn't want to drop it, but so far it's been fine. I bought a rubber cover for it that probably saved it from breaking once at least. And I wish it came with a decent case. I wouldn't just drop it into a gig bag without some kind of protection, and to save batteries I usually haul around the power plug. The H4 comes with a case or you can buy a case for the H2 (but then why not just buy the H4).

Excellent value.

Unknown.

Yes, this is a desirable device. It looks cool and works great, except for loud bands.

semi-pro recording engineer and preformer

Rock, Jazz, Funk, R&B

The sound pickup is fantastic with the Zoom H2. The playback on it produces very, very high quality sound, especially for a portable recorder. The multiple channels and quality mic's setup in this recorder help produce great sound.

Yes, the USB cord, SD 1 GB card,headphones, and recording stand are all very helpful. These are mostly used everytime as far as accessories go. There are also many features on the recorder, including tuners, sound normalization, mp3 encoding, and great micorphone channel selection for the type of recording any one needs to do.

It literally took me five minutes to produce my first recording. It is very easy to use the features as well. The only reason I didn't figure out how to use everything in one day, is because there are so many features! Too many to go through at once, it's great. The manual is extremely helpful as well, which usually isn't the case in most products. The interface is also easy to manevuer.

The quality of this product should be flawless. However I find myself worrying about it possibly breaking if I would accidently drop it. However, if kept in a case and in good condition, then it should last multiple years.

I still would not purchase any other recorder as far as value. The quality matched with the extremely low price is just ridiculous.

The features, and fantastic sound coming out of this portable recorder are the sheer reasons to make me want this product. My friends have heard recordings I've produced coming from the Zoom H2, and when I told them the value of it, they all wanted one.

active musician/student

acoustic/alternative

You will not get a "studio" quality recording from this unit but if a well balanced, clear recording of an event is what you are looking for, then this is the piece for you. I'm assuming some one with the correct equipment and know how could take the memory card and "tweak" the recording to make it better but for what I wanted I am more than pleased with the result.

I wanted something easy to use to capture a "moment"...it did the job perfectly! The only mistakes were user error! I honestly cant get over the quality of the recording. I had the unit placed in an awkward position but the overall balance and quality is fine. Especially for the money! I just turned everything down low and there is no distortion on the recording.

I'm not a techy person so simple is important. When I called to order it I was told by the person that waited on me that it was indeed as easy as described. It is! The only complaint I read about and agree with is the size of the screen but then the whole unit is the size of the old transistor radios we had in the '60's!

I've only used it twice but if you handle it with a little bit of care I dont know why it wouldnt last. I'm very surprised at the quality of the recording. The microphones must be half decent to not overload even when in close proximity to the band.

I cant compare this to any other portable recorders but for the money I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and ease of recording. If I lost it I would replace it without hesitation.

Havent had to use the support so I cant judge.

It does the job it is designed to do. Its attractive but who cares what it looks like. If it didnt work right it would still be junk but this thing does all I expected with ease. I would recommend this and I would buy another if I lost mine.

Music is a hobby for me but I have played professionally for 45 years. Some studio experience doing jingles and station ID's.

Rock, country, jazz, typical GB stuff

The sound is great. The one gigabyte card recorded for about 1 1/3 hours. I will get a card with more gigabytes

I liked the little trifoot that holds the recorder so that I do not have to hold it.

no experience with anything but recording. I need to learn how to do the other things. The manual seems not too difficult. I am not skilled in using down loading and making CD's , etc.

Don't know

I think so

N/A

I like its small pocket-size design

Hobbyist

Old popular music of the teens and twenties

I've only tried it in the garage, at practice but it does an amazing job for its size & price! Once we try it at a gig, I think we will get some great demo material!

+ The 'Normalize' function really helps to keep things more even & 'sweetens' the track a bit. + Mike stand mount works very well, but may try a camera tripod next... cause I CAN! - Scrolling thru its LONG menu gets tedious.

Interface is fairly intuitive but you have to scroll thru a lot of unnecessary options.

Seems like it's casing is pretty sturdy. It should hold up pretty well if it's stored in its box, when not in use or being transported.

Best recorder of its type & in its price range, bar NONE!

