Zoom H8 Handy Audio Recorder

Operating the H8 is extremely intuitive and user-friendly thanks to the 2.4" color LCD touchscreen and the three app-driven modes optimized for podcasting, music, and field recording workflows at the touch of the screen.

Leave your external mics at home and travel light; the H8 includes a stereo microphone capsule equipped with two unidirectional mics. With nothing more than the H8, you're set to record speech, practice sessions, concerts, or ambient and environmental sounds, even ear-rattling ones up to 136 dB!

Zoom’s Capsule System 2.0 allows up to four channels of audio to be added to the H8's capsule connection, creating new ways to expand your recording capabilities through the addition of new separately available capsules.

The Zoom mic capsule input on the H8 accommodates Zoom's existing line of separately available interchangeable capsules, which can be swapped out as easily as the lenses of a camera. With shock-mounted X/Y, Mid-Side, and mono or stereo shotgun mic capsules to choose from, you can be ready to record music, dialog, or sound effects without carting an external microphone setup. Opt for the EXH-6 combo input capsule to accept two additional mic/line signals via XLR-1/4" jacks.

The H8's front panel is ergonomically arranged with its most essential and commonly used controls—transport buttons for record, play/pause, and stop, individual record-arm buttons that double as mute switches during playback, large gain knobs, and pad switches. For added safety, a hold switch disables all front-panel buttons to prevent accidental operation during recording.

Each H8 input has its own dedicated gain control knob. There's no track selection or button pressing required to optimize your recording levels; just turn the dials (clearly labeled from 0 to 10) anytime you need to adjust the gain. If your XLR input sources are so loud that you need even less gain than the preamps provide at the "0" setting, use four front-panel pad switches to attenuate the XLR inputs by 20 dB.