Zoom H1n Review: Quiet Enough for Nature? — Acoustic Nature (2024)

The Zoom H1n is one of the most popular entry-level field recorders on the market. It seems that most people use it for recording speech for voice-overs, interviews and podcasts. And it does a really good job of it from reading those types of reviews.

However, recording one’s voice is really easy to do. You can put your microphone right in front of your face and speak directly into the device. You’ll probably have to turn down your gain to keep from clipping. This is the ideal scenario for a high signal-to-noise ratio and will result in clean, noiseless audio.

I want to push the H1n to its limits by recording nature sounds. Natural sounds tend to be quiet and if you try to get close, they run away. I want to hear what a quiet ambience sounds like on the H1n with the gain cranked all the way up.

This article is an honest review from my own experiences.

I purchased a Zoom H1n with my own money, for my own research.

Links on this page are affiliated with Sovrn and Amazon Associates networks.

In This Article:

Construction

Function

Memory

Battery Life

Wind Protection

Interference

Noise Performance

External Mic Performance

Final Thoughts

Size

The first thing I noticed about the H1n was how tiny it was. I had seen photos and videos of it previously but I was still shocked by its size in person. This is by far the smallest field recorder I have ever handled. See how it compares to the size of my hand below.

Weight

Not only is the H1n small, it is also lightweight. The H1n only weighs 60 grams. If you plan on using the H1n handheld for your recordings, its size and weight will make for comfortable, long recording sessions.

Materials

Attributing to its lightweight, the H1n is constructed entirely out of plastic. That includes the shiny microphone housings and the 1/4” tripod socket. Unfortunately, this makes the H1n not very durable. Handle with care!

Buttons

There are 12 buttons in total on this Zoom recorder. All of them, except for the record button, have nice, clicky feedback when depressed. The record button feels very mushy.

The buttons are not backlit but are arranged in an intuitive layout. This makes finding a desired button in the dark easy.

Extras

The H1n features a dial control for changing the gain (sensitivity). Its position is easy to access with a thumb while holding the device. This is nice because it allows for one-handed operation.

Power-on Time

The first function I tested was power-on time. How long does it take the recorder to go from “off” to “recording?” Answer: 10 seconds with a 32gb card, six seconds with an 8gb card.

This is slow and feels it. In comparison, the Tascam DR-05X only takes 4 seconds with the same card installed.

Menu System

I was really surprised when I couldn’t find a “settings” button. Then, I realized that the menu is built into the display and is shown at all times.

Settings for recording, low-cut filter, limiter and auto level are shown on the bottom of the LCD. They can be changed by clicking the corresponding buttons below the screen.

Pressing a button rotates through all options for that specific setting.

By holding down the “option” button, the default menu bar changes to show additional recording settings.

The four new items are auto-recording, pre-recording, self timer and sound mark.

This unique menu style took some getting used to but I really like how efficient it is. Without having to scroll through menus, you can access the setting you need within one or two clicks.

However, there is a traditional menu in the H1n but to access it, you need to make that decision before powering-on the device. To access this menu, you have to press the “delete” button while sliding the power switch on.

I found this really awkward and frustrating to have to turn off and then turn back on to change any of these settings. Granted, most of these settings are “set it and forget it,” I still think it could have been executed better.

The settings in this traditional menu are:

• Date format

• Display backlight

• Display contrast

• Type of battery used

• Auto Power Off function

• How the counter appears

• How files are named

• Format memory card

Recording

Recording on the H1n took some getting used to. I am accustomed to pressing record once to enter standby recording mode, and pressing record again to actually start recording. The H1n is always in standby recording mode.

The mics are always powered and sending audio to the line out (headphone) port. Pressing the record button once will start recording. The small LED light will then go solid red.

Instead of having an additional LED to alert you if your audio distorts, the recording light flashes rapidly.

Gain

Making gain adjustments on the H1n is a breeze. It has a knob/dial control just below the microphones. Simply rotate the dial to the desired level, from 0 to 10.

The function of this feature is perfect. Its rotation is very smooth and has just the right amount of resistance. Precise, slow changes are easy to make.

Low-cut Filter

The low-cut filter on the H1n has 4 different settings: off, 80hz, 120hz and 160hz. I found the microphones on the Zoom to be much less sensitive to lower frequencies than other field recorders.

After researching this, it does seem that the H1n has a hardwired low-cut filter starting at 100hz and rolls off to -35dB at 1hz.

As previously mentioned, making adjustments to this filter is super simple. Simply press the “LOCUT” button to cycle through the different settings while in either standby or recording mode.

Headphone Volume

Headphone volume is controlled by + and - buttons located just below the headphone jack. It works exactly as you’d imagine.

Seamless Recording

A pretty standard, but worth mentioning function is seamless recording. When a recording has reached the maximum file size (2gb), a new file is automatically created with no audio loss (seamless).