Unknown... haven't had to contact them... for ANY of our ZOOM products (H-2, guitar effects (3), bass effects)

"Sex appeal"... no. Sheer genius... ABSOLUTELY!

Active Musician

Rock, Funk, R&B, Alternative

I used the H2 to make a number of field recordings in various types of venues and environments and was very impressed with its sensitivity and fidelity using just the built-in mics. Even when the recording subject was at some distance and the original recording levels low, I was able to amplify during the editing process and still produce an excellent stereo recording with good fidelity in wav format. Am experimenting with it currently to digitalize some old tape recordings - initial results seem good (although the tapes are old and quality poor - the H2 can only record as well as the source material).

Get extra SD cards...the 1G will only do about 1 1/2 hours @ 16/44 2 channel surround. I bought 2 extra 4G, so I would not have to be switching out cards in the middle of the recordings.

I'm a recording novice, and I was able to figure it out quickly in the field and still prduce good quality recordings.

Seems good. Very light. We'll see how it stands up to continued field use.

Comparing what it does and how much it costs to other similar products, it seems to give a lot of value for the price.

n/a

Wasn't looking for sexy, just wanted a good tool for the job.

musician, public historian

traditional, historic, folk

For the price point, the sound is pretty good. I mostly use it to record song ideas and the sound quality is more than good enough for that. I also recorded a friend's live gig at a small venue and we were all impressed with the results. If you're looking for a pristine clear mic, it may fall short of your expectations. I used it as a USB interface, with my guitar plugged into a Sansmap GT2 and then into the H2 line-in. I monitored the DAW mix through the H2 headphone jack. The sound quality is good - I imagine at least as good as any inexpensive USB interface (say < $100). I did notice that there was a little leakage from the output to the input - eg. the drum track I monitored leaked into the guitar input track. It was noticeable only when there was silence in the guitar track - it wasn't very loud at all but it was there.

This is one versatile device. I've used it in almost every way imaginable. I've recorded in various different contexts - at home, outdoors with acoustic guitars, at a small venue. I've used it as a USB interface. And lastly, I've used it as an mp3 player while on a trip out of town.

For it's main purpose of recording, it's dead simple. For some of the other functions, consulting the manual is needed. There's just so much to this device and you might not always use every feature regularly. I think the screen is at times not so easy to read...the one screen I have trouble with is the one where you hook it up to a computer and need to choose between being in file storage mode or USB mic mode.

I haven't had any issues with the build of the H2. Nothing's broken on it and I've never had any glitches with it.

This is an awesome product loaded with great features. A lot of care went into the design & the included accessories.

Hobbyist

Rock

The sound quality is very good. I have used it to record band rehearsals and live performances, with good results.

The H2 includes a DC power transformer, making it easy to use for extended recording. Also included it is a USB cable, so you can easily transfer files to a computer. Another great feature is the "surround" setting, enabling the H2 to record front and rear sources simultaneously.

This recorder is easy to use, if you are OK with a small screen, small text, and small buttons. So far the recording level control has worked satisfactorily - it has three preset levels. It's very easy to transfer the sound files to the computer. It's also handy that you can record in MP3 or WAV in various bit rates.

So far, so good. It doesn't look or feel like "military spec", but I don't think it will fall apart if it's taken care of.

If you need a digital recorder to capture live performances, this unit is great.

Weekend Musician

Rock n Blues

I bought this product to record my original songs using my voice and my piano accompaniment and am quite surprised at the quality of sound I am getting. I would highly reccomend it to those that have the same purpose in mind. Thanks for a great product. Edwina Reizer

The hardest part of the recording process is trying to familiarize myself with every thing it does. But I'm a slow learner.

The manual is a little hard for me to follow but my son is helping me to become more familiar with it. I am 73yrs. old but still writing a lot of music.

I have not needed to contact you at all. If I do I'm sure you will help me out.

Hobbyist

Ballads and Jazz

This recorder is fantastic. I'm not a sound engineer or a pro at recording...just a drummer who likes to capture all our bands playing and mistakes. This little guy does a great job on the mid setting in the living room and at church. Once I put it through a little software and mix it down....it's CD quality (or better). It records in a good many different bit rates in either mp3 or wav....

