32 bit audio recording was already covered by reviewers on TH-cam, but i'm glad zoom actually took their time to explained themselves. And no reviewer touched the fact that you can actually record at 3 different audio levels.
I appreciate that Zoom here has set out to give a quick summary, but it's really dangerous to declare that "clipping is impossible," as if some kind of universal insurance policy. Many if not most users are unaware that clipping frequently happens at the microphone level, no matter what happens further down the chain at the 32-bit float recorder. Here's a great example that hits them close to home: one of Zoom's few other 32-bit float products, the F2, clips pretty easily when the lavalier included with the F2 is at the normal location below one's neck, but, say, someone sings at full volume. The maximum SPL of the lavalier simply can't handle it. The 32-bit float recorder faithfully captures the unusable clipping.
While I agree with your original sentiment that it is dangerous or zoom to declare something like setting gain is no longer needed.. I disagree with your example. While 32-bit floats gives you somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of decibels of headroom, making it mathematically near impossible to clip the digital signal, your example is not describing clipping. You're describing improper mic technique and placement. Overloading the transducer of a microphone is not clipping it is distortion caused by improper use. Nothing and no amount of gain will ever correct that. You can have the lowest gain possible but if the person using the microphone is using it improperly and causing distortion from the microphone itself, there's no amount of gain that will protect against that. The lowest possible gain setting we'll still have audible distortion because "you can't polish a turd"... Learning mic technique or teaching your source vocalist how to hold the mic or where to place the lavalier is the first step in the process. With the zooms claim that setting gain is not necessary and clipping is impossible could easily mislead folks into believing that, like you, The basics of level year placement is no longer needed.. But it is indeed mathematically impossible for someone to clip digital signal that was recorded in 32-bit float.. I don't know the math myself.. But I do trust the countless experts that have been doing these calculations for decades. It's great that there's affordable solutions like this that take advantage of this mathematical processing wizardry. (Not saying that zoom are wizards.. They're probably one of the last companies I'll ever buy from again due to their corporate practice of abandoning their customers once the product has been released. You get a firmware update maybe if you're lucky to correct bug fixes.. But after that you're never going to see we're here from them again.. They move on to Their next product lines even though firmware upgrades could improve functionality or expand on features for their existing customer base. They do this time and time again. I'm sure this practice has worked for them in the past since they've been doing this for years and years but eventually consumers will wise up when they buy a product only to see the newest and best version of it released a couple months later)
@@nickloss2377 You've spent an extraordinary amount of time and words on an amateur observation. Again, most lavs will clip and the one included with the F2 is no exception. Pros substitute conventional all-purpose lavs with specialized lavs with lower sensitivity to achieve acceptable proximity (i.e., the solution is not to bury the mic for attenuation), combined with safety from clipping in common loud sessions such as dramatic singing.
For your roadmap, please bring a 32bit version of the Zoom H3-VR and an H6 version. Since I started recording my samples in 32bit, the processing in RX10 has become much easier and the sound for my customers better and more flexible. So a "ready-to-run" Ambisonic recorder in 32bit would be great!
I noticed many reviewers said the wave magnifier did not effect recording level only headphone volume but it does according to this video. Good to know.
The headphone volume on the bottom of the device does not raise recording volume, but the volume buttons on the front do change the levels as long as you change it before hitting record. The levels are locked once recording.
Ok - Please clarify at 01:15 you used the + to lift the volume in your headphones and increase the gain of the recording. However, others say by lifting the gain in the headphones in no way lifts the input gain, just the monitoring. Please can you clarify. Thanks, Peter.
The headphone volume on the bottom of the device does not raise recording volume, but the volume buttons on the face of it does change the levels as long as you change it before hitting record. Once you hit record, the level is locked.
Can the device actually record more than 140 dB of dynamic range? Conventional wisdom says that is impossible. The best converters cap out at 120 dB. Has that changed? A custom 16-bit floating point format could be used as a means of compression to extend the recording time.
That's amazing info - thanks for sharing!! Where did you find the info about converters capping out at 120dB? Cheers! To add onto your comment, I feel like the claim of "recording more than 140 dB of dynamic range" refers to working at 24 bit depth, which has a range of 144dB. 32 bit would offer a larger range, but then the next question would be... what microphones could faithfully capture more than that? And what human beings would be able to notice any amplitude changes outside of the normal threshold of hearing? 😆
I think so. Different sample rates and bit depth won't change the result because of how the gates in the converters are designed. You won't record the issue at 48kHz and below but at 96kHz at either 24 or 32 bit there's a chance it will happen, especially with high-frequency transient sounds. Kay Paquin's blog has a very in-depth review of this issue. It happens on Sound Devices Mix Pre as well.. @@LakeSuperiorPhoto
This is unintentionally deceptive. Many mics still just clip, bottlenecking 32bit, so not having gain is bad for wanting a loud sound close-up. Please tell me I’m missing something, because I feel like I am.
32 bit audio recording was already covered by reviewers on TH-cam, but i'm glad zoom actually took their time to explained themselves. And no reviewer touched the fact that you can actually record at 3 different audio levels.
Thanks. Being a one-man producer... This is a giant help.
