Iphone vs Zoom H1

[jacob12_1993]

Hello Guys,

I am not an Audio expert by any stretch of my imagination, so shoot me down if I am being completely stupid. I currently have a Tascam DR-100 which I plan on using as my main recorder when I shoot a documentary next year. I was also looking at purchasing a small audio recorder such as a Tascam DR-05/Zoom H1 until I came across the Tascam PCM Recorder app for my Iphone. It claims to record in 16bit 44.1khz quality compared with the Zoom H1s 24bit 96khz quality. How much difference would I notice when using them both wired up to a lav on the subject? I am presuming the iphone will struggle with noise compared to the zoom H1, no? Or will the iphone record good quality sound?

Thanks in advance!

 

[recordingwhiz]

The iPhone is a very very RF hostile device due to the phone part as well as the wifi portion, having said that, then noise from such things is highly likely. just like you can sometimes hear hard drive noise on some computer speakers.

 

[jacob12_1993]

The iPhone is a very very RF hostile device due to the phone part as well as the wifi portion, having said that, then noise from such things is highly likely. just like you can sometimes hear hard drive noise on some computer speakers.

I thought as much really, thank you for your reply

 

[Gregg Juke]

It may not be that bad of an issue in "airplane mode," but the other thing to think about is memory/recording space. I have a recording app for the iPod Touch, which is great, but with all of the apps and other things (music, video, etc.) taking-up residence, there isn't a lot of room left for audio. The Zoom is a dedicated device, and if you run out of space, you simply swap cards and you're right back in business. Plus, depending on your Zoom (with the H1 and certain mikes, you'll need and adaptor or two), you can use pretty much any external microphone you want (dynamic or battery-powered with the H1; no phantom)... With the iPhone, you will be stuck with one or two choices (unless you want to get into the iRig, which is another app program/memory hog and another adaptor device; and more money!).GJ

 

[jacob12_1993]

It may not be that bad of an issue in "airplane mode," but the other thing to think about is memory/recording space. I have a recording app for the iPod Touch, which is great, but with all of the apps and other things (music, video, etc.) taking-up residence, there isn't a lot of room left for audio. The Zoom is a dedicated device, and if you run out of space, you simply swap cards and you're right back in business. Plus, depending on your Zoom (with the H1 and certain mikes, you'll need and adaptor or two), you can use pretty much any external microphone you want (dynamic or battery-powered with the H1; no phantom)... With the iPhone, you will be stuck with one or two choices (unless you want to get into the iRig, which is another app program/memory hog and another adaptor device; and more money!).GJ

Can't you use any 1/8" jack mic (or various adapter) straight into the headphone socket on the iphone?

 

[Noiz2]

Can't you use any 1/8" jack mic (or various adapter) straight into the headphone socket on the iphone?

It claims to record in 16bit 44.1khz quality compared with the Zoom H1s 24bit 96khz quality. How much difference would I notice when using them both wired up to a lav on the subject?

I'm quoting these two statements because the "quality" of your recording has very little to do with sample rates and bit depths and a lot to do with the analog section and how well you use the device.

So yes you can plug something in the headphone jack of the iphone and get it to work, maybe. It probably has to be designed for the iPhone since I think the headphone jack is wired in a weird way to allow headphones and a mic in at the same time. So I doubt that any old mic with a 1/8" plug would work. But that you would be running a mic in the headphone jack should raise some quality red flags.

The decent mic devices for the iphone connect to the connector on the bottom and are not all that cheap.

And yes the Airplane mode should kill the monster noise hit the iPhone causes.

 

[jacob12_1993]

I'm quoting these two statements because the "quality" of your recording has very little to do with sample rates and bit depths and a lot to do with the analog section and how well you use the device.

So yes you can plug something in the headphone jack of the iphone and get it to work, maybe. It probably has to be designed for the iPhone since I think the headphone jack is wired in a weird way to allow headphones and a mic in at the same time. So I doubt that any old mic with a 1/8" plug would work. But that you would be running a mic in the headphone jack should raise some quality red flags.

The decent mic devices for the iphone connect to the connector on the bottom and are not all that cheap.

And yes the Airplane mode should kill the monster noise hit the iPhone causes.

Thanks for that!

 

[Gregg Juke]

Yes, Noiz is correct, the Apple stuff needs a "Mac special" three-contact microphone pin to work with the iPhone or iPod, but a much better solution would be something like the Blue Mikey 2.0. But, I can tell you as an owner of both units, that from a workflow and data perspective, I'd only use the iPhone as a back-up; the Zoom is much easier and purpose-designed for the task.GJ