Zoom Gear & Home Recording Forum

Ciao to all
My first post, rusty english, sorry.

I have one of the first Zoom H4 sold in Italy (serial # 2410) and I'm quite happy with it, but it seems to me there is a problem with the unit.
In every occasion and with every kind of stereo recording, the left channel is costantly 3 dB (average) under the level of the right channel. After a check I discovered the problem is limited to internal mic recording and not to line recording.
I'd like to know if any other Zoom H4 owner has the same problem. Obviously it is not a problem of position of the audio source...

Yes, i had this problem but the other way around, with the left side over the right. I did a lot of experimenting and found that it was due to a difference in frequency response between the two mics, very high up they were balanced but lower down they were way out.
The shop i bought it from let me try all three units that they had in stock before i found a balanced one (two to the left and one to the right) so make sure you check a replacement out before you take it home.
Don't let this put you off the product, when you find a balanced one it's an excellent little machine.

Finally a good news for the Zoom Company...
165 views of my post and only one H4 unit with stereo channels' misbalance (Thanks a lot "opaque slogan").



No, I will not, but 3 dB less is very a lot.

I agree completely, you should insist on a replacement.

I thought I had this problem, but I found that it was because these mics are VERY directional. Just for fun, I kept the unit in the same position I was used to but flipped it over. The result was that instead of the left channel being quieter then the right, it was the reverse.

I now am much more careful when I position the unit and point the mics. Just a slight shift to one side or the other can drastically change what each mic picks up. I also am in the habit of backing the unit up a tad over what I was used to. This gives me much more balanced sound and more depth.

Geezer

I'm noticing the same thing with my device.
I just chalked it up to the directionality but now I'm thinking it might be worth looking into getting it replaced.

Did you swap yours out for another one?

It's not a huge deal since I can adjust the levels on the PC but still if I can do better with another one, I'd swap it out.

Not yet, because I bought it from a web shop that is in another city in Italy.
I phoned to them and they invited me to send the unit to the assistance. They said they never knew of a similar problem before.
To send or not to send? That is the question. To risk my H4 and for how long time? And if they decide that 3 dB less is not enough to consider the unit defective?

Ciao to all
Eugenio

I called and I'm getting my swapped out. They hooked me up with a Zoom rep and he said it could be a defect.

A couple of things he mentioned, don't tilt the machine as that will mess up the signal, try micing close and from a distance. Try the auto gain.

If you're micing from a few feet away and the machine is level with the source, then you could probably get it returned.

Hopefully, the next work works better.

Hi,

Is it possible that Zomm H4 should issue a recall?

I had lowered the gain level manually (i.e. via the wheel, not the 3 position switches), and didn't realize that I was only adjusting the left channel. I guess someone could use the reverse of this, and compensate for one channel being slightly off?

ok. I went back to my local music store and he had 3 new ones. I tried one of them and the Left was higher than then Right. Then I tried another one and was BALANCED for both L-R. I guess some of them are unbalanced.

GOOD LUCK!

I got my second unit and it's pretty much doing the same thing. Not quite as noticeable though. I'm thinking it's because of the guitar source but I really don't know. I'm slightly upset about it but I plan to use some external omni mic anyways which will allow me to control the levels. And I can always adjust the volume when editing on the PC. It's just frustrating that I don't know if it's me or the machine.

The Zoom tech on the phone said you can adjust the levels independently even with the internal mics but I haven't figured out how to do that in stereo mode (recording mp3). Is it possible or is that only in 4-track mode?

The Zoom tech doesn't know what he's talking about. This can't be done in stereo mode.