#Hd audio recorder 2 portable
#Hd audio recorder 2 professional

Its size – it was really small and was usable with one hand only.Its sound quality – it sounded good for just about any application.It’s the second most sold recorder of their “H” line. If you’ve ever had to use a decent field recorder other than your smartphone, you probably know the Zoom H1.

Honestly, it would be pretty crazy not to put the Zoom H1n in first position of this list. So now onto the list of best field recorders.

Recording Formats (sound quality) – As we saw previously, the sampling rate and bit depth determine the quality of the recording sound, so pay attention to that detail when looking for a recorder.

some recorders only accept up to 32 GB cards, while other models have no limit. The problem is that some field recorders have a capacity limit e.g.

#Hd audio recorder 2 portable

Storage Capacity – 99% of portable recorders store their recordings on SD Cards.The battery life, and the powering options – being able to record 20 hours straight on AA bateries is good, being able to switch over to a battery without any hiccup mid-recording is even better.The XLR in (track) count – very important if you want to plug extra mics into your recorder.The microphone polar pattern – usually XY Stereo, some recorders offer swappable microphone capsule.Which is why I made a list of the most important features portable recorders offer: Next up… The Key Features of a Portable Field Recorderīefore choosing your field recorder, a good idea is to know what you are actually looking for, and what you need… The Beginner’s Guide to Digital Audio for Music Recording.Industry standard is set at 24bits.įor an in-depth look at digital audio, check out this article: That being said, some field recorders record at much higher rates, sometimes up to 192Khz.Īnd the truth is that the higher the sampling rate the better the quality of the recording.Īs for bit depth, it basically determines how “good” the sample will sound.Īgain, the higher the bit depth, the better. The standard for music recordings has been set to 44.1Khz for practical reasons. Keep in mind you need a very powerful system to handle such recordings. 192kHz – This very high rate is almost only used by sound designers who need to have enough footroom (more than the one provided by 96kHz) for their samples to be comfortably processed and manipulated.And although it will be reduced back to 48kHz but recording at a higher rate in the first place will help avoid high end aliasing for example, which is very real when recording high end sounds, such as brass, cymbals or anything of the likes.

Essentially anyting related to sound-design. 96Khz – entering real “Hi-Res” you’ll want to use this sample rate if you’re recording folleys, or ambiances.48kHz – the standard for video music/sound.

#Hd audio recorder 2 professional

44.1kHz – the absolute standard in professional audio recording not meant to be synced with video.Remember not all field recorders are able to record in the higher sampling rates. There are 4 different sampling rates used when recording, each one for a specific situation. Essentially, the more the better.Įach frequency needs to be sampled twice, so if our hearing range lies between 20Hz and 20Khz, a sampling rate of 40Khz is enough. Sampling rate refers to how many times a soundwave is sampled. As On-Camera Mics – Since most field recorders can be mounted on a camera, a lot of people actually use them that way.On-Field sound capture/Sound design – A lot of these devices are used to record outside sounds, and for sound design ( Folley’s for example).And for that, nothing beats a field recorder. Journalism – journalists/reporters often have to quickly be able to take their recorder out and have it ready to record in a matter of seconds.Music – whether it’s concerts, your band’s rehearsal or to actually record a studio track with mics plugged into XLRs, portable field recorders are widely used in the music industry.Of course, “ the possibilities are endless!“, but mainly, people use portable field recorders for these 3 applications: A small form-factor – portable recorders are often referred to as “handheld” recorders.A screen – so you can monitor what you’re recording.A storage system – usually some sort of memory card.

One or several microphones – it is supposed to record sound, isn’t it?.

Generally, professionals in the recording industry agree on the following. In this post I’ll be covering “handheld” recorder WITH built-in microphones, although all the model in the list below can accept external mics.

The Key Features of a Portable Field Recorderīefore we actually look at the best models out there, let’s quickly definewhat a portable field recorder is, and who it is aimed at.