Best Buy Ratings and Reviews

From seminars and conferences, podcasting, musical performances, songwriting sessions and rehearsals, the H2 provides amazing recording quality with a simple, easy to use interface.

Average Customer Rating:

4.5

out of

(14 Reviews) 14

Rating Snapshot 14 reviews

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

93% of reviewers would recommend this product to a friend

(

13 out of 14

)

Customer Reviews for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Review 1 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Great Recording Device

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: runnetib

from PA

on 09/19/2011

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

4.0

Craftsmanship

4.0

I first saw this in use during a convention, and had been looking for something to record sessions with. I liked what I saw, so picked one up for myself. While it feels light and seems to lack durability, it hasn't been a problem for me at all. The included memory card is fantastic for it's storage capability as well. Also, it seems even cheap batteries get a nice long run in this device.

I would recommend this to a friend!

0points

0out of 0found this review helpful.

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Review 2 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Great for recording but made very cheap

Customer Rating

4.0

Posted by: instinct29

from Kingston, OH

on 04/24/2011

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

3.0

Craftsmanship

2.0

What's great about it: Size, easy to use, sound quality, endless options, tuner

What's not so great: Cheaply built, battery life is short with alkaline batteries, stock SD card is junk

I've had my H2 for almost 2 years now and it has yet to fail me when it comes to producing quality recordings. However, it is pretty cheaply made. The SD card door snapped off after a few days and the mic input jack got kind of loose after a couple of months (something I fixed myself, it is easy to pull apart and re-soldier if needed). I use this mainly in live concert environments and I have yet to be disappointed with this recorder. I NEVER experience any noise in my recordings that could be linked to the internals. My only advice is if you're going to use this for recording concerts, get a good set of mini-mics and a battery box so you can use the line input. . It makes for a much easier set-up and less hassle. I've done recording in 128kb/s MP3 all the way up to 24bit/96Khz and have yet to be disappointed by the quality. Also, use the lithium-ion batteries in this instead of alkaline; they last longer and make sure you get a good quality SD card, the one that comes with it is JUNK.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+2points

2out of 2found this review helpful.

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Review 3 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Poor Craftsmanship, Chealpy made.

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: gmcgeary

from Blackwood, NJ

on 03/20/2011

Value for Price

1.0

Sound Quality

4.0

Durability

1.0

Craftsmanship

1.0

What's great about it: Sound

What's not so great: Craftsmanship, No bag for accessories. Cheaply made..

In fairness to the people you have actually used it to record and found it to be a good sound quality I gave it a good review. However after purchasing this unit I opened it in the parking lot of my local Best Buy and I found that the construction was so cheap that the battery and SD card access doors where almost impossible to open. I also noticed that all the switched and connectors where made of cheap plastic. I packed it up and walked backed into Best Buy for immediate refund (No hassles whatsoever, they where happy to do it for me). I have been a professional musician for twenty years and I know that this product will not last at all for any length of time even in the most careful hands.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

-7points

3out of 13found this review helpful.

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Review 4 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

WOW! realy great sound quality.

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: invisibill

from utah

on 01/13/2011

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

4.0

Craftsmanship

4.0

What's great about it: sound quality

What's not so great: made of plastic

I picked one of these up yesterday and recorded my bands rehersal last night. very impressed with the sound. great for recording jam sessions. i bought just to help remember song ideas, and works great for that. comes with all the accessories you need. would highly recomend

I would recommend this to a friend!

+6points

6out of 6found this review helpful.

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Review 5 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Big Bang For Your Buck

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: tcrgunier

on 12/04/2010

The audio quality of recordings from this device aren't even comparable to other similarly priced alternatives. Their phenomenal. The option to record in surround also is amazing. It also translates over to the computer surprisingly well. For indie film this thing must be sent from the gods. It is hands down one of the most important pieces of equipment for a low budget film. This gives you the ability to have great audio quality plus in surrounded for a fraction of the price of other options. If you are looking at this right now, buy it. Don't spend another day without it. Only con would be the construction which looks like metal in the pictures but us actually just plastic. Does really make that much of difference though?

I would recommend this to a friend!

+12points

12out of 12found this review helpful.

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Review 6 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

It is very great and excellente!

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Rolando1

from San Diego

on 09/17/2010

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

5.0

Craftsmanship

5.0

What's great about it: Very user friendly and it has a lot of option to record.

What's not so great: Not applicable!

I love this recorder. It was recommended by my son because he owns the high end one. I enjoy and love it.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+1point

4out of 7found this review helpful.

