I originally considered the H4 as a possible unit, but a considerable study of online reviews convinced me otherwise. As attractive as it is at its pricepoint, with cutting edge features, the machine is plagued by a number of design flaws:
1. The unit is cheaply made and fragile as hell. Don't drop it.
2. The buttons suck, and die frequently, requiring many repair returns
3. (this is a deal killer) The input gain control is placed in the signal chain *after* the preamp, so if a loud signal is clipping the preamp, and you turn the input gain down, all you get is quieter clipping
4. The screen is wicked small and very difficult to read
5. The menus are often counter-intuitive
6. The buttons are in stupid places, so it takes two hands to do things you should be able to do with one, increasing handling noise
In spite of all of that, when it works, it actually sounds pretty good.
The good news is that Samson/Zoom seems to have actually read these reviews, and set out to fix it all, resulting in
the H4n. Yep, it costs $350 with the accessories, instead of $200. Considering the pains in the ass it doesn't give you, it's simply worth it. Line by line, it has been redesigned:
1: Case rubberized, with mics placed in solid aluminum block
2. Buttons upgraded
3. Input gain placed *before* preamps (Duh!)
4. larger, much easier to read screen
5. menus simplified and better organized
6. Buttons moved to more standard/ergonomic locations- optional remote control card available
The people who have used the H4 talked me out of it, and after using the H4n for a while, I have not regretted paying the extra $ for it. If you can't afford it, buy a simple stereo machine like H2. It doesn't do as many things, but it also doesn't have as many problems. I'd also look at the equivalent Tascam machine.
P.S.- The H4n is also a pretty good USB audio interface, which allows recording straight to a computer in WAV format, and comes with the Cubase software, if you don't already own a DAW. BTW, you mention 24bit 96kHz sampling. Note that either the H4 or H4n will do that, but only in stereo mode. When used as a 4-tracker, it only supports 16bit/44.1 kHz, and that is the only stting where you can use all of its effects- compression/reverb/amp modeling, etc. Good luck-Richie
Yo JW: