Zoom H1n Portable Recorder, Onboard Stereo Microphones, Camera Mountable, Records to SD Card, Compact, USB Microphone, Overdubbing, Dictation, For Recording Music, Audio for Video, and Interviews

I evaluated quite a number of digital recorders before deciding on the Zoom H1n. And I'm glad I selected this one. The two main reasons I wanted a digital recorder are for recording live music concerts and for recording GOOD voice audio to put with videos I shoot. I have only used this a few times for recording voice audio, but I can say right now this records the BEST audio of any method I have tried yet. These other methods number probably a dozen, including cheaper digital recorders, computer-based recorders, camera-integrated sound recordings, and loads of microphones. Before we go any farther, you need to know that a good audio recording is principally captured by the MICROPHONE you use, but the recorder you use will also make a big difference. The things I LIKE about the Zoom H1n are: - the size - very easy to carry, hold, and use; - ease of use - like all digital gadgets, you have to learn how to use it, which means you have to RTFI (military acronym for "read the freaking instructions!"), and you need to practice with it. But this item is not hard to use, and there's no question I will be able to remember what to do after putting this thing away for a month then dig it out and using it. - quality of the sound - the built-in microphones are EXCELLENT. They have good stereo capability, which is essential for recording live music concerts, and they seem to pick up exactly what I want them to pick up, without a lot of extraneous noises. - the controls - they are well thought-out and intuitive. All it takes is a good orientation (RTFI). - battery life - you're supposed to be able to get more than 10 hours operation on 2 AA batteries. I cannot attest to that as I'm still on the first set, which came with the unit. What I'd like to see improved (in other words, what I DON'T like): - NO SD CARD INCLUDED! I know they're trying to keep the price down, but good grief! They should make a bigger point of letting us know that a micro SD card is REQUIRED BUT NOT INCLUDED with the unit. I was lucky to have one in a secondary camera that I could borrow and use. - Cheapo display - It's low-resolution blue and white, with a backlight that doesn't stay on long enough, and has no way to toggle it on to see what's displayed, other than activating a button. I'd be happy to pay a bit more for a higher resolution display, and it would be nice to have a way to turn it on so we could see it in the dark, without having to push some function-activating button. - So-so case material. It's plastic, and that's okay, but it feels slippery in my hand, and if I'm holding it while recording with the built-in mics, the noise of my hand moving even slightly on the case is recorded through the mics. A softer and more tactile (rubberized?) coating on the case would be a great improvement. Overall, so far I'm very pleased with this recorder.

The Zoom H1n Portable Recorder has been an essential tool in my setup for creating 8-bit and chiptune samples in Ableton. The sound quality is top-notch, capturing every nuance with crystal-clear detail, which is vital for producing authentic retro sounds. Whether you’re into chiptune, 8-bit, or any form of electronic music, this recorder is a game-changer. It’s compact, easy to use, and perfect for both studio work and on-the-go sampling. The intuitive controls and built-in stereo microphones provide impressive results without needing any extra gear. I’ve used it to record everything from ambient sounds to direct audio, and it always performs flawlessly. Plus, the long battery life is a huge plus for extended sessions. If you’re an electronic music creator looking for a reliable, versatile recorder, the Zoom H1n is a must-have. Highly recommended!

I’ve used the Zoom H1n for voice recordings, interviews, and general audio capture, and overall it delivers very solid performance for its size and price. The built-in stereo microphones capture clear, detailed sound, especially for spoken voice, making it a great option for meetings, interviews, podcasts, or quick field recordings. One of the biggest strengths is how easy it is to use. The controls are straightforward, the screen is clear, and setup is quick even for beginners. It’s lightweight and portable, so it’s easy to carry around without extra gear. Battery life has also been reasonable with normal use. That said, there are a few downsides. The device is very sensitive to handling noise, so you’ll want to keep it on a tripod or use a grip rather than holding it directly. It also doesn’t feel especially rugged, so careful handling is important. Additionally, it doesn’t include an SD card, which is something to be aware of before first use. Overall, the Zoom H1n is a reliable and easy-to-use recorder with excellent audio quality for the size. It’s not perfect, but for casual to semi-professional recording needs, it’s a strong choice and offers good value.

