Product Comparison: Tascam DR-22WL vs Zoom H1

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Best Pick

Tascam DR-22WL Portable Handheld Recorder with WiFi

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Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder

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General Specifications

Brand

Tascam

Zoom

Model

DR-22WL

Origin

Japan

China

About the Product

The groundbreaking DR-22WL from TASCAM is the first portable recorder to include Wi-Fi for transport control, file transfer, and audio streaming to your smartphone or PC. Other innovations like the new Scene Dial make it easier than ever to capture great-sounding recordings and share them online. A set of stereo condenser microphones is arranged in true XY pattern for ideal stereo imaging. The eight-position Scene Dial selects recording settings for typical situations, or can be set to full manual for greater control.

The ultra-compact H1 Handy Recorder brings new meaning to the term "portability." Small enough to slip in your pocket, it offers professional-quality stereo recording at an incredibly affordable price. Take it with you wherever you go—live concerts and band rehearsals, location video shoots, lectures and meetings—or use it to capture your musical ideas whenever inspiration strikes.

Key Specs

Maximum Recording Time

17.5 hours

10 hours

Voice-Activated Recording

Frequency Response

20Hz to 40kHz

Recording Quality

96kHz, 24bit

Number Of Recording Modes

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Tascam DR-22WL Portable Handheld Recorder with WiFi

After a lot of research on different audio recorders, I finally--and happily--ended up purchasing the Tascam DR-22WL recorder. My main purpose for this recorder was for recording work meetings, lectures, and audio overlays for making video tutorials.
After setting to mono, interview mode at 24 bit 95 khz and taping a long improv including an a capella song with the device on a tripod about 2.5 feet away the results were amazing.
Battery life is good though I understand using the Wi-Fi feature (which I don't use) will drastically reduce battery life. I have used this product daily for over a month now recording and only now are the batteries starting to die out.
A decent recorder for grab-and-go situations where you just need quick, simple, no fuss setup and generally good audio quality, like a band practice session or ad hoc interview.
The battery life is very poor when you use the Wi Fi . But all in all a good recorder and the sound quality is good.

Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder

This is an incredible product; the superb sound quality one expects from Samson and amazingly simple operation (one button recording!)
I love it, have used it for live music sessions and interviews -- 69 hours of continuous recording at 128kps, that's 5 days!
This is really great sound quality for this amount of money. It is easy to use. You can either use the built in microphones or attach a lavalier with a 3.5 mm plug.
the sound quality is excellent for the lowest cost mic from the excellent Zoom product line.
My only real complaint with it is the high frequency response is about on par with a SM-58 - nowhere near as good as you'd expect from a condenser mic.
It's a good little recorder but you can't turn it off and come back to the same spot you left off at, you have to start from the beginning again unless you use markers.

Size & Weight

Height

6.1 in.

5.35 in.

Width

2.1 in.

1.73 in.

Depth

1.4 in.

1.22 in.

Weight

4.3 oz.

2.12 oz.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Tascam DR-22WL Portable Handheld Recorder with WiFi

Sweet and comfortable.. Very light and the you pick up is equal to a larger size mixer.
The quality of the size, the feel, the menu system, and the amazing sounding internal mics were great, but there were issues
Then again, that weight might have made this harder to use after a few minutes. The form factor is good, you even get a tripod mount and a supplied stand for unattended recording.
The physical unit is remarkably compact for a 4-track recorder.
Feels cheap. compared to my Sony, the TASCAM feels like a toy, like its too light for its large size or something

Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder

Super handy two track (stereo) recorded.
This is a great backup for my Tascam DR-100. It is perfect for most DSLR audio since it is small, lightweight, and has a big record button.
Its a compact recorder. easy to use and the quality or feel of the product is a 4 out 6.
If Zoom could have but a better body on this handy recorder then it would be perfect.
The body is very cheaply designed. It is difficult to say the least to open the micro sd door in order to get to the micro sd.
The bad part is it is made out of cheap plastic and the part that is around the mics, assumably to protect it, bends and breaks with the slightest pressure.

Features

Display Type

128×128 pixel oversized graphic LCD with backlight

127 segment custom LCD (with backlight)

Computer Compatibility

Yes

Cue Marker Function

Yes

1-Touch Recording

Yes

Supported File Formats

WAV, BWF, MP3

WAV, MP3

Integrated Speaker

Yes

Interfaces

MicroUSB port, Line out 3.5mm jack, microSD card slot

microSD card slot, Mic/line input jack, Mini USB jack

Extras

Sharing the Recorded Audio Files in other Apps and Cloud Services, Renaming or Deleting the Files, Renovated Graphic Design Allows Easy, Intuitive Operation, Peak Mark function, Protect function, High-Quality Condenser Microphones, Cardioid Condenser Mics in an X-Y Pattern, Remote Wi-Fi Control, Peak Reduction and Limiter, Automatic Track Creation by Time, Tripod attachment screw-hole built in to the unit

Up to 99 marks per recording, Auto Level, Low-cut filter, Mounts directly to tripod, mic stand or DSLR, 90˚ X/Y stereo mic

Integrated Speaker
Cue Marker Function

What customers say about "Features"

Tascam DR-22WL Portable Handheld Recorder with WiFi

The manual mode allows you to adjust for any scenario as well as having the preset modes. The menu navigation on the device is highly intuitive.
This is an excellent recorder for all kinds of applications, and yes, at higher settings you really can produce almost CD-quality recordings. In other words, the device works exactly as advertised.
With the right positioning of the recorder and externals the judicial mixdown produced can be very satisfying indeed of publishable quality level (if need be).
As I have indicated, the device does a great job recording. File transfer is a breeze. I have a MAC and just plug the device into my computer, grab my file, and dump it into Garageband...very easy.
Does a good job the sound is good the features are good, I think they need some improvement on the software, I like the fact you can you use the phone to stop and start the recorder and you can set input levels, the software on the unit is a bit cumbersome.
I build and play acoustic guitars. I wanted to record the guitars that I've built, so I ordered the Tascam because of it's WiFi capability. The unit came, minus the micro SD.

Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder

It has a very widely adjustable input gain, the ability to plug into outboard mic or line level signals, and great battery life. It can record in WAV or MP3, and it's very easy to set up for recording and to extract the audio via USB or sliding the memory card into your computer.
It doesn't have XLR inputs like the higher end units do, but it's also much cheaper than those units. It does have a 3.5mm input for very basic microphones. It's also not very compact, so it's probably not best for hidden recordings.
I love this little 'take-anywhere' recorder. It is extremely easy to use and very light-weight, It cannot get any easier than this when it comes to using it.
Very easy to use right out of box, play back is super easy. Holds a lot of music in MP3 format
The record button on this device is large and easy to reach, even with gloves on. The audio is also very easy to sync with the GoPro video during post. The audio and GoPro sync well when the bit rate is set to constant, not dynamic.
"Auto Level" occasional does some weird level jumping, so now I just use "Manual".

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

CE, RoHS

FCC, CE

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download