Handheld Recorder reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 154 Reddit reviews across 19 subreddits and 41 posts to rank the best Handheld Recorder brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/fieldrecording, r/AudioPost, r/audioengineering, r/LocationSound, r/podcasting. Top-rated brands include Zoom (4.4/5), Sony (4.5/5), Tascam (4.2/5).
Stats
Reviews154
Subreddits19
Posts41
Brands36
Products45
154 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Zoom
4.4
(44)
"Loving all about it. If there’s not enough inputs - zoom f6."
"I'd recommend the H2N - when I first listened to the audio files it produced, I was blown away."
"2nd on the H2n - very versatile."
"Zoom H6s go for about 170€. It is a great model that I've used to replace my Tascam DR-60D MkII"
"+1 here on the H6 crowd."
"For no nonsense fully lightweight pocket sizes portable recording with high quality, I find the Zoom H5 to be great."
"Zoom F3. It's headroom allows for straight out of a modular as well if you want."
"The Zoom F3 is proving itself hard to beat. 32-bit, clean pre-amps."
"I love the H5 over the H4n for the improved interface alone. The swappable mic units are also pretty convenient too."
"Zoom H5. It has better preamps than the Zoom H4. Comes with XY mic cartridge as well as 2 XLR inputs."
#2
Sony
4.5
(19)
"Sony devices have better mics/noise floor than either the zoom or tascams. i’ve had my sony pcm d50 for a number of years now and it’s a great device"
"I have used a Sony D50 for years and it been flawless."
"Sony PCM-D100 is actually great but a bit pricey."
"Here’s a great (and incredibly in-depth) review of the Sony PCM D100, the successor to the D50."
"If you can afford the D100 I'd go with that. Currently the best portable you can get."
"I love my Sony D50"
"The Sony PCM D10 probably takes the cake on this one."
"I got an used Sony PCM-d50 and cay say its super awesome."
"Sony PCM D10 (or D100 if you can justify the expense) fares MUCH better in my opinion."
"I think the Sony PCM D50 is the best I’ve personally tried."
#3
Tascam
4.2
(19)
"My first choice would be Tascam Dr-100MkIII."
"I would also really recommend a cheaper second hand 24 bit device like the Tascam Dr100 mk3."
"Extra option: second hand Tascam DR 100 mkIII is still a winner and great learning device."
"I stand by tascam - highly recommend."
"Yes, the Tascam is superb recorder."
"The Tascam DR100MKIII is pretty much the best in terms of pre-amps/internals."
"Check out the Tascam DR100mk3, probably the best sub $300 handheld recorder."
"I have a Tascam DR-100mkiii. Like it a lot, and it’s way better than my H4n was."
"Tascam DR-05 V2 they also do a six track recorder for not much more."
"Zoom and Tascam are solid brands though, just grab anything with XLR or rca inputs and you’ll be gucci"
#4
TASCAM
4.3
(10)
"If you want the best quality for under $100 the Tascam DR05 is my favourite."
"I picked up the DR-40, and I've done some light testing to this point, but so far so good! I think it is going to work out great."
"I second the recommendation of the Tascam DR-40. Easy enough to use, the built-in mics sound good, the pres on it are clean, and it's cheaper than the H4n."
"Compare the others w the dr-40x perhaps."
"Tascam DR-40 sounds great."
"Love my Tascam DR40, and the DR100 is even nicer"
"Look into the tascam dp-008ex."
"I've had no problems with the DR-40 and a 58."
"The condenser mics are perfect for my personal recording needs, but they are condensers, so they are incredible sensitive."
"I've been pretty impressed with the Tascam iM2."
#5
Sound Devices
5.0
(6)
"Sound devices Mixpre6 ii"
"Sound devices mixpre series. they makes some cool high end stuff."
"Seriously, it’s what it was designed for. They were $2k new and their preamps are amazing."
"The Zoom F4 or F6 and the MixPre line have much better preamps."
"Sound Devices is the shit. I used the 702T to record location dialogue for a film and it was amazing."
"Sound Devices Mixpre series is next level in terms of clean quiet preamps."
#6
Zoom H6
4.1
(7)
"If you can splurge the H6 gives you 6 track recording (4 xlr inputs, 1 built in interchangeable mic module)."
"I like that it's portable and I can use it as a direct audio interface to the computer when needed."
"Zoom H6essential. Costs less than $300 USD and records in 32-bit float."
"How do you like the H6? Have you found the features over the H1n useful?"
"Zoom H6 still a good option."
"A couple of people have mentioned the zoom h6 - it's very good."
"Zoom for me too but the h6."
#7
Zoom H1n
4.5
(4)
"I got through school w/ my H1N. in fact the demo reel that got me hired was all recorded on it !"
"Zoom h1n. By far."
"A Zoom H1N will do what you need."
"I believe the mic on the h1n is pretty solid, so yes you should get some decent audio from it."
#8
Zoom H5
4.0
(4)
"I use the Zoom H5 - I find it's good quality, and it's easy to use."