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Review 7 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

NON-AUDIO EXPERT LIKES IT

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Rembrandt

from USA

on 05/29/2010

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Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

4.0

Craftsmanship

4.0

What's great about it: Easy to operate - My 7-year-old can even do it.

What's not so great: I wish it had a little more - such as multi-track (one track at a time) recording.

You have no doubt read the experts giving their reviews about the frequency modulation and the other mumbo jumbo. Well, I am not an electronics novice but not a sound recording expert either. From a non-professional's point of view this is a very nice product. Out of the box, pop in two AA batteries, slip in the memory card, click the power switch on the side, press the red record button twice, and you are in business. Press the red record button again to stop and the play/pause button to hear what you have just recorded (through earphones or external speakers since there is no internal speaker here). The day I purchased it, a thunder storm came through. I opened the back door and hit the record button and for about 15 minutes recorded the rain falling and the thunder booming. I then put on the head phones and played it back, finding myself jumping when a loud burst of thunder crackled through the headset. I call that good. I call that realistic. I call that good quality recording. Since then I have learned that I can record in a number of WAV formats or .mp3 formats. Obviously higher quality means less recording time on the memory chip but you can always downgrade the quality later if you need a smaller file. It has an extensive menu with many features that I will explore, but mainly I wanted you to know that out of the box in 2 minutes you can be recording what seems to me to be professional grade recordings. There is a jack for an external microphone as well as one for a line input. Unfortunately you cannot use both at the same time, but the lineinput is a good way to record from any audio source directly - such as when archiving those old audio tapes or maybe those LPs from your record collection. While there are features I wish were there, I am satisfied with what it can do. We get so hung up on photos and video camera recording that we often forget about audio recording. Just set it up somewhere and let it record for a while and then sit down, close your eyes, and listen. You may find yourself pleasantly amazed at what you hear.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+12points

17out of 22found this review helpful.

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Review 8 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Excellent small digital recorder

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: MRidge2036

from Fresno, CA

on 05/17/2010

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

4.0

Craftsmanship

5.0

What's great about it: Makes excellent quality recordings.

What's not so great: Time will tell how well the plastic body holds up.

I have, so far, made about a dozen recordings of piano, trombone, clarinet, and voice. Each one I have recorded at 16bit 44.1 WAV, some with AGC and some without. The recordings are very clear and clean. I have used both the front mics and the rear mics and did not detect any difference in quality. I download the files to Garage Band to do any editing and had no problems connecting to my macbook. Very impressed with the quality of the recordings- 100 times better than my semi-pro cassette deck can do. Just be aware that the body of this is plastic, so use it knowing of this limitation. Battery life has been good but I don't use cheap AA batteries. It's a lot of fun to use. I keep the finished files in iTunes.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+15points

17out of 19found this review helpful.

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Review 9 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Great Product but support is terrible.

Customer Rating

4.0

Posted by: Musikboy

from Boston, MA

on 04/11/2010

Value for Price

4.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

3.0

Craftsmanship

3.0

What's great about it: When set up right this makes wonderful recordings

What's not so great: menu, buttons, rear mic's, terrible battery life

I have owned the H2 for several years and have made many wonderful recordings. It's sensitive, versatile and full featured. It has many of the features a musician or taper wants and it's small and light. If you record concerts be careful to use the front mic set, the back set are lower quality. If you are recording for several hours at a time, get the plug-in adapter or very hi capacity rechargables because this thing is a vampire. I have run out of power with just 3 hours of recording on 2500 maH rated batteries. The little bubble buttons aren't great but they work. I have made both MP3 recordings at 320b/s and wav recordings, they are both perfect. There are smaller recorders out there, I have the TASCAM DR-07 and it has terrible sound quality when using it's built-in mics in loud venues. The H2 also has phantom power which means it can save carrying around a battery box for pro mics. Overall, if you use it carefully and know it's limitations, this is nice machine and worth the money. Just remember, it takes 2 pushes of the recording button to start it recording, once I sat through 1/2 a concert in standby thinking it was recording!

I would recommend this to a friend!

+8points

10out of 12found this review helpful.

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Review 10 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

You won't find a better unit for the money

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: xBoBx

from Salisbury, MD

on 01/05/2010

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

4.0

Craftsmanship

4.0

What's great about it: Straightforward, easy for the beginner to set up and use, outstanding sound quality

What's not so great: Nothing. It's great all around.

Fantastic hand held unit. I am a sound engineer, and I picked one of these up to give to my boss (who knows nothing about audio) for some VO work he needed to do. I sent him home unsupervised, and he came back with 5 hours of crystal clear, stereo audio. This thing is a tremendous value for the money. I can't reccomend it enough.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+6points

8out of 10found this review helpful.

