Zoom H1n

The Zoom H1N. Is it any good? Should you buy it? I’ll be giving you my definitive answer and more nerdy stuff in the following written review.

The Zoom H1N handy recorder. Indeed.

I recently bought this updated version of the original Zoom H1 strictly for the purposes of this review. My original H1 is working just fine as it always has been, but it’s not worth reviewing if my readers can’t purchase it any longer. So I got the newer version.

The Zoom h1N was released in 2018 which was Ready Player One and Deadpool 2 ago—and comes as a direct update to the original H1 which was first released in 2010 which was Inception and Iron Man 2 ago. It’s a compact stereo field recorder that records audio and saves that audio on a little micro SD card.

The zoom H1n is a sleek little thing. I’m digging the matte black finish. The stereo mics are in an X-Y configuration and they’re made of plastic just like the original one. But I’d like to point out that the plastic is not made of any special plastic whatsoever. It’s just plastic. So there’s that.

Just below the mics is a gain dial that controls the gain for the onboard stereo mics and also any mics you might plug into it using the 3.5mm port on the side. I like the feel of the gain dial. It’s firm. Not easy to accidentally change. I like firm dials, I shall not tell a lie.

Below the gain dial is a screen which is backlit with a nice blue, similar to the H5 recorder. This is a huge step up from the orange backlight on the original H1. But I dunno, I kinda liked the orange backlight. Kinda Halloweeny.

Below the screen are four buttons: Audio, low cut, limiter, and auto-level. These buttons also serve as soft keys or selectors for other functions.

Below that is an unmistakable record button. Then a stop, play/pause, and skip back and skip forward. The buttons feel very buttony

There’s a little speaker built into the bottom of the front face.

The left side has a headphone output, as indicated by the green color, and a headphone level which are up and down buttons.

On the right side is a mic or line input which can be either a mono or stereo signal. So this is perfect for a stereo set of Clippy mics that terminate in a 3.5mm stereo connector. This input is marked with a reddish orange color.

Below that is a latch to insert your micro SD card. It can only take a maximum of  a 32 gig card.

Below that is a delete button, and under that is a power on/hold switch.

Finally, there’s a mini usb port for connecting it to a computer or another device. You can also use this as an audio interface but you can only record at a maximum of 16bit 44.1khz when used for that purpose. Without using the H1n as an audio interface, you can record up to 24 bit 96khz.

On the back we’ve got a 1/4 inch mounting socket so that you can mount this on a tripod or a stand of some sort. Note that this is all plastic, so I’d be careful when screwing this on to anything. You don’t want to go too tight and strip the threads or snap the plastic. Back in my day, stripping threads meant an entirely different thing.

It’s very light. It weighs about 91 grams with the batteries in. The original H1 weighs 94 grams. So this version is lighter by just a little bit, but it’s noticeable—at least to me. It feels cheaper.

And that’s it.

It measures about 5.5 inches long, 2 inches wide at the top and a half inch thick.

The Zoom H1n has:

• 24 bit, 96khz maximum wav file recording resolution but can be lowered to 16bit 44.1 wav files. It also records in mp3 format for those times that you need an insane amount of recording time or if you just want your recordings to suck.

• full stereo support via the built-in X-Y stereo mics or the stereo mic input. You can also use a mono mic in that input if you so choose.

• it’s a recorder that records audio. If you’re looking to record audio, this will do that.

The noted improvements on the H1N over the original H1 are:

• an easier to read screen

• an onboard digital limiter (but it’s digital and not analogue. There is a considerable difference). Still, there’s a limiter.

• timer recording so you can set a time to begin recording automatically.

• a two second pre-record that will record audio 2 seconds before you pressed the record  button by going back in time 2 seconds ago and pre-pressing the record button using general relativity space-time geometries and faster-than-light thought-travel. It’s complicated.

• a tone generator so you can send a tone to another device like a camera to set the levels properly.

• an overdub function that allows for unlimited overdubs of your recordings. You could essentially have hundreds of yous all gabbing at the same time. Though, the noise buildup would be insane after just a few tracks. Either way. Great feature.

• playback speed controls so you can slow down or speed up playback without affecting pitch. I suppose this could be handy if you wanted to hear what you would sound like reciting Macbeth immediately after consuming 78 beers or, conversely, if you drank 800 coffees.

So what does it sound like? It sounds fine. They’re not the greatest preamps and converters on earth. But not the worst, either.

The included XY stereo mic capsule is a bit noisy. You can reduce the noise a bit by plugging in a plug-in-powered mic like the Clippys (3.5mm terminated).