"The Zoom H4N Pro or the H5 are great, if you can splurge the H6 gives you 6 track recording."
"I have the Zoom H5 and have used it to record quite a few sound effects for our podcast."
"If it were me I'd grab a Zoom H5 or Zoom H4n Pro."
#9
Zoom H1
4.7
(3)
"I've been using my Zoom H1 for rehearsals and gigs for a while now and it hasn't done me wrong."
"The Zoom H1 is a great value for the money."
"You could get something like a Zoom H1 or a Tascam DR10 which are external recorders with the correct."
#10
Zoom H4n
3.3
(4)
"I have had experience with the Zoom H4N and it is a pretty good piece of equipment."
"Just got a zoom h4n, great little recorder for this stuff."
"On this, what are everyones thoughts on the H4N? Good enough to keep going or time for an upgrade?"
"I've a Zoom H4N. The inbuilt mics are junk as far as I can tell."
#11
Tascam DR-40
4.0
(3)
"Tascam do a few reasonably priced handheld recorders with X/Y mic setups."
"Tascam Dr-40 is a great budget recorder."
"I have a Tascam DR-40 and 2x Marantz Professional MPM-1000 mics."
#12
Marantz
4.5
(2)
"Marantz PMD 661, fantastic devices, great preamps, mods available from Oade Electronics"
"Get a marantz cassette field recorder like PMD-101 - little character lotttta play."
#13
Tascam DR-100 MKIII
4.0
(2)
"I recommend the Tascam DR100 mk3. Great preamps and it's a solid brick of a device."
"It sounds like you'll be very happy with a second-hand Tascam DR-100 MK3."
#14
Zoom H Series
4.0
(2)
"Zoom H series is pretty much the industry standard."
"I like the zoom H series recorders."
#15
Olympus
4.0
(2)
"It's the Olympus WS-700M."
"Olympus LS-5/11 secondhand"
#16
Tascam DR-05
3.5
(2)
"Would i be able to pick up clear and focused sounds with the tascam dr05 or is the h4n a way more obvious choice."
"If you want to make the jump into something that can record in HD, that will give you stereo files you can tinker and edit with on a computer, then I'd go wi"
#17
Generic Handheld Recorder
3.0
(2)
"BTW some recorders can also act as a USB sound card/interface."
"You might take a look at the data sheets to see which one has a lower noise floor."
#18
Sound Devices MixPre-3
5.0
(1)
"If you want to go for something with higher-quality preamps look at something like the Sound Devices MixPre3"
#19
Zoom H8
5.0
(1)
"My band and I use the Zoom H8 for our live practice recordings and we’re quite happy with the results."
#20
Apple
5.0
(1)
"In my experience the iphone default recording app is the best i've found..."
#21
Audio-Technica
5.0
(1)
"AT2020USB+"
#22
Zoom F3
5.0
(1)
"It's likely to outperform every handheld I've seen on the market"
#23
Roland Edirol
5.0
(1)
"I have a Roland edirol now that I love."
#24
Sony A10
4.0
(1)
"If I was in the market for a new handheld it would be the SONY A10 or D10."
#25
Roland R-07
4.0
(1)
"We've been using the Roland R-07. It's small and can be controlled by bluetooth from the app."
#26
Edirol
4.0
(1)
"I still use my original Edirol R-09 every day. The mics have been unmatchable still after about 12 years."
#27
Zoom F8n
4.0
(1)
"Usually I'd recommend the Zoom F8n as the best low budget field recorder there is."
#28
Zoom H2
4.0
(1)
"My H2 has picked up some great tracks."
#29
Sound Devices MixPre
4.0
(1)
"I just bought a sound devices mix pre and am happy."
#30
Zoom H4N Pro
4.0
(1)
"The Zoom H4N Pro or the H5 are great, if you can splurge the H6 gives you 6 track recording."
#31
Tascam F3
4.0
(1)
"Yeah honest the f3 is good. It's got a -127 db EIN, which is still 3 db more than what the mixpre can offer."
#32
Tascam MixPre
4.0
(1)
"You need to go up to a MixPre, Zoom L-12 or F8n for that."
#33
Rode
4.0
(1)
"Most handy recorders won't actually do much better than your iPhone with an accessory mic attached such as the Rode i-XY"
#34
Tascam Portacapture X6
4.0
(1)
"Tascam just released Portacapture x6. I'm waiting for reviews to see if it has same issues as x8, but looks promising so far."
#35
Tascam X8
4.0
(1)
"The top choices for small field recorders have been discontinued, but the Tascam X8 is due out soon."
#36
PMD
3.0
(1)
"The PMD 661 apparently has a battery life of four hours, a zoom H6 twenty hours"
Discover your audience
GummySearch is an audience research toolkit for 130,000 unique communities on Reddit.
If you are looking for startup problems to solve, want to validate your idea or find your customers online, GummySearch is for you.
Sign up for free, get community insights in minutes.
Tell me more
Get started
