Zoom H1n 2-channel Handy Recorder Reviews

I originally purchased it for a backup audio recording device for VideoMic Me-C on my
phone/camera. That all changed when I found how incompatible the Me-C was with my phone.
So now the Zoom H1n is my phone's primary audio mic and backup.

Pros:
• Good sound quality for the price.
• Many useful features.
• For my use, it serves as my phone's primary audio mic and backup Too!

Cons:
• None really, just would like to see it include the windscreen and cold-shoe adapter.

Conclusion:
• Good price and good sound quality.
My phone is a Samsung A32 which has a USB-C and a headphone jack.
I feed the output of the Zoom H1n to a USB-C to 3.5mm Mic Jack Adapter & to the phone &
then I can plug my headphones into the phone to monitor.
Works Great!

really good product for the price

Purchased to record band practice, listen back, transfer to computer and email to the band to be able to hear our practices. For that it is great, clear and easy.

I've got to echo another reviewer: it's perfect for impromptu / informal field recording. I wanted something that was *not* precious or expensive to take when I bike, run or hike to grab interesting sounds for sound design / found sound instruments. It's not Zoom's top of the line and I like it that way because I'm not afraid to throw it in a bike pannier, day pack or jeans pocket. I've already gotten some production music signed that uses sounds from my kitchen - lol. The fact that it also works as an interface makes it a great travel companion.
Oh - and now that I've used it I can recommend it to my college students as an entry-level device.

I was already somewhat familiar with the H1n, but ultimately, am amazed by it's output. Ease of use is cool, sort of subjective, however, given the tiny workspace brilliant nonetheless. I encountered only one issue- it does not come with an SD card - I think it should be part of the package. It would have bumped the price only a few dollars, and made it truly plug and play. Perfect 'toy' for my rehearsal and idea recording. Last: While I could have bout this anywhere, I chose Sweetwater. Ease of ordering, incredibly attentive customer service and tech support...what's better?!

The unit is cleanly designed, easy to use, and has a strong pick up. Recordings are crystal clear, and I appreciate the in-house transcribing functions. I only wish that it came with a sturdy carrying case.

This is a great handheld recorder for personal and field recordings, and it's super user-friendly.

I bought this as an inexpensive way to capture sources for sound design and creating 'found sound' instruments. Yes, it does feel a little light but for the price I didn't expect full-flight casing! Mics are extremely sensitive, and pick up everything clearly. You do need a micro-SD card (which isn't included in the package) to begin recording, and you need to be careful when handling during recording as the mics are so sensitive.

Transfer to computer is straight forward with a USB-C cable (not included).

All in all so far I'm really happy with it!

Also, big shout out to Ed Needler for amazing service - my order was packaged up and ready to ship within a couple of hours of ordering it, and he followed up with courtesy calls before shipping, and after delivery. Thanks Ed!

I bought the Zoom H1n to record live practice sessions. To "hear" the sound out front. It captures that as a great reference for us to hear. It is my intent to send mp3 recordings to my friends so they can continue to listen to their playing & practice their parts.
The recorder is very versatile (I'm looking forward to using the overdub feature to flesh out ideas & arrangements) & easy to use. The accessory kit was a great addition as well.
Very happy with my purchase & the staff at Sweetwater.

I got this to replace my phone recorder, which was not great. I use this to record my guitar ideas when I'm just jamming. Let's me not forget them lol.

I bought this audio recorder to record thoughts and ideas while driving. For instance, you see a billboard that you want to remember later. Instead of grabbing a notepad and pen and writing down the info as I drive 70mph down the highway, I can simply use the Zoom without taking my eyes off the road. Yeah, I know it was designed for recording songs and song ideas, and someday I'll do that. But right now, this works perfectly for recording my thoughts.

It's what matters and so far it is 10/10..will see how it does under more carried conditions

I HAVE ONE H1 AND TWO H1N. THE H1N ARE WAY AHEAD OF H1. ONE THE BEST SIMPLE TO OPERATE RECORDERS ON THE MARKET. GOING TO HOOK MY NEW TASCAM 24 TO MY BOSE F1S AND MELT MY FACE.WIN I WIN THE MESA ON MY WISH LIST I WILL BLAST MY STUDIO APART.L.A. FROM THE L.A.RIOTZ BAND

Easy to use, does the trick.

I'm using this for home recordings. Vocals and audio are crystal clear. I'm astonished. I admonish any negative reviews!

Don"t underestimate this because of its size. The sound quality is awesome, simple to use and obviously easy to carry. Great for all around recording. I just used it for the first time two weeks ago,, I brought it to a show,, a very loud show, set the recording volume and was blown away by the sound quality for such a small device. Since then I haven"t put it down,, I record everything, even my review right now, LOL. I own 4 zoom recorders and don"t plan to stop there. Trust me and all the great reviews listed.

