The H2 Handy Recorder ($334.99 MSRP) was first issued by Zoom back in 2007, yet it remains entirely contemporary with more recent portable digital recorders. High-resolution recording, an onboard four-channel mic array, and a host of other features keep this long-time favorite viable in a market much more crowded now than when the H2 was first released.

Each of today’s portable digital recorders sports a core feature set that makes it useful for a broad variety of common applications, plus other features aimed more specifically at certain targeted applications or at setting the unit apart from the competition (not to mention other models in the same manufacturer’s product line).

The H2’s built-in surround recording features have been its main calling card, and, as we shall see, Zoom has done a nice job of leveraging this mic array for all it’s worth.

The Basics
The H2 is a two- or four-channel digital recorder capable of recording stereo 16- or 24-bit WAV files at 44.1, 48, or 96 kHz sample rates, or MP3 files, either at 48 to 320 kbps or VBR (variable bit rate). It records to SD or SDHC cards with up to 16 MB of capacity. The WAV files are created in BWF (Broadcast Wave Format), which allows more metadata to be stored with the file. The H2’s core features include a low-cut filter on the mics, an AGC/limiter/compressor circuit, a folder-based directory structure, loop playback, and a USB2 port for connecting to a computer.

Recorders of this type seem mostly to have one of two footprints: a package a little larger than a pack of gum (around 2-inches wide, such as the Tascam DR-08) or one a bit smaller than a smart phone (about 2.5 to 3-inches wide). The H2 falls into the latter category, which, in any event, is pretty darn compact.

The microphones are positioned in a side-address configuration, with one mic pair sharing the front panel with the user interface, and the other mic pair situated on the rear panel just above the battery compartment.

FIG. 1: The H2’s side panels provide a wealth of connectivity.

On one side panel of the H2, two stereo mini (3.5 mm phone) jacks provide external mic and line inputs (see Fig. 1). The USB2 connector and a three-position mic-sensitivity (preamp gain) control adjoin them. On the other side, another stereo mini jack can be used as either a line or headphone output. The power switch, AC adapter jack, and a rocker switch for volume control fill out the rest of this side panel.

On the bottom of the unit (the side facing the ground when the user is pointing the mics directly at a source), a photo-style tripod mount sits just below the drawer that holds the SD/SDHC media.

The user interface in the H2 is compact and simple. Physically, there is a 128 x 64-dot LCD, and seven membrane switches, two of which are dedicated to selecting the desired mic configuration, while the rest serve double-duty for transport and menu navigation. The menu system is reasonable to navigate, although I always feel a little uncomfortable using the Record button for any function besides starting and stopping recording. It can be a bit of a pain to back out of menus one level at a time, but it’s something one becomes used to quickly.

The H2 comes with a wall-wart AC adapter, but most of the time is likely to be operating on two AA batteries (alkaline or NiMH). Battery life is a respectable 4 hours or more.

Other included accessories are a desk stand, a windscreen (maybe the most valuable accessory of all), a USB cable, a 512 MB SD card, a drawstring carry bag, a stereo mini-to-dual-RCA splitter cable, and even a pair of earbuds (see Fig. 2).

Some More Nice Things
The H2 has a rich set of utility functions. These include auto-record (level-triggered recording), loop playback, file dividing (rudimentary editing by chopping a file into two files), file renaming, a metronome, a tuner (chromatic or guitar), an AGC/compressor function with seven settings, pre-record (keeps in memory the one or two seconds of audio preceding when the Record button is pressed), and even file level normalization.

FIG. 2: Included with the H2 are earbuds, a stand, a USB cable, an SD card, and an external power supply.

The H2 can be set to playback all files in a given folder on one of two ways: to continuously repeat playback of any one file (the difference between this and loop playback being that the latter allows start and end loop points to be set, whereas the former just loops from head to tail) or to repeat play through the entire list of files within a folder.

Zoom works hard at making the most use of all of the H2’s facilities. One example is the inclusion of onboard WAV to MP3 conversion, in case you want to record at full resolution but have an MP3 to put on a portable player or send via email. Mono record mode mixes a stereo input (onboard mics or an external source) into a dual mono file (e.g., the same mixed signal appears on both channels).

Another particularly cool repurposing feature uses the H2’s USB connectivity to let it act as an audio interface to a computer, instead of recording directly onto an onboard SD card. With an H2, a laptop with recording software, and a big hard disk, you can make much longer recordings than could be stored on a card. There are limitations to this feature, however: it acts only as a two-channel, 16-bit, 44.1/48 kHz sample rate interface. Even so, this is pretty awesome stuff.

The USB connection is also used to let the H2 function as a general SD card reader for your computer. Less exciting than the interface front-end feature, but still a useful addition.

The H2’s USB interface is compatible with Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista. With the recent release of the H series ASIO driver (available from http://www.zoom.co.jp/), the H2 is also compatible with Windows 7.

One last utility function worth mentioning is the ability to drop BWF-compatible markers on the fly while recording. Markers are also automatically dropped in the event that a dropout occurs during recording. While markers that have been dropped can be viewed in a list, it unfortunately is not possible to locate to a marker to start playback or recording.

Two Plus Two Equals More Than Four
As I mentioned earlier, the H2 boasts four-channel recording. This is accomplished using front and rear pairs of mic elements. However, it is possible to configure the onboard mic array to produce four different kinds of recordings: four-channel surround; front/rear (180 degree) stereo (which Zoom calls “stereo surround”); 90-degree L/R stereo (using only the front mic pair); or 120-degree L/R stereo (using only the rear pair). LED indicators thoughtfully included on the front and rear panels light to indicate the mic pair(s) in use.