I appreciate that Zoom here has set out to give a quick summary, but it's really dangerous to declare that "clipping is impossible," as if some kind of universal insurance policy. Many if not most users are unaware that clipping frequently happens at the microphone level, no matter what happens further down the chain at the 32-bit float recorder. Here's a great example that hits them close to home: one of Zoom's few other 32-bit float products, the F2, clips pretty easily when the lavalier included with the F2 is at the normal location below one's neck, but, say, someone sings at full volume. The maximum SPL of the lavalier simply can't handle it. The 32-bit float recorder faithfully captures the unusable clipping.
If we use same lavalier to 24 bit recorder like H6 what will be result that will clip or not? or we can prevent cliping by adjusting gain in H6?
While I agree with your original sentiment that it is dangerous or zoom to declare something like setting gain is no longer needed.. I disagree with your example. While 32-bit floats gives you somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of decibels of headroom, making it mathematically near impossible to clip the digital signal, your example is not describing clipping.
You're describing improper mic technique and placement. Overloading the transducer of a microphone is not clipping it is distortion caused by improper use. Nothing and no amount of gain will ever correct that. You can have the lowest gain possible but if the person using the microphone is using it improperly and causing distortion from the microphone itself, there's no amount of gain that will protect against that. The lowest possible gain setting we'll still have audible distortion because "you can't polish a turd"...
Learning mic technique or teaching your source vocalist how to hold the mic or where to place the lavalier is the first step in the process. With the zooms claim that setting gain is not necessary and clipping is impossible could easily mislead folks into believing that, like you, The basics of level year placement is no longer needed.. But it is indeed mathematically impossible for someone to clip digital signal that was recorded in 32-bit float.. I don't know the math myself.. But I do trust the countless experts that have been doing these calculations for decades. It's great that there's affordable solutions like this that take advantage of this mathematical processing wizardry.
(Not saying that zoom are wizards.. They're probably one of the last companies I'll ever buy from again due to their corporate practice of abandoning their customers once the product has been released. You get a firmware update maybe if you're lucky to correct bug fixes.. But after that you're never going to see we're here from them again.. They move on to Their next product lines even though firmware upgrades could improve functionality or expand on features for their existing customer base. They do this time and time again. I'm sure this practice has worked for them in the past since they've been doing this for years and years but eventually consumers will wise up when they buy a product only to see the newest and best version of it released a couple months later)
@@nickloss2377 You've spent an extraordinary amount of time and words on an amateur observation. Again, most lavs will clip and the one included with the F2 is no exception. Pros substitute conventional all-purpose lavs with specialized lavs with lower sensitivity to achieve acceptable proximity (i.e., the solution is not to bury the mic for attenuation), combined with safety from clipping in common loud sessions such as dramatic singing.
For your roadmap, please bring a 32bit version of the Zoom H3-VR and an H6 version.
Since I started recording my samples in 32bit, the processing in RX10 has become much easier and the sound for my customers better and more flexible.
So a "ready-to-run" Ambisonic recorder in 32bit would be great!
I noticed many reviewers said the wave magnifier did not effect recording level only headphone volume but it does according to this video. Good to know.
The headphone volume on the bottom of the device does not raise recording volume, but the volume buttons on the front do change the levels as long as you change it before hitting record. The levels are locked once recording.
@@IndieFilmmaker82 That is totally true, thanks.
Ok - Please clarify at 01:15 you used the + to lift the volume in your headphones and increase the gain of the recording. However, others say by lifting the gain in the headphones in no way lifts the input gain, just the monitoring. Please can you clarify. Thanks, Peter.
The headphone volume on the bottom of the device does not raise recording volume, but the volume buttons on the face of it does change the levels as long as you change it before hitting record. Once you hit record, the level is locked.
It’s like floating iso in a raw recording camera. Same concept
*Another video editor that can handle 32 bit float files is Magix Vegas Pro 18/19.
It would make the F3 complete to have an attachable (stereo ) mic like we can buy for the H5
Can the device actually record more than 140 dB of dynamic range? Conventional wisdom says that is impossible. The best converters cap out at 120 dB. Has that changed? A custom 16-bit floating point format could be used as a means of compression to extend the recording time.
That's amazing info - thanks for sharing!! Where did you find the info about converters capping out at 120dB? Cheers!
To add onto your comment, I feel like the claim of "recording more than 140 dB of dynamic range" refers to working at 24 bit depth, which has a range of 144dB. 32 bit would offer a larger range, but then the next question would be... what microphones could faithfully capture more than that? And what human beings would be able to notice any amplitude changes outside of the normal threshold of hearing? 😆
Can the Zoom F3 record three tracks simultaneously with different settings?
What are you guys doing about the high-frequency noise bursts on the ZOOM F6 when recording in 192kHz 24-bit and/or 32-bit?
I am finding this on the f3 as well! sucks! Do you notice this at the lower kHz settings?
I think so. Different sample rates and bit depth won't change the result because of how the gates in the converters are designed. You won't record the issue at 48kHz and below but at 96kHz at either 24 or 32 bit there's a chance it will happen, especially with high-frequency transient sounds. Kay Paquin's blog has a very in-depth review of this issue. It happens on Sound Devices Mix Pre as well.. @@LakeSuperiorPhoto
@@lorenzo4708 thanks!
Can you record at 64 Bit m
This is unintentionally deceptive. Many mics still just clip, bottlenecking 32bit, so not having gain is bad for wanting a loud sound close-up. Please tell me I’m missing something, because I feel like I am.
Going to buy my H6 an F3
Very interesting
Make an H1n with 32-Bit Float capability and you will have my money.
Sweet!
When Zoom puts out a 32 bit hand held recorder then THAT will be a game changer.
Ummm