You can purchase the Zoom H1N right now for about $100 USD. CLICK HERE:

Analysis!

I really do like this little recorder. It’s small and cheap and light and super functional. Is it the best pocket field recorder? No. The best is the Sony D100 which was discontinued and used or new old stock is like $1000. Is it the best pocket field recorder for $100. Yes. At the time of this review (07/2023) it’s the best one you can get for that price. It will do everything you need a little pocket recorder to do. I love the option for overdubbing. Unlimited tracks is super cool. Great for scratchpad music ideas.

The mics aren’t the very best quality but far from the worst— I’ve found that most of the noise is due to the onboard XY mics, and not the preamps. It’s not VERY noisy, but noisy enough for ultra quiet ambulances. But If you have a stereo set of Clippy mics with a 3.5mm connector, this is a fabulous and low cost drop rig—for when you want to leave a recording rig unattended to record nature ambiences. You can even set a timer for the recording to start at a specified time.

I must say that I much preferred the single AA battery in the original H1 to the dual AAA batteries in this version, but it’s not a big deal.

I like the buttons on the front of the recorder as opposed to the sides, and I REALLY love the gain dial instead of the buttons on the side. Step gain is annoying. I’m very glad they made it a dial in this version.

The H1n seems to fare much better in the wind than the previous H1, as well. That’s a huge win.

The sound quality seems to be about on par with the last version, maybe slightly better. I still think the built in mics on the H5 sound better than the H1N but sometimes it’s the recorder you have with you, you know. Actually, strike that, it’s all times that it’s the recorder you have with you.

I love gear. I love all types of gear, but audio gear is special to me. No one will ever know how completely and unreasonably enamored I am with audio gear. It excites me like nothing else on earth. Sometimes I don’t even use the thing I just acquired. I just need to have it. Even just to look at it. It is either a sickness or a superpower—though I have yet to work out how it’s a superpower other than to give myself expensive thrills and to instantly piss off the wife.

It’s GAS. GEAR ACQUISITION SYNDROME. There is no cure. Only pain. Pain right in the Apple Wallet.

I have no energy to talk to real human people about anything—but audio gear I could go on for days on a single spoons charge. I have neverending gear-energy and little contraptions like the H1N excite me knowing it is with me at all times. Just in case. Along with everything else I might need in my man-bag.

Yes. After almost a decade, I will be replacing my H1 in my everyday audio carry with the H1N. I love it. I’m glad I got it. And I have you to thank.

Do I recommend the Zoom H1N? Yes. It’ll do what you want, when you want to do it. It’s small enough to carry with you and it will work just fine for any recordings you might need on the fly. The internal mics can be noisy, and if you need to record quiet ambiences, then I recommend getting the Clippy omni mic set. This will reduce any hiss dramatically and give you very nice recordings.

If you’re recording outdoor ambiences of any kind, I fully recommend a wind furry. You NEED wind protection for absolute sure. There’s no getting around that. Your outdoor recordings will suck without one. They’re cheap and can be found on Amazon by a many third party manufacturers. Like this one:

I’ve said it before in my reviews and I’ll say it again—even in the face of audio recording purists: Yes there are plenty of better digital audio recorders on the market than the H1N but you don’t need them for casual sound recording. At least not today.

I, myself, own the Sound Devices MixPre 3 II and the MixPre 6 II. They’re some of the worlds most top of the line portable recorders with arguably the best preamps. But honestly, as I said, it’s the recorder you have with you that is the best recorder. And you can do so much with so little these days. It’s a great time to be alive and be into audio. The stuff we take for granted and nitpick at these days, was the stuff of dreams to thousands of Audio people just 20 years ago. The Zoom H1N can do all the non XLR input things you want and more.

To give you an example, I’ve had the original H1 for about 12 years. I’ve had the Mixpre for almost 4 years. I wanted to go top-of-the-line (as field recorders go) and I did. But in the last 4 years I have made more usable recordings with the H1 than the Mixpre by far. Do you know why? I had it on me. It’s far more portable. And it worked. Period.

I bet you’ve heard more sound effects in major movies recorded with the Zoom H1n than you think. In fact, I KNOW you have. The reason is that the recordist or sound designer who is working on the movie found a great sound and just so happened to have it with them. And it’s the right sound for the job.

Use what you have and what you can afford.

It’s all about technique and practice and bettering your craft. As you get better, and more into this hobby, you’ll buy better gear because of course you will.

And after you buy better gear, you’ll still be recording all kinds of stuff with the Zoom H1N because it’ll be with you when you need it.

And when that happens, you whip it out and capture that slice of time… for all time.

End Transmission