Amazing device for such a small price tag. Very easy to use and sound quality is excellent.

I bought my first Zoom H1 a year ago and had no idea what to expect. I got it to record the unrehearsed "Earth Chant" out in the woods with some musician friends and all the families that showed up using rhythm shakers as part of the opening ceremony to a planting. The results amazed me! Way beyond expectations! You can even hear the cardinal singing at the beginning 50 feet away! Listen yourself to the MP3 at earthmirrors. I just ordered another one! Great product!

I owned and used the original Zoom H1 dealing with the dreaded battery drain problem because it was fast in the field and very versatile. I read reviews of this version with some saying it feels cheap, plastic-y and wasn't better than the original H1. On the fence about this, I didn't really want to relive the continuous battery issue so I looked for something similar in price. I ended up getting a Tascam DR-05 and it is a very in-depth recorder with a nice size to it. The problem was, it wasn't nearly as fast to use/make adjustments in a dynamic field situation and I'm saying this just from looking at the control layout and putting in some batteries and looking at the menu's. Thanks to Abraham, I was able to send it back with the protective plastic still on the LCD screen and un-used, I have to say there's a lot of control with that unit when it comes to fine tuning the audio in and out, it just wasn't for me and how I have to work.

As for feel, it actually feels more solid than my original one with a more compact size using 2 AAA batteries instead of AA and putting the controls on the front vs back and side. At this price point, it's a great recorder for people who need to make adjustments rapidly.

Some people might find including your sales technicians name in the review is because of some sort of secret kick-back or discount thing, but it's not. You're getting a real person not some computer generated robot or someone who is thousands of miles away and not even in the store. So with that, I want to thank Abraham Sanchez (800) 222-4700 ext 1645 for all his help :)

THIS IS A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT OVER H1. GOES PERFECT WITH MY NEW PRESONUS ERIS 3.5 POWERED MONITORS.CANT WAIT TO TRY MY NEW TASCAM 32SD ON 8 TRACKS.THANKS SWEETWATER.

I bought one of these about six weeks ago and liked it so much I just bought a second one. I noticed one complaint in the earlier reviews about noise while handholding. That's probably true of every recorder like this. So when I record, I either mount it on a mini tripod or just set it on the table.

The recorder is simple to use and has great sound. I use it for recording interviews and video back-up and wanted a second one just because I have two different recording/video set-up kits and I like keeping each kit packed with everything I need instead of having to swap things out. This recordable was affordable enough that it was something I could do.

And as mentioned, it's simple to operate. That's important to me.

Never having used a hand held recorder I was not anticipating this quality of sound when I purchased the H1n. This recorder is absolutely something else!

If you"re like me, looking through layers of buried menus on digital devices for the one thing you If you"re like me, looking through layers of buried menus on digital devices for the one thing you need to do is enough to drive you batty. Yet, virtually every digital device in our lives today — from smartphones to cameras to simple audio recorders — comes with layer upon layer of menus in no certain order or place.

From the first time I used a Mac computer, I realized that Steve Job"s genius was simplifying all that gobbledygook for the rest of us. Sadly, Steve Jobs is gone and Apple is back to its old pre-Jobs ways, as is most everyone else today.

Last week, a breath of fresh air came blowing in from a surprising place. Zoom, long a maker of high quality, low cost audio recorders, introduced a new generation of its lowest priced audio recorder, the H1n. I ordered one from Sweetwater when I first read about it.

The new recorder reflects genius in creating simplicity for us analog minds who just want to record audio. It"s like the spirit of Steve Jobs was found hiding at Zoom.

So how did Zoom do it? By concentrating on the user interface, stupid! Something few companies do anymore. All the essential controls have an on-off button and there is very little visual clutter. One glance, and everything you need to know is apparent. Whoever designed this new recorder has insight into the analog mind. Let him loose to design more interfaces!

The master"s work lies in the redesigned user experience. One-touch button controls make it incredibly simple to record. A monochromatic 1.25-inch LCD display is easy to read even in the brightest lighting conditions. A single button arms or disarms an advanced onboard limiter that offers distortion-free signal up to 120 dB SPL. Another button arms or disarms a low-cut filter that helps eliminate low frequency rumble. Another button does audio level control.

That"s it, one button, one control. Brilliant!

This things sick for recording random noises. The wind filter that comes with the accessory pack is pretty lame, but Amazon has the furry ones for pretty cheap. This thing is solid though!

I use this to capture field recordings, and on the fly riffs or lyrics that come to mind. This is a great inexpensive recorder that works well.

