Zoom h4n direct to audio-in Scarlet ... It works

[Josef Gatti]

So I couldn't get a mic working on my Scarlet - so I got a double ended 3.5mm cable and put it from the audio out of the zoom h4n into the Scarlet audio in. It worked, I was happy.

It was only for scratch audio, but now the audio on my r3d's are (seemingly) as good as what I hear from the files captured to the h4n, but I'm not audio expert, and my speakers aren't great.

Has anyone done this before? Was there any loss of audio quality from the h4n audio out?

Thanks

[Petri Teittinen]

Nice idea. I'll have to try my Zoom on my Epic.

[Robert Hart]

On the SI2K P+S Recorder Unit body and Laptop/Mini ATX based recording solutions, the Zoom H4n has been used via USB for convenient digital audio input as it has the capablity of providing phantom power to mikes. I found a bit of a latency issue with mine however others have liked it. If the EPIC/SCARLETT can behave as if is is a computer, it might be workable to accept a digital audio input via USB.

I am totally dumb as to RED cams so please disregard except as a random thought.

[Sascha Rossier]

Nice idea! What "output"did you use on the h4n ... The headphone output?

[Demetri Zuev]

Yes, indeed, it works.

Take this cable



Insert one side of the cable into Scarlet/Epic mic port 1 or 2, second side into Zoom's headphone output and press the Rec button on the recorder once to let the sound through.

You can leave it at monitoring on Zoom (in this case only the camera will record sound) or you can press the Rec button again and actually record on Zoom and the camera simultaneously. I did an interview on Epic three days ago, where I plugged a lav mic into one of Zoom's XLR ports and recorded my scratch and clean tracks using a single device.

Oh, and you can monitor the sound too through Epic/Scarlet headphone output.

[Chris McKechnie]

Recording directly to the H4N's SD card will provide higher quality audio as it's able to record at a very high bit rate (up to 24 bit, 96khz audio) which surpasses even CD quality. So if you want the absolute cleanest signal, record while you're sending the signal to your Scarlet. You can even use the H1's (much smaller and lighter, and what I use) as well.

[Sascha Rossier]

very clever indeed ... gotta try this ... thanx guys ... i always love it when new solutions come up with equipp i already got im my toolbox ;-)

[Josef Gatti]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'll use the h4n recording for best audio.
But yeah for those of you who want to give it a try it works unbelievably well - much better than I'd anticipated.
We were completely out of ideas and this was the last attempt!

[Martin Weiss]

I'm using a similar setup with double recording; afterwards I use pluraleyes to synch the audio from the recorder to the footage. Voilá.

[Daniel Crooks]

I've been considering this route with the zoom H2n, does anybody have experience with this model ?
and also, which side does the camera hear coming from the zoom headphone, L or R ?