I shoot videos about video production. I test out gear, and I share my thoughts on what I think about the gear. Yes, I'm a bit of a gear nerd, but the equipment and the techniques are all just tools to help you achieve your creative pursuits. I love the medium of video. I love the possibilities. I want to make cool stuff. I have a lot more to learn, and I'm going to share it all. Yeah. Let's go...
Great video. Thank you. I bought the DR-40X and very rarely use it. The reason to buy it was to spread the built-in mics, put it on a table in the centre of my music room, and face it towards my hifi speakers. This way, I assume it will record audio the way my speakers actually sound in person. I could take a line level out of my hifi system and directly plug it into the DR-40X but that would just give me a hi-res audio file on the SD card, right?. In order to share files with friends and family with music the way I hear it in my room, what best way would you suggest? I have 4 different pairs of speakers, and I want to share how they all differently sound while playing the same music from the same source. Your thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Great presentation. I have an H4nPro. Amazing device! I recently bought the H6, but haven’t figured it out yet. Have you got a video on that? Btw, I also have a Tascam DP-008 8-track Pocketstudio collecting dust. Never figured out how to use it…
I know this video is old... so I don't know if I will get a response, but if I wanted to sample or record audio from a record player in stereo. Could I use something like an XLR Male to Dual RCA Female Jacks on the DR-40X, be it coming from a receiver or a turntables built in phono preamp? Or if trying to get a stereo recording from 3.5mm device (mic, phone, mp3 player, stereo receiver, turntable, etc) could I use a 3.5mm to XLR adapter from the line out or headphone jack of said devices? The reason I ask is because I saw in another video stating that the 1/4inch "instrument" plugs the DR-40X needs in order to get a signal were unfortunately mono, so any adapters I could use to get a 3.5mm male to 1/4 would result in a mono recording. I was hoping there might be a way around the 1/4 plugs mono limitations.
Yes, dual RCA to dual XLR male would work fine for connecting to a record player that has a built-in phono preamp and line-level outputs. For the second question, a stereo male 3.5mm Y-Cable to dual XLR male would work fine too, except for the mic. If you have a stereo mic that terminates in stereo male 3.5mm you can try adapting it to the XLR inputs of the DR-40X, but I’m not sure if it would work. That’s one area where the H4n Pro wins, because it has a dedicated stereo 3.5mm mic input.
I don’t know if it’s my headphones But Tascam sounds much better. Zoom looks a bit complicated? And the sound not as good. Thanks for comparing. You didnt sound like you favoured one over the other .
8:32 - The voice over is great, how did you got it to sound like this without any of the ambient noise picking up? Can you share details how you did so? Thanks. Is it better to do voice over using the tascam as a standalone recorder or better hooked to a USB to computer?
No ambient noise was picked up because there wasn’t any ambient noise. It was a quiet room that didn’t have any problems with sound reflecting off of surfaces. Nothing special, just a regular room in a regular house. The mics are off to the side of my mouth, not in front of it. That was intentional. I find that voice over and podcasting sound better when the microphone is positioned that way. Just set proper gain, record in a quiet, non-reverberant place, and position the mic where it sounds best.
Excellent review. I’ve been wrestling over which of these recorders to buy, and after watching so many different videos on the comparison between the two, I think I was starting to suffer from analysis paralysis. However, your video has brought healing to my mind, and I think I’m settled on purchasing the DR-40X. Some may see the fact that the DR-40X is made of plastic as a negative, but I think it’s a positive compared to the rubberized outer coating on the H4N Pro, because that rubber gets sticky over time to the point where it almost unusable. Also, the DR-40X may only have reverb for an effect, but if I want more than that I can just load the file into my computer DAW (Garage Band, Audacity, etc.) and add effects from there. I think I’m going to pull the trigger on the DR-40X. Thanks, mate!
Just bought H4n pro, the most valuable information that you gave for me is the difference between XLR and 6.3 JACK, because I plan to record from a Mixer, also to hook up some lavalier so I know now what cables I need, thank you!
Amazing video !! This makes me think in those videos from old Discovery Channel, super simple to understand!! More info thst you though you could get !! What a video, great Job !! I am getting my DR40X now ( Dj and Techno music Producer)
Been using my Tascam DR40 for many years. Works for everything I need and I personally love how the dynamics are on this vs the Zoom. The Zoom does have it's ups but i don't need that much mid/low which is what I tested both for. Love my DR40 and my hats off to the H4N too I almost got that
The internal DR 40 mics have a very narrow sound, although that isn’t to call the 70 “spacious.” Thank you very much I was looking for this video demo, exactly!
Hi Sam, Im from Poland and I want to thank you for your video, which really help me to make my choice. I saw many opinions and revies but yours was the best. Eventually I bought Zoom h4n. Good job, best regards!
Awesome! I watched several videos and was leaning toward Tascam. Now watching this video I'm thinkin about Zoom. Thanks for carefully showing pros and cons of each.
Thank you for a great video! I picked up the H4n Pro to replace my Zoom H2 - I need a handheld recorder for a new podcast idea I am working on and one thing, and I am hoping I am not wrong. The H4N can pause the recording and resume which the H2 cannot
Yes, H4n Pro can pause and resume recording. You press the round “arm recording” button and then the Play/Pause button to begin recording. Pressing Play/Pause again pauses the recording, which you can resume when you press it again.
Hello, this voice recorder doesn't make any "white noise" as background? The sound is really clea, or you edited the audio? I'm thinking about buying one Tascam Dr-40...
Well, every audio recorder has a noise floor where you start to hear hiss instead of silence when you turn the volume up, it’s just that some recorders have lower noise floors than others. I didn’t do any editing or manipulation to make this recorder sound any less noisy in this video. However, this capability of the DR-40X isn’t any more impressive compared to similar recorders like the Zoom H4n Pro, for example.
Hello, this voice recorder doesn't make any "white noise" as background? The sound is really clea, or you edited the audio? I'm thinking about buying one Tascam Dr-40...
I want to use a recorder for recording me playing guitar and singing, with built in mics and by plugging in my guitar and Shure SM80 mike into the unit. As well for capturing live concerts. Unsure re the line level issues which unit is better?!
You are better off with the H4n Pro. You want to plug a guitar into it, that's all I needed to hear. The H4n Pro is designed for that, the DR-40X is not. For line-level stuff, you just need to remember to only connect line-level signals to the 1/4" inputs on the H4n Pro. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine.
Four years ago it was not much of a recorder. Some years ago I compared one with the Olympus LS11 i had. The noise was too much to bare and the input signal much lower then the LS11. I did not expect such terrible result and returned it within half a day. And bought the more expensive Tascam DR100mkiii. That was a joy!
My official answer is MAYBE? I know the Zoom H4n Pro can be plugged into an iPhone using the Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter in order to use it as an audio interface with the iPhone. Now, does this work when the iPhone is in video recording mode? I don't know, and I don't have that adapter so I can't test it.
Question: I understand you cant hear the sound during shooting, but is there any playback feature at all on the recorder? Or is it only possible to hear the sound when you export the files?