I should have purchased this a long time ago. This thing is the Swiss army knife of audio solutions for video. I use it for my YT channel "Running Into History" if interested in hearing the sound quality. I have used this to capture different folly and ambience in the areas I am recording(I will be buying a second unit dedicated just to this). I primarily use this to record my narrative using an inexpensive Boya lapel mic. I then synch the audio to my Sony a7iii DSLR and gopro Hero 8 footage in Davinci Resolve. So eazy with Resolve. Drag the audio clip and the video clip into the timeline. Right click on the audio and select "synch to waveform". Always a perfect synch in seconds. Sounds much better than the audio coming from the Sony mic and preamp. I was reading that the video codecs used for dslr sound capture end up being lower resolution than even 16bit CD quality. I need to look into this further but this unit records in 24bit audio. Sounds pretty crisp and clear in comparison to even a Rode video mic mounted on my camera. I recently recorded a video in my truck. Rode video mic on my Sony and this Zoom unit on a tripod sitting on my center arm rest. The Zoom sounded much better. Seemed like it was more direct and higher resolution, could be due to the stereo mics on the Zoom vs the mono Rode mic. This thing can be used as a handheld mic with a cheap foam cover although this unit does pickup handheld contact noise. I also attached this thing to the end of a monopod as a boom mic and worked great. I have been researching wireless lav mic setups but they can have issues with dropouts at the worse times and to get anything close to the sound quality of this Zoom you will have to spend at least $300 for a good unit. For $120 this thing will sound better than the majority of expensive wireless lav mics and does so much more. I purchased a $10 dead cat wind cover and foam kit from Amazon and both work great. I also purchased a case on Amazon that holds the unit, extra lapel and Zoom unit batteries, lapel mic and dead cat cover, all in a compact case that fits in my camera bag.

I ordered the H1n based on my experience with the quality recordings of the Zoom H2n which I bought about 5 years ago for doing oral histories for the National Archives. My favorite hobby now is playing and teaching the ukulele. I wanted a simple recorder to use in my home studio. I was excited to read in the reviews that the recorder had a friendly interface. I often struggled with the somewhat clunky and difficult controls on the H2n. Happily the H1n is super easy to navigate and operate. Menus are intuitive and readily accessible. You can set the quality you want. I've been recording in 24 bit, 48K WAV format whatever that means in technical terms. The H1n will record at other levels including the 24 bit 96K format required for archival work. You can record in MP3 format with varying degrees of quality. I was surprised and pleased that I could overdub multiple times to build up a more robust sound. The recordings I made sound really good and that's what counts to me. I heartily recommend this device. It won't blow a giant hole in your wallet and it is unbelievably compact. If you buy it get and read the excellent PDF manual.

I love the sensitivity adjustment with the ability to plug headphones into it/them and hear exactly how hot your signal is. There is an indicator bar that you can visually use to see the signal level and a red light that will flicker when levels are quite high. But being able to monitor and listen in live to hear exactly what you're picking up is huge. If monitoring with headphones with sensitivity at the highest amplification, they will pick up slight noises at levels you would not expect, so be mindful because you'll hurt your eardrums lol. It's truly incredible. It can record AWESOME quality acoustic guitar and pick up vocals well simultaneously. Excellent for paranormal EVP sessions. Placement and the sensitivity setting are the primary variables. They take up to a 32G micro SD. The main recommendation I'd have is to get wind noise reduction covers like what is seen in my included picture. They are intended for these kinds of recorders, and I purchased them here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V4QVP52?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details. They are easy enough to figure out once you begin to experiment and poke around with the settings. Very much a good value in my opinion. 10/10 would recommend

I used to work for a fiber-optic modem company, and us feature designers and engineers would gather 'round once a year and try to figure out how we were going to keep getting customers to come back to the trough. What new, genuine, honest feature could we provide? Something real, something worth asking customers to spend more money on. Now, in my recording studio are 5 generations of Zoom hand recorders The first, I bought in 2012, and I was pleased as punch. It added field depth to my recordings. The next year, I bought the newer model, which offered better X/Y capabilities, as well as WAV 16bit/48 recording. Two years later, I bought two of the less expensive, slimmed-down versions, which added M/S recording, as well as 24bit to the possibilities, as well as a Low Cut option for removing rumble, and compression/limiting. . Next year, ZOOM added a more sophisticated external mic to their Zoom line, as well as the option of adding two external mics, for true X/Y and M/S recording, as well as a single-touch Mark in and Mark out option. This year, they made it so you can remove and replace the internal mic with other models, depending on your need, as well as 32-bit Float recording, so that you never have to worry about recording too loud. Throughout the years, Zoom has maintained the same simple user interface, and setup is a breeze. Now, the thing is, all these Zoom recorders are still working still up-and-running in my studio, and I'm as pleased with my ancient 2012 Zoom as I am with the new one that just arrived from Amazon yesterday. The tonal varieties such a recording technique provides can be heard in any and all my videos, which and be viewed here: www.tinyurl.com/awesomecovers Zoom has shown us how a company can keep improving their products, adding new features that are all worth owning, and worth spending real money on.

