I already own the H6 from the Essential series and was originally going to get the extra module with the additional XLR combo jacks + 3.5 inch input so I could connect my binaural microphones for mobile use. But since the plug-in module costs almost as much as an additional recorder, I bought the Zoom H1 XLR instead. It’s also much smaller and easier to carry around. But it doesn’t have internal microphones.

Here is a test recording where you can follow me on a short routine walk through my house. I go downstairs, across the house to the backyard, put some dirty laundry in the basket in the boiler and laundry room, get some snacks for the evening from the pantry, come back into the house, and go upstairs to my room. For this recording I used binaural ear microphones from a German manufacturer that unfortunately no longer exists. I intentionally recorded without a low-cut filter, but I had to apply a hard 8:1 compression because the microphones are extremely sensitive, and just normalizing the recording is not enough. It is fascinating how little background noise can be heard even with this level of amplification.