Zoom F6 or H6 - Which One for You? (Part 2)
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- I've recorded audio for many videos using the Zoom H6, it's a terrific tool with decent audio quality, lots of features, and excellent battery life. But Zoom recently released the F6 recorder with a new level of capability. The F6 combines very low noise preamps with dual ADCs and 32 bit float recording, and the combination nearly eliminates any issue with setting input levels.
I've found this capability to be a real benefit to my projects. For my hula show videos I no longer worry about the drums clipping while the chanting is down in the noise floor. With the F6 I can recover those extra loud and extra quiet parts in post in a way I never could with the H6. When I'm shooting "look at me play guitar" videos where I'm the whole video crew as well as the talent I never lose a track that I played well but set levels poorly.
Still, there are trade-offs and that's what this video is about. Besides the extra cost of the F6 there's the attached mics that make the H6 so handy - using the F6 means bringing mics, cables, mic bar, mic clips, and some kind of mic stand. The H6 has XLR&1/4" combo jacks so I can plug my guitar pickup directly in - the F6 needs some kind of adapter to attach a 1/4" plug to the recorder.
So which of these recorders is right for you?? 
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Super helpful video. Thanks for taking the time to create and publish this.
Thanks for your tutorials Fran!
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I'm finally getting back to this channel and I hope to have a couple of new clips up soon.
Fran
Great comparison video!
Much appreciated, Maestro!
Thanks for visiting, I'm certainly pleased if people get some benefit from these clips.
Fran
Thanks for the videos, but remember - the H6 provides a backup option (-20 db) for this case. Enabling this is cheap and easy and prevents of this clipping problems. Just my 2ct...
Looking in the H6 manual I found that the backup option only works on the LR input, so either one of the attached mics or the XLR add-on. My problem with clipping is nearly always with a DI pickup which goes into one of the four mono inputs. And the backup is -12 dB, just to be accurate.
But thanks for calling our attention to this feature, I must admit it's something I missed and it might help someone out. And thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment.
Fran
@@homebrewedmusic Grab an adaptor with one xlr female with two xlr males to connect on your zoom h6 and then you can record with different levels. In the end you'll get two recordings with those different levels of sound.
@@rfa2381 Thanks for the tip, but since I'm using the F6 these days I don't have to worry about clipping or editing two different tracks together.
Fran
Really nice explained, Sr. you are a pro.
Thanks for visiting. Actually I'm strictly an amateur, but in some ways that's an advantage. I don't have to worry about the number of followers and views or about monetization, so I can just be myself and tell the story the way I see it.
Fran
@@homebrewedmusic then you are better than a pro Sr. !!!! regards !!!
Thanks for creating this video! Very helpful :-)
Thanks for visiting and commenting. Which way are you thinking you'll go?
Fran
@@homebrewedmusic Hi Fran, i'm thinking of getting the Zoom F6. One of the local shops offer the units for rent, so I might rent them first and then decide which to buy.
@@georgefindlay I don't know if it's available yet but Zoom has announced a new recorder that has the 32 bit capability and also attached mics.
Fran
Your 'Buddy'.... Could that be the Legend of Ki Ho'alu Braddah Led? ;) Big Mahalo for all you have done here on your illustrations.
Howzit uncle. Sounding oh so ono. Mele on an mahalo fo sharing all da kine recording stuffs. Whoa so much. Great to see you.
Hey, Bo, nice to see you ovah heah.
Fran
Also you can hook the f6 to the senheisser ambeo vr theyre made for each other
What USB Power adapter is compatible with the h8?
So when you record with the f6 with multiple microphones it gives you separate tracks in one recording?
There are lots of options for different file configurations. I record very simply with one mono track for each mic connected to each input. Usually I'm using two mics and the result is two tracks saved the the SD card.
You can download the manual for recorder and learn about the various formats.
Fran
I hope that Zoom or Tascam will soon release a hand-held recorder with 32bit float ability.
It will be interesting to see if someone pursues this, but it will take an investment in the microphone side to match the performance of the preamp and a/d.
Fran
What do you think about the new Zoom UAC-232 for that matter? Does it have the same quality preamps of the F series? If the F8n had overdub capability, I'd be really into that.
No specs yet but the pre-release blurb certainly makes it sound like they are using the same or similar preamps. Interesting ...
Fran
@@homebrewedmusic right, press release has been a couple of months now, however, there are no reviews or in-depth magazine coverage to be found. They should ship out at least a couple of test units to influencers 🙂
Zoom F6 - yes, yes, yes !!!
Thanks for visiting. I'm really digging my F6.
Fran
Very good review video! F6 is better than H6 in the sound of a person's voice , The new product h8 maybe a good new choice? F6 and H8 Which should I choose? Thank you~
From my reading of specs it appears that the H8 has essentially the same performance as the H6. I would choose the F6 over the H8 unless I needed the specific features of the H8 like the additional inputs and mixer functions.
The big advantage of the F6, though, is for situations when the unexpected happens - unexpected loud sections or very quiet situations. And as you say, the audio quality is just a bit better with the F6.
Fran
Thank you very much ~F series products have better voices than the H series...The F series is also more professional@@homebrewedmusic
@@ironshuo I believe that you are correct, the performance of the F6 is a bit better (quieter preamps) and the build quality and functions are a bit more professional.
Fran
@@homebrewedmusic Every minute is full of information, I appreciate it a lot
~Thank you~
His favorite thing about the F6 is the 32 bit recording. He demonstrates the benefits of 32 bit recording. The H8 cannot do 32 bit recording. The H8 seems specifically tailored for podcasting or streaming with multiple people.
Did you notice how more articulate sound folks are, compared to the rest of the human race? I def shud work in that field.
How do you make your voice sound so volumic? There is a presence to your recording that I've rarely heard before.
I wish I could take credit for some special trick when recording my voice, but I just sat in front of the mics and talked. I guess most voice recordings are made with the mic very close to the mouth but in this recording the mics are a couple of feet away.
Fran
Hi! Did you test a Zoom H8?
Sorry, I've never had my hands on the H8. But I would expect that recorder to be very similar to the H6 for the preamps and mics.
Fran
❤Good man, good "on the point" videos, without a lot of "Blabla". Sorry for my English. Moin from Hamburg, Germany. (I bought a f6 with Roede NT-sf1….. in combi with Neumann km184 and 183. for the money….. I dońt have to carry and work on too many construction-places….. sorry for….
diid you record directly into reaper or no?
No, I recorded to the SD cards in the H6 and F6 then transferred to REAPER for editing.
Fran
What mics are those?
The mics are Shure KSM141s in cardioid mode.
Fran