Zoom H2, Marantz PMD 620 And Sony PCM D50: An Acoustic Guitar Field Recorder Shootout
Hi. J. Irving-Giles here, and I just got back from a Gearwire shootout that pitted three field recorders (Zoom's H2, the Marantz PMD 620, and Sony's PCM D50) against each other to see which one best handles acoustic guitar and makes for the best sketchpad for ideas. After using and taking the time to listen back to all three, I crown the Zoom H2 as my official pick.
Also, if you're in the Chicagoland area, be sure to check out my upcoming gig at Potbelly's. I'll be playing the loft slot all afternoon for the next few Thursdays, and I promise some subtle acoustic genius that's, at times, as smooth as the peanut butter on your Big Jack's PB&J. Careful! At the drop of a hat, I can switch keys to become as saucy and spicy as a meatball sandwich with hot peppers!
OWEN O'MALLEY: Welcome back to Gearwire Studios. I've recruited the venerable J. Irving-Giles to help us out with the final round of the Gearwire Field Recorder Shootout. Now, we've used these recorders in a couple of exterior situations and a very sneaky interior situation, but we figured that people are probably going to be using these to maybe demo music as like sort of like little acoustic guitar scratch pads, and that's where J. Irving-Giles comes in, and so we're going to just go through these and listen to a little bit of recorded guitar.
All right. So we're going to start with the Zoom H2 and so I've got Josh wearing the headphones now so we're going to get a second opinion on these, and okay so it's recording.
[J. IRVING-GILES RECORDING ACOUSTIC GUITAR THROUGH THE ZOOM H2]
OWEN O'MALLEY: So how did that sound to you?
J. IRVING-GILES: Oh, I felt that sounded pretty clear but I say we move on to the other competitors and see how it stands up against them.
OWEN O'MALLEY: All right. Okay, so next up we’ve got the Marantz PMD 620. Now what I didn't notice when we were out in the field is that this guy actually has four little rubberized feet and that the internal mics are angled up slightly, so it's kind of actually designed for tabletop recording, you know, so hopefully you have a table like this between you and your interview subject. So just to warn you, there's a little bit of like latency like echo thing that can throw you off.
J. IRVING-GILES: Um, I think I can handle it.
OWEN O'MALLEY: Here we go.
[J. IRVING-GILES RECORDING ACOUSTIC GUITAR THROUGH THE MARANTZ PMD 620]
J. IRVING-GILES: I did notice the latency.
OWEN O'MALLEY: Yeah. Did it throw you off at all?
J. IRVING-GILES: It's pretty annoying and I see how it could throw a lot of people off.
>OWEN O'MALLEY: Yeah. And I have not yet figured out how to turn that off. So, all right let's move on to the last recorder, which is the beefy PCM D50. I got to set the click every time I turn this on so. Okay, whenever you're ready.[J. IRVING-GILES RECORDING ACOUSTIC GUITAR THROUGH THE SONY PCM D50]
OWEN O'MALLEY: What do you think?
J. IRVING-GILES: That one wasn't bad. Sound quality is really good on that one. I'd say the Marantz is only one that really kind of gave me problems. The delay issue is a real pain in the [SOUNDS LIKE] OF.
OWEN O'MALLEY: Yeah, and there's no way -- you can't monitor on this guy unless you're recording, and the other thing we found out is you can't change the record sensitivity level while you're recording, so not the most convenient but let's -- in post we'll hear how it actually sounds. What do you think of the H2?
J. IRVING-GILES: I thought the H2 was pretty good. I've always liked the H4 because it's really easy to use and the H2 kind of continues just ease of use. I don't think the sound quality is bad at all just for field recordings.
OWEN O'MALLEY: And the sound quality compared to the Sony unit? Do you think there's a noticeable difference?
J. IRVING-GILES: I don't think there really is a noticeable difference. It's hard to tell when you're playing and listening through headphones at the same time. I'd like to see how this turns out in post and just give it a listen there and see if maybe any discrepancy just kind of shines a little harder.
OWEN O'MALLEY: All right. Cool. Well let's -- I guess we can move on to post which should be the final round of judging. Stay tuned.
What was with all that
What was with all that digital clipping going on with the Marantz? Are you sure you didn't have the levels set too high? Sounded like you were peaking. That concern aside, base on these examples, the Sony sounded best to my ear.
the marantz is wierd
we played around with it for a while, but the sensitivity control was difficult to work with. I own an H4, and we use a sound devices recorder here, plus I'm familiar with Nagra use, etc. Marantz stuff is usually solid, which is why its so wierd that this recorder is so sensitive. The other wierd thing is that the H2 is the only one that comes with a wind screen. You could rig one for the others, but they aren't exactly standard size mics. My consensus is that I like the sound of the sony mics, but I'd rather have an H2 with the windscreen or an H4 with two of my own mics plugged into the back end. the prosumer field recorders seem to be extremely sensitive, even with sensitivity turned way down. Plus, I just like to use my own condenser mics anyway. Good observation on that, though.
seconded
I, too, had high hopes for the PMD620. I'd used the 660 for film and location audio before, and can't get over how crappy this little unit was in comparison. The mics sounded great in our indoor-mall test - super nuanced, almost a "heightened reality" sort of vibe to the stereo image - but the user interface is obstructively terrible, and even some after some post-shootout investigation and tinkering, we still couldn't access any kind of record-sensitivity adjustment. Maybe we had a bum unit? I hope so, for Marantz's sake.
Where is the final post tests?
Did you guys ever get around to doing the post test? as well as a final verdict?
thanks
JP
We eventually decided that
We eventually decided that the H2 was the best price-performance unit, but the Sony PCM-D50 was the best overall. The sound was pristine, the controls intuitive and the features plentiful and practical.
While we're not doing another video in this particular series, we will be doing a more in-depth demo of the Sony unit. Stay tuned.
Marantz correction and firmware update
I watched all these videos but still decided to get the Marantz anyway, thinking it can't be all that bad, surely? I'm glad I did, too, since I've found it to be an excellent piece of gear. (I just didn't like the Zoom and the Sony is out of my price range).
But I have to correct this article on one thing: you CAN adjust the recording level while recording. Perhaps you did have a duff unit.
Also, Marantz released a firmware update that fixes the monitoring delay, it can be found here: http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp
Not the easiest of sites to navigate but interesting reviews
I went a little batty trying to find the post round up for this one and only in reading the comments, here, do I see there wasn't one. Arrrrgh! Guys! Don't promise one on tape and then don't deliver!
Thanks for the review, though. Here are my thoughts.
It sounded as though you had a very faulty Marantz. I was expecting and hoping for great things and sort of want to give Marantz the benefit of the doubt, that some button was at the wrong position or... because if it was a faulty unit, that in itself doesn't inspire confidence, which at a prosumer level is partly where the high cost is going, as against cheaper domestic units. The Sony sounded very clean but a little thin, a little bass light? Or at least compared to the H2. Mind you, I had to memorise the H2 recording, bridged by the unimaginably awful Marantz. I suspect with good mics the Sony is king. Any chance you could test another Marantz to see if you had a dud?
the marantz
From what I've heard, marantz has addressed those issues now. There should be no latency, but definitely check around on forums to double check that.
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