Zoom F3 v Podtrak P4 Preamp test (with Shure SM7B)
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Short comparison between these two great recorders using the SM7B, a notoriously gain hungry mic - which is cleaner and does 32 bit float matter? Please like, share and subscribe!
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Equipment list in this video:
Zoom PodTrak P4: zoomcorp.com/e...
Zoom F3: zoomcorp.com/e...
Shure SM7B: www.shure.com/...
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Excellent! I wish someone would do this preamp comparison with a Zoom F3 and Tascam X6 ... I've been on the fence between these because I am not sure how often I'd use built in mics and people say the F3 sounds better but realistically I wonder how much better exactly
Never tried the Tascam, it’s probably fine. I think we’re at a stage now where the quality of gear is so high, the focus is on application and decision making. Having said that I love my GAP pre73 - it just adds a bit of softness and warmth. I’m pretty sure few people on earth will hear the difference except from me. But I love that.
ajudou demais camarada. Sucinto, objetivo e direto! parabéns pelo vídeo
Just putting a simple DMX Plug (which is a XLR plug with a 12 Ohm resistor on it) on the end of the cable, instead of whatever microphone would be more conclusive of the noise of the preamp / mic combination, because it would remove any room noise from the equation. Granted, there’s a difference in impedance of about 30 Ohms, but since the thermal noise of both, the 120 Ohms Resistor and the SM7B is well below the EIN of any preamp you will usually find on the market, it shouldn’t even matter, as the preamp will always be louder. The easiest way to have a consistent noise measurement, is to first set the gain on both devices to give you as close as possible of a signal on your SM7B, then plug in the DMX Plug instead and record the noise. And even in theory, if the resistor had the same frequency response as the SM7B, we would talk about a noise difference of less than 1dB, that a SM7B would be louder.
Nonetheless, the noise of the the preamp/microphone combo - more often than not - is quieter than the room you’re recording in. Also the SM7B somehow rejecting room noise is - for the most part - a myth. If you use each microphone on the same distance and set the gain high enough for each microphone to reach the same signal level, the frequency response and pickup pattern will have a much higher impact, than the build of whatever microphone will ever have.
FWIW I measured both devices using a splitter cable: ruclips.net/video/NgOJNldInxs/видео.html :D
Thank you for this video! Do you know wether the Sm58 would perform similarly with the zoom pod track p4?
I expect the sm58 will be fine, it’s not as gain hungry as the SM7b 😀
@@thedarksidemic thank you so much!
Where did you get your waveform animation?
musicvid.org/
The p4 pre's were noticeably colder sounding....to me anyways
mmmm it might actually be the headphone amp of P4 thats making me think that, it's hard to tell. I need to get a splitter to feed the same recording into both recorders then measure it...but ill need a few beers before attempting that :D
@@thedarksidemicthe headphone amps of the P4 are bad. I haven’t had any bad experience with P4 recordings though. That is, as long as I set the gain correctly.
@@rickonmic yeah i have one set of 'reasonably good' headphones (AT40mx) and a few others that are a bit meh. I hear way more high end detail with the 40mx's but they are a bit fatiguing to listen to music with. But yeah i reckon your right, the P4 headphone amps are, given the cost, theres 4 of them, understandably weak - everything sounds way more detailed when you get it on the system. if anything, todays test has reaffirmed how good a deal the P4 is, especially for voice recordings, and the real world difference of 32 bit float in this scenario is barely discernible, providing you know how to set gain. :D
confirm p4 is colder (wearing really good headphones)
Which is better? I want a recorder to record stories with high accuracy. Can you help me, which is better?
The F3 is technically better but the difference to most people is small / indistinguishable. What matters is recording technique, mic placement and the actual mics you are using for the task (I wouldn’t suggest either recorder if you were using 3.5mm mics or Lavs for example) If you don’t do the actual recording well, no recorder on the planet will help you. But both of these are capable of excellent spoken word results. The F3 has the slight edge for 32bit float and the preamps but it is slight.
Thank you my friend ❤ about microphones I use dynamic XLR microphones it seems that zoom f3 is what I need
So would you say that with an F3 and SM7B, you don’t need a cloudlifter?