Zoom H6 Vs H4n + Rode NTG-2 Mic

[davidiliyn]

Also, if im recording with my studio setup - Pre - lynx Aurora - Protools, i record even lower on every track, leaves room for processing, and the A/D converter is super clean so i can get any amount of volume ill need once mixing/mastering

[Lampofilm]

Loved the video. If sometime you have time, can you do a training video how you do your post audio to get the best audio. I own the H4n, and always wished it could record louder. Is that mic still worth keeping?
Does it make a difference to record with phantom power or use the battery with your NTG. And where did you buy your battery adapter for the NTG-2. I have the NTG-3 and wonder if I can get a battery adapter instead of using phantom. thanks for your time.

[adamrafferty]

Dave

Thanks fr answering. Currently I have a Roland Octacapture...I am eager for a standalone device as opposed to interface, laptop and grinding hard drive! Easy to pack & setup....but the only X factor is preamp quality. Would love an A/B test of the H6 vs a decent Interface.

BTW - Roland has a Duo-Capture, 99 bucks and powers off the USB...not that you'd ned it :-)

[davidiliyn]

absolutely, however the h4n locked the gain settings when on hold. Really hope they make some type of option/update in the future that would allow you to hold the current gain setting when on hold

[Mrcoolagainbuzy]

Part 2 please.. 

Some more test with H6 and NTG2

maybe outdoor and all

[mdifilm]

Thanks for the review. I got the tascam dr-60D and the zoom h6. We have done 3 different tests. The latest with an audio engineer. And what we found is that Tascam DR-60D preamp noise is 30 db less than Zoom H6. Really low overall. Zoom H6 preamp is still better than the Zoom H4n. Video will be out this Thursday. Surprisingly the inboard mics (L/R) has less noise than the xlr inputs

[bbcasting]

I agree. The H4N is a GREAT recorder if you know how to properly use it.

[GordonBurnsVideo]

You are correct with that - but you can lock the settings during a recording session which is at least something useful.

[davidiliyn]

Ill get around to making a video showing my workflow with processing audio. The NTG2 has a battery compartment for phantom power which makes it very handy, ntg3 does not unfortunately. I have not done enough tests to see if it adds noise, but if i was you id just use the h4n phantom power.

[IBZChicken]

You're an absolute champ! It's a big gamble to buy this online without playing with it first, so your video has been a big help. Cheers bud

[davidiliyn]

nahh, noise only gets worse the louder you push a preamp, in this case the zooms are pretty noisy. I never record above -12 on zooms, thats their happy spot for signal to noise. After that i have some waves plugins i run them through - eq - compression - limit. With wav/raw files they have a lot of dynamic range to be pushed in post. But if theres already noise in that wav file pushing it in post will only make it worse. Record a clean file and you can push it as loud as you need.

[davidiliyn]

Thanks for the comment marco, loved all you have done for the dslr community and the 5d VS BMC video (why i purchased a bmc!)
I have honestly not shot any clips longer than 5 minutes. So far i have not seen any noticeable difference. How long are your clips typically when you start to see drift with the h4n?

[davidiliyn]

H6 is slightly heavier with the capsule on, without it feels quite similar even with 2 more AA batteries! Capsules are metal, but pretty thin, i imagine they will dent like a 58. Has the typical 1/4 on the bottom and not much else at the moment.

[davidiliyn]

Unfortunately you cant lock the gain knobs which is the main thing you wouldn't want touched in a bag.

[adamrafferty]

Question - hope this ain't too dumb...how do the preamps & quality stack up against a decent audio interface for a laptop (I'd use external mics)? I am a musician, looking to use this mainly for recording, but I love the idea of doing solo guitar recordings with no laptop and an easy setup? The specs say the preamps on this are "improved" but are they good enough to record a CD?

[raredreamfootage]

It's because other voice recorders uses microSD so they wanted it to be interoperable with those too.

[davidiliyn]

Hey Chris, sound quality so far is better, obviously with a decent preamp for the shotgun mic it will be much better, but in general just for mic feeds and what not it should be perfect! The option to add 2 more xlr inputs with the optional adapter is just crazy!
The stereo capsule has 2 elements on top of each other, a unidirectional mic facing forward and a bi-directional mic set perpendicular to it for the sides. Pretty crazy mic!

[lbrabbit]

I had trouble with the gain as well with the NTG-2 + zoom H4n combo. Giving that that the zoom H6 has better gain, is a preamp still necessary?

[GordonBurnsVideo]

You CAN lock the settings on hold in fact.

[davidiliyn]

Thanks! Theres a lot of features im liking about it so far that i did not mention in the video as well!