All the accessories I got are great. Got a mic-stand adapter, plugs(usb,rca, line io, earbuds and table stand), wind screen etc...all great stuff

The H2 is so easy, even an idiot (like me) can use it and get pro results pretty quickly...Placement is everything and of course the 4 different mic patterns are very useful.....Alot easier than a whole room full of mixers-microphones-audio interfaces yada yada yada...it's great to just hit the button and have the H2 do it's thing.

Haven't had one single issue in the 1 1/2 years I've owned it, and it's been dropped and used in the heat/cold/dust/sun...well built little unit

Come on....you see the price...it's a steal and well worth double the price I gave for it...

Have not had to use the support, but the zoom website seems easy to navigate and good info on there as well.

It kinda looks like the electric razor my dad had when I was a kid...Sexy....eh...well designed though.

Active drummer

Classic Rock, Blues, Country, Praise & Worship

Simple and well designed, and does what it is advertised to do, make excellent recordings.

plastic case but I purchased a small case with foam insert and it has held up extremely well over one year now.

Great recordings for a very low price.

Have not needed it.

Active Musician

Country Rock

The built in mics sounds great. You can pick up some noise pretty easily, but that's true of all condensers I've used. Recording a band practice all the instruments sound very clear, natural, and distinct.

I wish it had a 1/4" instrument input for practicing. Also any type of overdub recording would be really nice. Other than that it does exactly what I want. The mic patterns are terrific. Came with good accessories too.

The buttons are a little small, the menu requires a lot of clicking. But recording is super easy. Having the files in WAV/MP3 native is fantastic.

Seems well put together. Plastic case isn't the strongest, but as long as you don't sit on it too often it should be fine.

Best option for the money.

Active Musician

Rock, Jazz, Soul

I demoed out my bands full EP with this and the sound it gave me was nothing less than perfect. It sounded real clean and picked up everyones performance

Everything I needed. Allowed me and my band to record new songs live and were able to easily put them on myspace

I didn't even need to look at the directions, common sense to operate this device

Considering it is a portable recorder it does produce the best sound. It accurately picks up everyones levels as you adjust them

Picked it up for $180 and love it. If it broke i'd buy a new one

None needed

It rocks

Active Musician

Death Metal

This sounds like hi-fi to me. Amazing given the size.

All you need to get started. The little stereo out cable was defective.

Well-designed and manual is clear.

Worked out of the box just fine. Couple of bugs - stereo out cable was defective, and the "Monitor OFF" setting does not work meaning the mics are always on, whether you are actually recording or not. Not good for battery life or usability.

Just great for the money.

hobbyist

rock and folk

For the money, this thing is amazing. It's relatively quiet, and the fidelity of the audio is outstanding. Here are some clips, setting the H2 on the computer desk a couple feet away from the guitar: http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/news.html

The stand is very useful.

Easy to use straight out of the box.

I does feel a bit fragile. I'm not convinced it would survive a fall.

For the money, it's awesome.

N/A

Professional guitarist

Fingerstyle, Slack Key, Hawaiian, Folk

I can't complain about the sound quality considering the design of the device. I use it at home for remembering kickass riffs I create and at practice to hear how aweful we sound later. ;)

There are many recording options available, including bit rate adjustments for audio file (WAV or MP3) quality. I also like the directional recording capabilities (front, front\back, 360 degree recording). Comes with a plastic interchangable base to stand it up or mic stand attachment so you can use it in a mic stand. Also includes the power cable and a 1GB SD card for storage. I LOVE that this thing uses SD cards for storage (easily upgradable storage capacity).

Eh ... It's not all that intuitive and takes a little bit of tweaking right out of the box.... but once you "RTFM" it all comes clear. When you have it setup the way you like it (after a little tiral and error), it's literally push-button start, push-button stop. Transferring the files to a computer with the included USB cable is also pretty simple if you're even remotely tech-savvy... or after you've read the instructions.

I haven't had the device long (about 1 month) but it seems fairly sturdy as long as it's handled carefully. I woudn't expect it to work if it were dropped onto a hard surface from more than 4 feet. The casing is plastic and the small buttons are similar to that of say, small electric kitchen appliances(?). The kind you push and feel that "plastic bubble-like button" beneath the plastic surface. Sorry if the description doesn't paint a perfect picture. All in all, I think it will last for a few years as long as it doesn't take a lot of impact.

