Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder by Samson Technologies

The Zoom H2 Handy Recorder from Samson Technologies provides brilliant stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device. You can record high-quality audio for a variety of applications. Samson sent its H2 for evaluation and review, and we were eager to try it out.

Samson Technologies began 26 years ago as an audio technology company designing wireless microphone systems. Today, it's an industry leader with three brands: Samson, Hartke and Zoom. More than 350 products designed and distributed by Samson are sold in 106 countries.

So what is this product, and what does it do? The Zoom H2 Handy Recorder is a portable recorder with 4 mic capsules onboard for 360-degree recording. It weighs four ounces and fits in your pocket. With 4 mic capsules in a W-X/Y configuration, audio is decoded instantly, bringing these four signals together for precise stereo recording. There are different ways to use it, based on your recording requirements.

You can record from the front of the H2 in a 90-degree pickup pattern. or the rear of the H2 in a 120-degree pickup pattern. For audiophiles, the specs are up to 96 kHz/24-bit WAV file, or as an MP3 file at bitrates up to 320 kbps. Remember that WAV files are higher quality, but take up much more storage space than MP3 files.

You can also can record in a 360-degree pickup pattern, at up to 48kHz/24-bit quality. This lets you to convert recordings to 5.1 Surround Sound. The H2 Handy Recorder records on Secure Digital (SD) media; a 512MB SD card is included. With an optional 4GB SD, the H2 records up to two hours at 96kHz, six hours at 44.1kHz, or up to 138 hours in MP3.

On the H2's left side is a 1/8" phone/line input for monitoring and playback. Playback volume, power on/off and AC power switch are also there. On the right side you can plug in a powered 1/8" external stereo mic. You set levels with a microphone-gain slider (low/medium/high gain). You can also digitize analog (tape) recordings via the 1/8" line-in.