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A few weeks ago I did a simple test with an electronic metronome. The file is downloadable from Soundcloud. You can analyze the silence between one beat and another.

Finally, I measured EIN Equivalent Input Noise with the 150 Ohm resistor method as described here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdHn4L1TGds
Result for FR-AV2 is EIN -127.98 dB

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A few weeks ago I did a simple test with an electronic metronome.
The file is downloadable from Soundcloud.
You can analyze the silence between one beat and another.

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There is a debate, from time to time, about the PIP Plug In Power connection at about 5 volts, compared to the Phantom Power connection at 24-48 Volts. I did a practical test, to actually see what the difference can be between one and the other connection system. I used two recorders of the same brand, but of different price ranges, the Zoom H1e Essential and the Zoom F3, both with 32-bit resolution. The F3 has superior quality microphone preamps, which bring the recorder to a noise level of -127 dB; on the other hand, the preamps inserted inside the H1e give a signal that, on paper, is noisier. I have not yet seen a test online relating to EIN (Equivalent Input Noise) for the H1e, but it is reasonable to assume that it is roughly the same as that of the H1n model that preceded it, that is -112 dB. We therefore have a difference of 15 dB in favor of the F3. It is reasonable to expect a notable difference between what is recorded with the two recorders that I have put to the test.
Listen to the test and try to give your impression, the file is freely downloadable.

As a personal opinion on this very quick test I feel like saying that, despite the difference in features between the two recorders, and if we want also in price, in the end for a soundscape type recording in a not too silent environment like in this case, the differences fade to such an extent that it is not easy to distinguish one recording from the other.
In conclusion: better to have with you a recorder, even if small and cheap, and carry out the recording, rather than not having one at all! But this is a rule that applies to everything |

PS – I could have used a recorder that allows you to record from the XLR socket and the PIP simultaneously, such as a Sound Devices Mix Pre II, but I wanted to take the test to the extreme by adding a different level of microphone preamps to the different type of connection.

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ZOOM H1e Essential stereo baffle

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Left Phantom Power 48v – Right 1,5v AA battery at the same Rec Level.

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Tonight I tried to do a field recording to see/hear the difference between the Warm Audio WA47jr and the Rode NT1a.
I recorded a nightingale singing.
The files were normalized to -0.1 dB
ZOOM F3 – WARM AUDIO WA47jr – RODE NT1a

Please not: I reversed the image to avoid confusion in the listening sequence

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Stimulated by a fair comment received after a previous post on the “Field Recording” Facebook Group, I performed a test by recording simultaneously with the two ZOOM H1e and F3 recorders using a Sennheiser ME66 microphone on both. To power the ME66 on the H1e I used a 1.5 volt AA battery on the K6 power module while on the F3 I used the direct 48V power supply from the F3.
Entrambe le parti di file sono state normalizzate a -0.1dB.
First half starts with F3, second part with H1e.
For now, enjoy this simple test!

0:00-0:45 F3+ME66 – 0:46-1:30 H1e+ME66

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Here I selected a small part of the track where there is no nightingale song and raised it by +20dB to see the difference in noise between the two recorders with the incoming signal from the two ME66s powered in the manner described previously. The “noise” in H1e is thus well highlighted.

I believe the noise detected with the H1e is mostly due to the noise of the ME 66 microphone when powered with a 1.5 volt battery rather than Ph 48v Phantom power.

I then ran a simple noise-only test.
In the spectrogram below you can clearly see the difference in noise between the two types of power supply after I performed a noise-only test. The noise spectrum perfectly matches the one highlighted in the signal file above.

Unfortunately there is no other way to use this microphone on the H1e, other than using an external power supply such as the Art Phantom 2 Pro.

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Today, 1 may 2024 at 4.45 local time, with a light breeze, I recorded the song of a nightingale from a distance of about three meters. I used both a ZOOM H1e Essential and a ZOOM F3, both equipped with 32-bit float technology.
With H1e I used the internal microphones, while with F3 I used a pair of Sennheiser ME66.
Low cut 80 Hz, 48 Khz sample rate for either.
I then normalized both files to -3 dB. Clearly, using two completely different systems, the results obtained are incomparable, and I certainly didn’t expect something very different, however it is always useful to have a comparison, just to understand how far you can go with one or the other equipment.

PS. on the left channel with F3 and ME66 there is some slight disturbance due to the radio frequencies of the smartphone which I had inadvertently left on.

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This evening I was trying to record with a setup that I experiment with from time to time in parabola: a mixed stereo + mono baffle (see here for the original setup), using two cheap Zoom recorders: the old H1 first version for the STEREO part and the latest version H1e Essential for the MONO part, recording the signal with both recorders simultaneously.
Coincidentally (and fortunately!), a Firefighters helicopter passed exactly over my head, at an estimated height of about 3-400 meters.
I thus had the opportunity to further experiment with the ability of the 32-bit float system to compensate for an excessively high incoming signal, allowing me to restore the signal in the correct way and no longer distorted by audio clipping.
Nothing to do for the file recorded with the old H1, distorted originally and consequently even after an attempt at normalization (obviously failed).
The choice to record in stereo mode with H1 and in MONO with H1e was completely random, perhaps also due to the fact that H1e allows you to choose between stereo and mono modes.

Below are the Waveforms and the relative audio files.

H1e Essential – original recording

H1e Essential – Normalized recording

H1 – original recording

H1 – Normalized recording

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To simplify the visualization unrecoverable H1 trace, I insert the below image with normalization at -6dB, where the destroyed peaks are perfectly visible.