This is really nice for us nature recorders as many of our recordings will surpass the 2gb limit (2gb is equivalent to 1 hour and 2 minutes of audio at 96khz/24-bit).

The H1n is only compatible with micro SD and micro SDHC cards up to 32GB. Higher capacity, SDXC cards are not recognized by the device.

I was hoping that a firmware update was available to allow for higher storage cards but, as of August 2020, there is still no support for them.

The table below shows all compatible cards and how much 96khz/24-bit audio they can hold.

Unfortunately, the Zoom H1n does not include a memory card so you’ll have to purchase one. For my testing, I used this 32gb SDHC card (link to Amazon).

15 hours is certainly a lot of audio but if you go on multi-day recording trips, one 32gb card may not be enough. When it comes to memory, having more than you need is nice peace-of-mind, especially with how affordable cards are these days.

The H1n takes 2 AAA batteries. On Zoom’s website, they state “up to 10 hours of recording time.” They do not specify what recording settings yield this result, but I’m willing to bet it’s not 96khz/24-bit.

To properly test this specification, I installed brand new batteries and recorded at 96kHz/24-bit until the recorder died. I do not have rechargeable AAA batteries so I only tested Alkaline.

Alkaline (1150mAh): 9h 13m 34s

When using a recorder for nature sounds, the ability to record for at least 8 hours is a must. This will allow you to record an entire night of audio (one of my favorite recordings to capture while camping).

The Zoom H1n just barely meets this requirement. It’s fine for a day-trip but you’ll need extra batteries for anything more than that.

With the popularity around the H1n, there are plenty of good options available if you need a wind solution.

Rycote is known as the best wind protection manufacturer and they have a model specifically for the H1n. Check it out at B&H Photo if interested.

For testing interference, I turn data on and off on my phone and load several web pages while recording a track with the field recorder. I then do a similar test with a WiFi router.

These devices produce radio waves. Radiofrequency waves are electromagnetic fields that are sometimes picked up by field recorders. They can sound like buzzing, clicking or popping and can be an issue in environments with lots of electronic devices.

I experienced no interference issues with the H1n.

This is the part I was most interested in testing. Recording the quiet sounds of nature really put the H1n to the test. I’ve selected the best examples to show you how the Zoom performed in the field. Before I give you my take, please listen to the examples below.

All recordings are straight out of the H1n. No effects or processing.

Below each track are the gain and low-cut filter settings and the decibel level of the ambient environment (measured with “dB Meter” app).

To better understand the loudness of the ambient environments, I created this graphic depicting common sounds and their average decibels. ↓

Gain: 10/10

Low-Cut Filter: 160Hz

Ambient: 47dB

Gain: 8/10

Low-Cut Filter: 160Hz

Ambient: 60dB

Gain: 10/10

Low-Cut Filter: 120Hz

Ambient: 49dB

Gain: 10/10

Low-Cut Filter: 120Hz

Ambient: 51dB

Gain: 10/10

Low-Cut Filter: 80Hz

Ambient: 43dB

My Thoughts:

Two things really surprised me with the Zoom’s performance.

First, I was expecting the X/Y mic configuration to be very center dominant and lack width. This was not the case. The recordings are very directional and easily create a 3-dimensional image. The strong stereo separation created by the H1n is most apparent in the recording, “Pond Edge Atmosphere.”

Second, the H1n was a lot quieter than I had expected. Even when recording the quiet dawn chorus at 43dB, there is almost no perceptible noise on the recording.

The self-noise of any handheld field recorder can be improved by using highly sensitive, low-noise microphones. High sensitivity microphones sound louder than low sensitivity microphones. This allows you to record the same volume at lower gains. This increases the signal-to-noise ratio and the recording sounds better (less hiss).

For fair comparison, I standardized each track for -30dB LKFS loudness. No additional processing.

The “External Microphones” recording lacks hiss and sounds more clear but I was blown away with the quality of the H1n internal mics on this quiet scene.

The below recordings were made at 6:20am in a forested woodland.

Out of the entry-level field recorders I have tested, the H1n is the best so far. I was really impressed by its small size, efficient menu system, low noise and wide stereo separation.

My main complaint is its lack of support for larger capacity, SDXC cards. Hopefully Zoom will release a firmware update to solve this in the future.

Who is it for?

The H1n is great for someone just starting field recording. It is quiet enough to record nature, small enough to take anywhere and supports plug-in-powered, external microphones.

This provides the opportunity to later upgrade to better microphones without having to purchase a new field recorder.

Summary:

Purchase Links:

If you found this review helpful in your decision, please consider using the below links. By doing so, for no extra cost to you, I receive a small commission from Amazon. Thank you so much for your support ♫

check price