That’s pretty versatile, but there’s more. Four-channel recordings are made as a pair of WAV files. Zoom has provided the capability to down-mix such a file pair to a single stereo file in one of two ways: either a 1-to-1 mix of the front and rear record files, or using what Zoom somewhat inaccurately terms “3D panning.” This is a system in which an X-Y grid appears on the H2’s display with a cursor that can be moved to any point on the grid. The selected point determines how the amplitudes of each of the four channels should be scaled to achieve the indicated positioning. However, you’re not really panning a source through space. Rather, you are adjusting the four-channel mix to emphasize the sound that occurs at the indicated point in space when you record.

What is particularly interesting about this feature is that using its “Input” setting applies this processing to the mic signals in real-time, but does not affect the recording, while the “Preview” setting applies the processing to playback of a four-channel recording.

There are, of course, limitations to the four-channel capability. For example, the headphone output is only stereo because to do otherwise would require multiple connectors and four-channel headphones. As mentioned above, the audio interface feature is also two-channel. However, in no way do these limitations compromise the usefulness of the H2’s four-channel functions.

In Use
I carried the H2 with me just about everywhere I went for about a month, doing a hefty amount of field recording of ambiences and sound effects, plus several band rehearsals. I also tried it out recording vibes, drums, and spoken word in my Studio Faire La Nouba. Overall, the results were impressive.

With a recorder capable of 96 kHz/24-bit recordings and onboard four-channel capability, one is sorely tempted to assume that the unit is a fully professional device. In some ways it is, but there are reasons that high-end professional gear costs more, as closer examination reveals. For example, the H2’s plastic housing is fine for taking to a conference or a band rehearsal, but it’s not built to be dropped or withstand the rigors of professional field or road use.

It is also true that the onboard mics and preamps of any portable recorder as affordable as the H2 will never equal the quality of high-end studio mics and pres. That said, the performance of the H2’s onboard mics is definitely comparable to many of the value-priced condenser mics that have become available in the last five to ten years. And the convenience of having mics of good quality in an integrated package with a recorder is very, very powerful.

The ambiences and sound effects I recorded in the field turned out sounding great. Stereo panorama is a strong suit of the H2, and it was interesting to try making ambience recordings with the three stereo configurations (90-, 120-, and FR/180– degree pickup patterns), as well, of course, as four-channel recordings.

At the Vallejo Ferry Building, I had sound sources located on my hard right and hard left, with an occasional source directly in front of me. It was a great opportunity to hear how H2 recordings handle spatial placement, and it was handled very well, indeed. Each setting produced a usable ambience recording, but they varied somewhat in width and a good deal in the amount of center information. The four-channel recordings produced a balanced, immersive sound field. Although I had seen (and believe) some of the complaints I’ve heard about handling noise with the H2, I stood very still and had no real problem with that. Nonetheless, stand- or handle-mounting is recommended whenever practical.

Band rehearsals turned out very well as long as I was careful about engaging the limiter and setting the record levels correctly.

In the studio, the spatialization stood out once again when I recorded vibraphone. The recordings had a nice, wide stereo field. My results using the H2 suspended about six feet off the ground and about three feet in front of a drum set were not quite as impressive—transient response is one of the areas where studio mics (and preamps) do better than the onboard mics of a portable recorder. That doesn’t mean my drum recordings were not usable, only that I would be most likely to use them as documents—to capture ideas—rather than as final tracks. Using good external mics and an external preamp I could probably get great quality tracking to the H2.

The manual warns in a couple of spots that dropouts can occur occasionally when recording at 96 kHz, 24-bit resolution. I did not experience any, but I did not record extensively in that configuration. Still, it is something to be aware of. Another thing to be aware of is that the H2 does not appear to use the full USB2 bandwidth: transfers were pretty slow when I had several large recordings to offload.

There are a few considerations involved in utilizing the H2’s four-channel features. One is that, obviously, you have to have a surround monitoring environment to listen back to four-channel recordings. You also have to configure whatever playback software you use to provide surround outputs. In some cases, that software may also be able to convert the H2’s quad recordings to the more common 5.1 surround format. If not, there are utilities available both for Windows and Mac that will do so, including the Vortex Zoom Encoder and Daniel Courville’s free Zoom2Five plug-in.

Wrap It Up, I’ll Take It Out
The H2 covers a broad variety of common uses, while adding onboard surround capability. The four-channel mic array is the H2’s secret sauce, and it has been well exploited by Zoom to supply an interesting and useful set of functions that support many different applications. For example, the F/R 180-degree stereo could be great for capturing interviews. Combine that with the USB audio-interface function and the H2 could make a great portable radio or podcast front-end. You might even be able to take two H2s, set one to F/R stereo and one to 90-degree stereo and make a very portable M-S recording rig! In any event, the H2 covers a lot of ground and produces good recordings.

In light of the H2’s prodigious feature set and unique onboard four-channel mic array, the H2’s street price ($159.99) makes it a serious value. There is no mystery as to why the Zoom H2 continues to be a popular choice three years after its arrival.

Pros: Records 24-bit/96 kHz. Records four channels. Works as a digital interface and an SD card reader. Tuner. Limiter. Loop playback.
Cons: Slow transfers over USB2 port.

Larry the O has been a performer, composer, producer, engineer, sound designer, audio director, and many other things in his more than 30 years in professional audio. For most of that time he has also been one of the leading audio/music technology journalists, having been a Contributing Editor to Mix and Electronic Musician magazines for more than 15 years. His company, Toys In the Attic Productions, has just opened Studio Faire La Nouba as its new, in-house production facility.