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Buyer's Guide | Audio Recorders

Updated March 1st, 2025


Affiliate Disclosure: The links to products in this guide are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. These commissions help support us, allow us to keep these guides up to date, and create future content.

When picking an audio recorder, decide how many microphones you need to connect. For example, for my purposes as a solo shooter with the H5, I rarely used two inputs, but it was nice to have three inputs on one occasion for a mobile podcast shoot. We’re going to bend our rule here and include three options in The Independent and The Industry Pro for shooters who might need more inputs but they are otherwise essentially the same product (unless noted).


Keep in mind that 4 tracks does not mean 4 microphones, the 3.5mm input on the top of the Zoom H5 is a stereo input which means L/R counts as 2 tracks (so that means 3 microphones total.)


Both The Hobbyist and Independent are products from Zoom which we have direct experience using, but we realize are just as good as products from Zoom’s primary competitor, Tascam. If you find a better deal on a directly comparable Tascam, you won’t go wrong.


Pricing Tier Key

The Hobbyist: Entry-level gear for video shooters to improve their skills without a large investment.

The Independent: Prosumer gear designed for serious creators that balance performance and real-world budgets.

The Industry Pro: High-end gear for professionals that meets the demands of industry-tier production environments.


The Hobbyist

Includes 1x 3.5mm input. It’s a lightweight and easy-to-use recorder that offers 32-bit float recording and built-in XY microphones. Good for capturing on-the-go music, interviews, or sound design.

Zoom H1essential Stereo Handy Recorder

The Independent

Includes 2x XLR inputs and 1x 3.5mm input. A versatile four-track recorder that captures great quality audio and supports all kinds of recording scenarios, from mobile podcasting to field recording.

Zoom H4essential

The Independent

Includes 4x XLR inputs and 1x 3.5mm input. Features a slightly lower noise floor than the H5 (which, sadly, after appears to be outphased by the essential line for this new flagship model.) The new H6 features a new 3.0 capsule system which supports 32-bit float recording. Zoom currently has three optional capsules and promises to release more.

Zoom H6essential

The Independent

Zoom H8 | $387

The Freaky Audio Spider includes 6x XLR inputs and 1x 3.5mm input. This is great for music setups or if you happen to have 6+ podcast guests. That sounds like chaos but, hey, at least everyone’s voices will sound good.

Zoom H8

The Industry Pro

Includes 2x XLR and 1x 3.5mm inputs. A serious upgrade known for exceptional sound quality and a robust build. It offers 32-bit float recording, making it capable of handling a wide dynamic range without distortion. This recorder is ideal for audio engineers and filmmakers. (Note: For whatever reason Amazon doesn't sell Sound Devices products so we're linking to B&H.)

Sound Devices MixPre-3 II

The Industry Pro

Includes 4x XLR and 2x 3.5mm inputs. A serious upgrade known for exceptional sound quality and a robust build. It offers 32-bit float recording, making it capable of handling a wide dynamic range without distortion. This recorder is ideal for audio engineers and filmmakers.

Sound Devices MixPre-6 II

The Industry Pro

Includes 8x XLR and 2x 3.5mm inputs. A serious upgrade known for exceptional sound quality and a robust build. It offers 32-bit float recording, making it capable of handling a wide dynamic range without distortion. This recorder is ideal for audio engineers and filmmakers.

Sound Devices MixPre-10 II

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