I use this to capture field recordings, and on the fly riffs or lyrics that come to mind. This is a great inexpensive recorder that works well.

I see Zoom has updated this unit from the version I bought a few years back. So why am I here? To respond to those one/two star ratings below. I'm still using my (original) H1 today: documenting band practice, capturing demos, even live recording of local events .... (Ok, not at the moment, due to COVID cancellations, but up until that).

There are things to criticize about the H1: handling it in any way is heard in the recording, and yes the housing is plastic. So I set it up and push record = bang, no handling sounds. And it's still working fine, despite years of being tossed into the gig bag. More recently I just had it lying around in the car, ready for whatever use.

Yes it does require an SD card -- the same card required by my camera and Tascam. So I have plenty of those.

Are the controls difficult? Not really (there is an instruction manual). I generally make any setting changes in advance, so using it is just a matter of powering up, checking levels (I don't use the internal limiter, but there is one), setting it in a good location, and pushing record ... oh, the guitarist decides to serenade us with full-volume tune-up? Hit record again until he's done. Hit record again to resume recording. Later hook up to computer and do whatever you want with the files. To me, that couldn't be more handy.

This Recorder is great I use it for Street Preaching.and record my self Preaching.This recorder I need,it.it do the Job
Recording The Sound is Great.

The H1 is tiny...and I was not expecting much
I sat in my room and played a song on my acoustic and sang... put on some headphones and listened to the playback... and it reproduces every nuance and detail clearly and I am very impressed with this tiny . Yet powerful recorder
Get one...

Functionally the unit is most excellent. It is a plastic case which is why I gave it a 4.5. I am not impressed with the mount being a plastic thread

A lot of features for the money, and good sound. Easy to set up and easy to use, despite the small buttons. Be sure to read the fine print --32 GB is maximum. If you try a new 64 GB like I did, you will get an error message. Oh well, now more room for videos in my phone...

I bought this mic to record my drumming because I got tired of the sound I was getting on my phone or laptop mic. This is a good mic if you're just starting out or if just want to record yourself once in awhile and don't want spend lots of money on a whole set

Still learning yet unused features (got it 4 days ago). The on-board mics record better than other, much more pricey mics. The Zoom mics capture the full frequency range from extreme low to high hertz. My more expensive mics do not get extreme lows. This is obvious when I recorded organ with powerful bass pedal tones, clearly captured by this tiny Zoom! It is tiny in size, but captures GIANT sound spectrum!!! When I played back, I thought my sub-woofer was on, the organ-pedal lows were so great! But my sub-woofer was off and not connected! Playing recordings by previous mics required using sub-woofer and increasing low frequency equalizer settings to artificially create low tones. This Zoom H1n gets them--naturally, and beautifully. I'm blown away by this Zoom.
Being new, I find it slow to operate for playback. There's no problem in the field; but in studio for transferring or editing audio, I must be careful to avoid feedback. When play ends, the Zoom immediately goes to default, Record, with mics wide open--and my speakers feedback. I must pause while in play mode, & shut off my amp before play ends. (I hope setting knowledge will avoid this annoyance).
Best convenient recording device I've ever had. (Not yet the best for playback convenience--but this is likely my being ignorant of operating my brand new Zoom H1n) I am satisfied beyond my expectations.

I am typically a fan of Zoom products.

First, the build quality is poor. Cheap, brittle, light plastic.

Second, my unit started failing in less than a week.

Yes, it is highly portable and easy to use. The audio quality is acceptable. But Zoom should have spent another dollar to make it more durable. Huge disappointment.

Just received the new Zoom H1n. First let me be clear you will need the mini SD card for this to function.
I thought there was some on board memory and the SD card was optional, it is not. It should be clearly stated that you need the additional card for the unit to work so it should really be included at this price considering the cost of one of these cards. The controls are very small and feel delicate and require good lighting to see and use. The unit overall is very light and feels cheep in your hand only time will tell if it can withstand use on the road. After setting the contrast the screen is usable and clear. Instructions included are a little sketchy but there are already good videos you can watch which give better directions for the different functions and controls. I have used several recorders in the past I will rate the quality of the recordings once I get the SD card but so far I am not at all impressed. At this point I would have to recommend taking one of these for a test ride before ordering. Not sure yet if I could recommend this unit.

I bought this in January and in May the cheap plastic cover on the battery compartment had broken already. The plastic on the next Zoom product I bought, headphones, broke even faster. I bought that in April and it broke in July. At least I can hold the recorder battery door on with a rubber band. The headphones are useless. I'm never buying a product by Zoom ever again.

Recorder is in a cheap plastic housing that picks up every single sound from handling. Would not recommend.