Zoom H6 recorder
Here at Zoom we've been building innovative, great-sounding products for the past thirty years. But with the revolutionary H6—the most versatile portable recorder ever—the bar is raised further still.
Four interchangeable input capsules—X/Y, MS, Shotgun, and Dual XLR/TRS Combo—make the H6 the ultimate chameleon of the audio world, and its advanced preamps make it the best-sounding one too.
Whatever your application—live recording, professional film/video work, or broadcast ENG (electronic news gathering), etc.—the H6 can handle it with ease.
Interchangeable input capsules that can be swapped out as easily as the lens of a camera
• Six-track simultaneous recording
• Four mic/line inputs with XLR/TRS combo connectors
• Gain controls (real knobs!) and -20dB pads for each input
• Phantom power for all main inputs: +12/+24/+48V
• Large full-color LCD display, angled so it's easy to read in all environments
• Records directly to SD, SDHC and SDXC cards up to 128GB
• Up to 24-bit/96kHz audio in BWF-compliant WAV or a variety of MP3 formats
• Auto-record, Pre-record and Backup-record functions mean that you'll never miss that perfect take
• Multitrack to stereo internal mixdown
• Independent monitor and playback mixes
• Virtual VU meters
• Voice memo and up to 99 marks per recording
• Overdubbing, up to 99 takes
• Built-in effects, including low-cut filtering, compression and limiting
• Onboard MS decoding
• Normalize, Divide and Trim editing
• Chromatic tuner and metronome
• Loop Playback with user-defined start and stop points
• Variable playback speed, from 50% to 150%
• Variable pitch per track without affecting playback speed
• USB port for data exchange to and from computer
• Multichannel and stereo USB audio interface for PC/Mac/iPad
• Camera strap mounts
• Mounts directly to DSLR or camcorder with optional HS-01 Hot Shoe Mount adapter
• Accepts standard AA alkaline or NiMH rechargeable batteries
• Over 20 hours of operation with 4 AA alkaline batteries
INPUTS
The H6 offers four main inputs (1-4), plus two additional inputs (L, R) that are derived from whichever capsule (X/Y, MS, Shotgun, or Dual XLR/TRS Combo) is plugged into the unit. The supplied XYH-6 X/Y capsule also provides a secondary input for connecting an external mic- or line-level signal via a stereo 1/8" Mic/Line In mini phone jack. When a connection is made to that jack, signal from the X/Y microphones is muted.
All four main H6 inputs (inputs 1-4) are combo connectors that can accept either XLR or 1/4" balanced or unbalanced phone cables. They can handle both micand line-level signals, which means that you can connect either external microphones or line-level devices like mixers, portable music players, electronic keyboards, or electric guitars or basses with active electronics (passive electric guitars or basses can also be connected with the use of a mixer or effects device). Internal switching contacts automatically detect the circuit of choice.
On the H6, all connectors use the industry standard Pin 2 hot on XLR connectors and Tip hot on TRS connectors, as shown here:
If you're using high-quality condenser (powered) microphones with the H6, no problem—a simple menu option allows the unit to provide Phantom Power (either +12, +24, or +48 volts) to any or all of the main inputs (inputs 1-4). Inexpensive condenser microphones requiring Plug-In Power (2.5 volts) can be connected to the X/Y capsule's stereo 1/8" Line In jack.
The H6 USB port, located on the side panel to the right of the LCD display, provides a digital output of either a stereo mix or the six individual input signals, depending upon the setting of the "Audio Interface" function in the USB menu.
In addition, the H6 provides a headphone output with a dedicated volume control, located on the side panel to the left of the LCD display. Connect your headphones to the stereo 1/8" mini phone jack for private monitoring of the stereo output signal.
The H6 even has a built-in speaker, located on the underside of the unit, for fast monophonic monitoring of the recorded signal without the need to make any connections whatsoever. This speaker is automatically disconnected when connection is made to either the Line Out or Headphone output.
The supplied XYH-6 X/Y capsule adds two matched high-quality unidirectional microphones to your H6. This kind of microphone is most sensitive to signal coming from directly in front, and less sensitive to signal coming from behind or from the sides; in technical terms, they are said to utilize a cardioid polar pattern. These mics have the largest diaphragm size (0.579" = 14.6mm) of any ever available on a portable recorder.
Playing back stereo X/Y tracks in mono results in a fuller sound than you would get with one microphone, but if mono compatibility is critical (for example, in television production), the Mid-Side (MS) mic technique can be a better choice.
Although the H6's supplied MSH-6 MS capsule appears to be just one microphone, it actually contains two mic elements, positioned directly on top of one another. One of the microphones inside the MSH-6 is unidirectional (that is, it is mostly sensitive to signal coming from directly in front, and less sensitive to signal coming from behind or from the sides) while the other is bi-directional (that is, it is mostly sensitive to signals coming from directly in front and directly behind, and less sensitive to signal coming from the sides).
Inside the H6 MS capsule, the directional ("Mid") mic faces forwards while the bi-directional ("Side") mic is set perpendicular to it, like this:
The Mid-Side technique works well whenever you need a variable amount of room sound. It can also be used for studio recording, and its convenience and flexibility make it a good option for rehearsal and live concert recording as well.