The 2018 edition: Does not come with a micro SD card. Rumor has it 32 GB is the limit -- a separately ordered 32GB card works with mine (~8 dollars on Amazon). Does not come with a USB cable. The port is micro-USB so common enough, but still (had one of these lying around so didn't buy another). Does not come with a way to mount onto a camera/tripod etc. I bought a generic shock mount for my camera separately (~15 dollars on Amazon). Does not come with a full manual, just a quickstart guide. A full pdf manual can be found online for free, very easily. But it does have two AAA batteries included. So the microphone really cost the current price of ~120, plus ~25 dollars more for accessories mentioned above. The stereo microphones work well, but handling noise is a issue when recording. User interface is decent for the screen size. I like the flexibility of being able to record directly to my mirrorless camera or record to the micro SD card. Plus the option to use the onboard microphones or plug in another microphone to this microphone! I also like the test tone feature. This is not a very directional/isolating microphone, and of course sounds better the closer you are to it. My apartment is fairly noisy but I've been getting decent results with this, certainly better than my phone or in-camera microphone. Would have been nice to have more accessories in box, and a metal thread for attachments though. And the battery life indicator doesn't seem particularly accurate -- I've been jumping between all three levels all day, even with the correct battery type set in settings.

Rien à redire, une qualité exceptionnelle pour un si petit enregistreur. Je ne suis pas déçu de mon achat.

I am a musician who plays various stringed instruments. I use this recorder for ideation, learning & live recordings, creating demo recordings for self-reference. I feel that this is an amazing tool for those who are serious about music and need a handy device for outdoor/indoor & a makeshift studio microphone for a basic home studio setup. Currently I am using this recorder for Sitar, Guitar & Percussion sounds. From learning to live events, this one will always be recording because it allows me to get back to my performances or practise & get an amazing feedback on the mistakes I made or to never miss out on new ideas etc. Additionally, I got it running with a 128 GB Scandisk memory card. The trick is to format the partition & the partition table with FAT (not exFAT or FAT32). This allows me to use around 120GB of space while the recorder shows over 900 hours of recording time. The only down side is power cycle (power on) takes a few seconds more as it probably tries to explore 120 GB worth SD card space. Will research on the appropriate rechargeable batteries and update the post in a few months. For now any standard heavy duty AAA battery pair seems to be quite sufficient. Well nothing in this world is perfect (I wonder if the word perfect is perfect itself?), so here is the critique. Build quality seems to be a bit unsatisfactory, the tool feels like a single unit & feels quite sturdy & robust but well, could be better built & finished but for this price ratio & the quality of audio recording provided, its absolutely Amazing! I wonder if the higher range premium Zoom recording devices are better finished & feel more awesome to carry around!

Very cheap in price but amazing product.i am using it on Sony a7s3.just remember drain battery very quickly and don't forget to remove batteries while not using it.i am using it mostly for over voice so while using it at home make sure to connect it through USB cable while batteries in it then it won't use ur batteries and u can have infinite time with it. Amazing sound quality 👌

Ein tolles Gerät für den kleinen Geldbeutel. Macht was es soll und mehr. Gerade im Bereich der EVP Aufnahmen ein nützliches Gerät. Das weiße Rauschen im Stillen ist sehr hell. Für Musikaufnahmen etwas doof, aber wie gesagt für EVP Aufnahmen nützlich.

buongiorno , lo zoom h1 è molto ben costruito , leggerissimo e i microfoni sono di una sensibilità elevata , io ho potuto compararlo con tascam - 05x e direi che si assomigliano in quanto fedeltà di registrazione . se cercate leggerezza , fedeltà lo zoom è fatto x voi . dimenticavo le batterie durano molto malgrado siano quelle piccole , io ci ho fatto quasi 20 ore di registrazione .