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Review 11 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Pretty good recorder for price

Customer Rating

4.0

Posted by: DSam

from California

on 06/07/2009

Value for Price

5.0

Sound Quality

5.0

Durability

2.0

Craftsmanship

3.0

What's great about it: Good sound for price

What's not so great: Flimsy casing, didn't work for me as audio interface

Like other reviewers on the net, I found that the sound quality of the H2 Zoom was great (in my case,for recording practice sessions with my Mountain ocarina) - even on the cheap included SD card, which I understand has worked v. poorly for some ppl. If you look around, you'll see ppl complaining that the controls are difficult to manage (buttons too small, menus too complex) - I did not find that to be the case - but the recording process does require a couple of steps before it starts (download the instruction manual at the manufacturer's site and you'll see what I mean - i.e., it's not as simple as a cassette tape recorder, if you need that level of simplicity). The casing of the H2 Zoom is a cheap-feeling plastic and the door covering the SD card is especially flimsy - I broke one a few days after getting the device - and I was being reasonably careful because I knew the door was flimsy. Buyers should also be aware that there are no speakers in the unit. If you want to hear what you've recorded, you will need headphones/earbuds or an external speaker.

Unfortunately I could not get the H2 Zoom to function as a USB mic on my Macs running 10.3.9-10.4.11. There was a funny noise that appeared when recording using the H2 Zoom as a USB mic on two computers running two different operating systems and the noise was such that there would have been no way to filter it out with software after the fact. I tried every sensible (and some not-so-sensible) workaround, called tech support and was told I had a defective unit, which I returned for a replacement. The replacement unit had the some problem and tech support quit responding to my e-mails, so I returned the 2nd unit as well. I researched the issue extensively and found that most ppl using the unit as a USB mic on either Macs or PC's have no trouble. I'm hoping that I ran into a bad batch and I am actually planning to repurchase the H2 Zoom after waiting a few months for a new batch to work its way into the supply chain.

In summary, a very good recorder for the price, but in a flimsy casing. Tech support was disappointing.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+6points

7out of 8found this review helpful.

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Review 12 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Every musician should own this!

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: drmrdex

from Long Beach.CA

on 03/25/2009

What's great about it: Records great and reasonable price!

What's not so great: Delicate memory card door

I am a drummer who needed to record band rehearsals and/or live performances on the fly for personal reference or to make CDs for friends. I figured if pro drummers like Peter Erskine and Carmine Appice uses the H2, then I should too! All the positive reviews I've read about the H2 outweigh the negative ones. For under $200.00, this recorder rivals those well above the $300 to $600 range! As a Mac user, I edit my tracks using Audacity (free download) or Garageband (part of iLife in my Mac). By using the H2 operation manual, pages 71-73, connect the H2 with the supplied USB cable and follow the directions. The H2 shows up on the desktop as a storage device. I then click on the folder of the recorded track (WAV file) that I want to edit, and drag it to Audacity for editing. If I use Garageband, I convert the WAV file in iTunes as an AIFF file, then drag it to Garageband. The results, either way, are AMAZING! I bought my H2 at the Signal Hill Best Buy and have no regrets! I recommend buying extra SD memory cards like a 2 Gig or 4 Gig. I also recommend to buy a case (like a small camera bag) to carry and protect the H2 and accessories that came supplied with it.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+9points

9out of 9found this review helpful.

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Review 13 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Almost perfect

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Marusko

from San Antonio, TX

on 03/03/2009

What's great about it: Flexibility, you can take it anywhere....in your pocket

What's not so great: You only can use it for recordings in its own SD Card or direct to your computer, but not as a regular microphone, BAD!

Itll be great if somebody could tell me about dynamic range(frecuency response and SPL), Besides all of this it is perfect for songwriting on the road, with batteries you do not need power supply at least for about 4 hours, rehearsals. Overall is a good purchase if you do in the field recordings, if you want it for professional recording this is not for you

I would recommend this to a friend!

-1point

4out of 9found this review helpful.

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Review 14 for Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Well worth the price for what it is

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: DrumGOD

from Austin, TX

on 01/29/2009

What's great about it: Great sound quality for what it is and simple to use

What's not so great: Plastic construction might not hold up over time...

I play drums in several groups and we use this device to record rehearsals and burn the music on audio cds for review while driving. This device comes with a mount so you can attach it to any microphone stand. My only complaint would be that the screen is incredibly small and hard to read. I record drums, bass, guitar and vocals and the sound quality from the 4 Microphones is impressive. If you are looking for fairly inexpensive recording solution thats simple to use, this is it.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+5points

5out of 5found this review helpful.

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