For me, this little recorder has worked out very well once I figured out the settings I like. I'm glad I bought this one instead of the more expensive models available.

Haven't needed support.

It's just a practical device that's lightweight and easy to use. Aesthetics didn't influence my decision much.

Hobbyist \ Active Musician

Metal, Blues, Rock

Great job recording acoustic instruments and live performances.Quick and easy set up to capture inspiration. The four built in mics sound fantastic and the mp3 quality is shockingly good. If your intention is to use external mics with this product forget it ...not a good choice as the inputs are too noisy! But for quick easy and excellent results using the very good built in mics it rocks.I carry it with me most days to record ambient sound.

The inputs are not good. The mic stick work really well in a stand. It can be noisy if hand held.Try wrapping foam around the handle.

Very easy and quick to capture sound. Buttons a bit small but pretty easy learning curve.

I like the way it looks...who really cares? It's plastic and very light especially without batteries in the machine.Dropping it is a really bad idea.At this price point it's on the better side of what you might expect.

I would give it a ten if the external inputs were any good.The internal mics however make this a great usable product for no hassle live recording.

No idea...

Sex appeal huh? It looks like an electric shaver...

active musican

East/West

This thing is the best! Got mine today a used it & WOW! You can beat the prefect sound! We use it for live band recordings. You can beat it for the price at all. Easy to use! I give it 100% Helllll Yaaaaa! Best Live records we have ever done!

Awesome!

Very Easy!

Awesome Sound!

Cant beat the price!

100%

Another AWESOME!

Awesome

Rock, Alternative, Blues

The sound of the Zoom H2 is really great!!! I recorded part of a flamingo piece with my guitar the first time I used it and one of my friends was so taken by it that he borrowed it and I had a hard time getting it back! I use it not only as a digital recorder, but also as a music player, with a 40 watt Dean Markley amp. Its sound is far better than I had expected from the recorder. Needless to say, I am delighted with it.

Although the recorder came with a boom, an adapter for a microphone stand, and a memory card among other goodies, I have only used the earphones and the table stand; my only regret is that the unit does not have a speaker and a tempo rate (to slow down or to accelerate the beat). That would really make it the very best in the market for its price.

It is very easy to get great sounds from the H2. It is also extremely easy to set it up for the type of recording you might want, and it has de added advantage that you can update it through the Internet, practically in the blink of an eye, and it is sooo easy to hook it up to your computer and download or upload your music or your sound files, that it is unbelievable. I love my little recorder.

The reason I give it a nine is because it is very, very fragil; the second week that I had it, the cover for the memory card broke off and now sometimes when I turn the recorder on, it tells me that there is no memory card in it and I have to turn it off, take out and put back in the card and turn it on again. That works, for now.

Still, the H2 is still a great buy for it's price. If I ever wanted to change it, I would change it for the H4n because the latter has a monitor speaker, a remote control and it takes larger capacity memory cards, but I truly am very satisfied with my recorder.

As I said before, upgrading is a breeze; unfortunately, not everything is a breeze: I e-mailed the company and they answered that they do not make spare parts for the recorder and I cannot repair the card cover on my H2. Too bad. It is good that they answer in a reasonable lenght of time, but it is not too good that if you fork out more than a hundred fifty bucks for an item, you cannot get it fixed if you need to. Maybe I could send it and have the whole casing changed.

It is not extremely sexy, even a little bulky, but I wanted it for the quality of the sound, I can live with it's appearance and the fragility of the plastic. The quality or the sound outweighs the way it looks.

Hobbyist,

Romantic Spanish, old rock'n'roll, classic guitar

Surprizingly good, the first thing I recorded was an outdoor concert and without tweaking the settings the recording was accurate.

Too many to use and I doubt I will use them all

This is easy and I mean easy

How can you get more for this amount of money?

No opinion, I have bot contacted Zoom

Hey, if you need a decent field recorder and you can't spend a grand, this unit is great.

