PART 2 — 32-bit Float Audio Recorder Quality

Our sound and lighting courses can be found at https://school.learnlightandsound.com!

In this week’s episode, in our second part in this series, we discuss in a bit more detail, the difference in audio quality between budget and higher priced 32-bit float audio recorders.

Cue these up in different browser tabs and you can listen to them back to back:
ZOOM H4essential review:    • Zoom H4essential: I'm Ambivalent... | Curt...  
Tascam DR-07XP review:    • TASCAM DR-07XP - What's new?  
ZOOM F6:    • Zoom F6 Audio Recorder Review  
ZOOM F3:    • ZOOM F3 32-bit float audio recorder review  
ZOOM H1 XLR:    • ZOOM H1 XLR vs ZOOM F3 Audio Recorders  
Tascam FR-AV2:    • Tiny but Mighty Audio Recorder — TASCAM FR...  
ZOOM F8n Pro:    • ZOOM F8n Pro Audio Recorder Review  
Sound Devices MixPre:    • Sound Devices MixPre II Series Audio Recor...  

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. Our latest courses cover Sound for Live Streaming with the ATEM Mini and an Intro to Izotope RX. See https://school.learnlightandsound.com for more info!

Support my work creating videos by donating at Ko-Fi.com: http://ko-fi.com/curtisjudd

Gear used or mentioned in this episode (the links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases):

Zoom F3 — https://geni.us/6RvZm
Zoom F6 — https://geni.us/pCFS
Zoom F8n Pro — https://geni.us/fdkN4s
Sound Devices MixPre series recorders — https://geni.us/O8e0
Sennheiser MKH50 boom microphone — https://geni.us/iYb065
Impact Turtle-Base C-Stands — https://geni.us/8a8tt
Aputure LS 600x Pro Bicolor LED Light — https://geni.us/EreRQa
Aputure Light Dome III Softbox — https://geni.us/AVHU1p
Rosco Prismatic Glass Gobo in Cool Lavender — https://geni.us/GWKt
Canon C70 Cinema Camera — https://geni.us/ABYB
Canon RF 24-70 f/2.8 lens — https://geni.us/qwsEs
Panasonic GH5 camera — https://geni.us/InspOl
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 II lens — https://geni.us/gr47

The outro music for this episode is from Musicbed - “Dynamo” by Virgil Arles. Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself: https://geni.us/G7by

Copyright 2025, Curtis Judd

#audio #recorder #32-bit

Index
00:00 This video is brought to you by…
00:08 Why some 32-bit float recorders sound better than others
01:13 How 32-bit float works in more detail
02:53 Recombining multi-converter audio is tricky
04:04 How 32-bit float can potentially achieve less self-noise
04:35 Where do the cheap recorders skimp?
05:42 Why do the cheap recorders skimp?
06:38 Cheap recorders with cheaper preamps
07:08 Cheap microphones makes lower quality audio
07:32 What else can go wrong?
08:29 Every component of the audio signal chain matters
09:42 What are the good sounding 32-bit float recorders?
11:27 Please buy my courses