Hobbyist

Rock, Alternative, Blues, Country

Well, I'm not an audio professional, but for my business it is required that I do many vocal/speech recordings. The sound recording from this device is exceptionally clear. I am able to control the mic gain, channels and direction to control for sound quality and ambient background noise. I have been extremely pleased with the professional sounding recordings and sound quality from this device. It has been extremely easy to download the audio files from the Zoom onto my laptop and into iTunes to burn to a CD or put on my iPod.

I am pleased with the mini tripod it comes with.

Very intuitive, even for a novice, non-audio professional to use. The manual is very helpful.

Hobbyist

None

So far, the sound quality has been excellent. This was my primary concern when making this purchase. I work in radio and do alot of interviews in the field and in press conference situations and so far, for what I need it for, I have been very pleased.

I probably will not ever use most of the features on this unit, especially the music related things, but again, that wasn't what I was looking for. I do like the fact that you can record in so many different formats. The carrying case is about worthless, I use a camera case...

Very easy to use, I do have to get used to hitting the record button twice each time, but other than that, piece of cake. I use primarily with external mic and "line in" and needed to adjust record levels but think I have found a pretty consistent setting. Getting sound to the PC is easy with the USB.

Plastic but seems pretty sturdy. Haven't dropped it yet...

I thought the price was reasonable after shopping around quite a bit. I hope to use it for a long time.

Not necessary yet.

Looks like an electric razor, but who cares?

Sound is very good and seems to capture the ambience of the recording situation quite well, with very good stereo separation. I detect a tiny bit of background noise, especially with medium and high mic gain settings and the first compressor setting, but have found that the Normalize function is great at maximizing signal, thus minimizing the effective background noise.

Accessories package is quite useful, but it would have been nice to include a couple of batteries. Although this is more than I would expect at this price point, it would have been GREAT if they could have included a custom carrying case. Feature set is fantastic, certainly more than I am likely to fully utilize. Again, too much to expect at this price, but the ability to save custom settings profiles would be huge! The inability to adjust gain for Line In or Ext Mic inputs is a negative.

Interface is very intuitive, but if you don't read the manual you might not make the most of this device. The manual is concise and well-written, but it would be nice to have more detail about the various compressor and limiter settings.

Very nicely engineered, fits comfortably in your hand or jacket pocket, and looks pretty cool. It would have added hundreds of dollars to the cost of the unit to put it in a metal case and provide a larger display. The mic screens are metal (a pleasant surprise), and the placement of the various switches makes sense. I would expect this unit to hold up reasonably well with a moderate amount of care, but would not take it white-water rafting or expect it to survive a drop from 10 feet onto a cement floor.

When Sony came out with a handheld digital recorder at $2000, it hoped it would not be long before someone engineered a decent consumer-level device to perform the same function. IMO, Zoom has hit the bulls-eye with this item. There's maybe one other product like this at this price point, but the buzz around this unit was so great, I didn't even consider it.

Have not had to contact support.

Clean design, very "sexy". Moderate "tech" look, which suits my taste. Could have gone more "tech" with squarer look, thinner case, more exposed mics and controls, but still a very nicely designed unit.

Hobbyist

Modern Praise and Worship

The recordings from the Zoom H2 are excellent. The sound is clean with no background noise or hum. Acoustic instrument recordings are amazing with true reproduction of the sound of the instrument.

The unit comes with a small tabletop stand, an adapter that allows it to be mounted on a mic stand, a windscreen, a 512mb SD card,usb and stereo Y cable,a set of earbuds and an external power supply. The H2 runs on 2 AA batteries. The H2 has the versatility of recording in MP3 or wave formats and several recording qualities. The unit even has a built in tuner and metronome.

Very easy to set up and begin basic recording right out of the box. You may want to read the manual(well written) to get deeper into the features of the H2. I did find the screen small and somewhat hard to view if your eyesight is not the best. Otherwise, the layout of the control buttons is good and easy to use.

The H2 is made of a rather lightweight plastic and I'm not sure how it will fare over the long run but as long as you take reasonable care of it and don't drop it, it should be ok. The fit and finish are good and it has the appearance of a 1940's style microphone. The mics are well protected.

Based on the great sound quality of the H2 I feel that the unit was worth the price paid for it. If you are looking for great sound quality at a reasonable price, check out the H2.

N/A

Active musician

Old time