iPhone 11 Vs ZOOM H5 Vs RODE NT4 - Classical Musician Perspective

Small criticism: Why do we hear the NT4 recording in mono? It's an XY stereo mic but it seems you've mono-summed the recording to monaural center. That's a huge shame and makes the mic sound much worse than it actually is. Stereo image is a huge factor in how these mics differ from each other.

The NT-4 is recorded in mono, which makes any comparison here with it skewed.

I don't know the intrinsic quality of the NT4, but if you really want to hear the sound it can reproduce, you should plug it into a Zoom series F, F3 or F6 for example. There it is limited by the preamps of the Zoom H5 which are significantly lower in quality than the Zoom F series. You need good preamps to compare microphones otherwise you will hear very little difference.

Pana filmy są fantastyczne. Genialny muzyk, wspaniały gawędziarz i doskonały sprzedawca!

The iPhone was really impressive - especially in direct comparison to the rode. Sadly the iphone is kind of compressed BUT doesn´t add that hiss noise when compressing. Huge plus.

Hello! Thank you so much for this video. I am a professional cellist and very soon starting to record Bach Suites in a very special small romanic monastery in Galicia…: ) I bought the zoom h5 instead of contracting profesional sound engeneers etc..I am hoping it all works out on the recording side and that I manage the correct distance and positioning and volume levels. I will be alone so lets see. Any tips welcome….

Thank you for these videos. I bought an iPad12.9 pro for reading music. It’s excellent to recording music too ( good video and audio quality). But….I can’t use it if I’m playing, so I’ve bought the Zoom Q8-4n. Good audio quality, but the worst video quality! A smartphone is better! I’m thinking to change my Zoom with an iPhone 11…

I’m listening with mixing headphones right now. I’m partial to Zoom because of the richness and vibrance of the sound. The Rode sounds really good too, it picks up so well on small details. The iPhone just does the job like some guy on a graveyard shift. I think it really depends on your industry what you will use it for. Like, for film making - definitely zoom. I think for studio, the rodes is good. For just casual vlogging, or journalism, the iphone should suffice.

I'm listening through high quality monitor speakers and I am amazed at how similar they are! Especially shocked that the expensive Rode didn't far surpass the others. Now a piano might be quite different. A much more complex sound?

Personally the Zoom sounds the best, while I found the iPhone and Rode to be roughly on par with the Rode sounding only slightly better than the iPhone.

All three sound surprisingly the same, but then they have very similar elements. Perhaps repeating the test with a large diaphragm condenser would show a bigger difference. The H5 has a built-in compressor which would give you that head room in recording levels you are looking for. Just remember to expand the recording in post to drop the noise floor. All three would be bad to record a live performance because they aren't directional enough to cancel out audience coughing. Avoid using limiters because they distort the sound, just not as much as clipping.

The nt4 wins easily through monitor speakers.

The zoom does seem to have more detail at first but i think its cause the low end is dropped off. The rode has a smoothness that I think would show its benefit during a longer listen, also the rode picks up the dynamics of the vibrato more palpably, its more "there". Nice compare and excellent playing!! Thanks! (Someone mentioned it... I think the nt4 is in mono...)

Zoom sounded livelier.

The iPhone capture sound very different in selfie mode then standard mode.
I did the test with iphone 13.
Selfie sonde better.
Memo note can record lossless that sound very close.
The best way in my opinion is to record sound in GarageBand in fun mode -clean.
Way better than sound in video

Liked it just from the title alone. Can't wait to hear the differences.

Zoom any day!

“ViolinTech” ??
I came here because I’m looking for a recorder for nature sounds and probably for other situations and this channel came among the results. You find very specific channels these days xD
Anyway, great reviews!, informal in some degree but always professional !

Thanks for your time to do this comparison

The NT4 is the obvious choice, it is for sure better than Zoom's stock XYs in terms of load. But the H5 is still really cool.

H5 is great

As a studio engineer, in this comparison the Rode clearly is more sensitive; the Zoom has more top end but a higher noise floor. Regarding the dynamic range, consider that the Zoom and iPhone most likely are running inbuilt limiters. Surprising how good the iPhone mic is, albeit the least 'directional'. In a recording context, I think the Rode has it; but for streaming video, where codec quality is hugely limiting and most people are listening on sub-optimal equipment, it's questionable in terms of value - a modest condenser and some room treatment might yield better results.

Thank you for making this video, it is so helpful!

Why Rode in mono?

Since I don't need a phone I was comparing the other two and as you said, the NT4 had so much more warmth and body to it (I'm listening through studio monitors).

Yeah clear win for zoom. But the rode probably comes in hand in noisy environment

Was puzzled that the NT4 gave no stereo separation in my headphones, unlike the H5. Is it possible that only one channel emerged as a mono channel?

Great video!
Thanks for sharing!

Zoom H5 with the xy straight out of the box is killer in many situations. I have stuffed it into a beat up open lid upright piano, and it sounds amazing. Brilliant for capturing a band in a room (keep those levels way down…amps…drums🙄), solo performances. Handling noise can be really obvious so hang on with a death grip or stabilize any way you can. I used to use an Apogee mic with my older iPhones and iPads, now I think about ditching the Duet and the iRig and using what is on board. I am keeping the Zoom, though. Fantastic kit.

MAn thank you so much!!!! Zoom thinner, Rode more depth-width... I think I will buy the Zoom for now. Thank you so much!!!!

The Zoom is the best.......Iphone is the worst

The interesting question is: what's better? The Zoom AND a microphone (or two) that costs less than the Rohde alone. Also: The Rohde, on its own, does nothing since you need something to record and provide phantom power. So I'd say one has at least 300 euros left to buy microphones that might just beat the Rohde and can be placed anywhere in the room.

the rode sounds best on my monitors for the desired application here, being reproduction of important violin sounds. I'm a violinist and worked in studios my whole life. im using small reference speakers to listen back

were you using a camera to record this video?

Can i use the Iphone 11 for its Video recording (minus the audio) and still use the Zoom H5 for audio? Best of both worlds it seems.

The Zoom recording sounded best. But fairly certain that the Røde was a bit further off than the Zoom. It sounded like there was more room reverb on the Røde recording.

Cristal clear, thank you. Zoom H5 should be my next friend.

i can hear barely any difference and scene as i have an iphone there would be no point spending £300 on a zoom h5.

Hi! Does the H5 work straight into the iPhone without other external power source? With Zoom H1 I get that message that the device uses too much power and it doesn't work....

Excellent review and assessment - so clear.

Thanks!!

رائع 💙

The Zoom sounded much better than I expected! I think it would’ve been informative to hear the Rode into say Logic Pro with EQ etc. It would’ve shown it’s quality against the Zoom more distinctively I suspect.

the zoom was better and I use zoom too but the H4n.

Seems sound treating your room is far more important than buying an expensive mic. Hmm 🤔🤔🤔

Sir, thank you so much for very useful , very well made video. Being a musician myself I know how difficult is recording strings! Your iPhone sounds surprisingly good even in studio monitor headphones! Though my choice would be the Zoom with Zoom mics. Thank you for excellent playing too. It is so rare to see a good player in a tech video. I usually stop watching them at the moment they start moving the bow:)))

Rode NT4 is easily the best,,,, also I am thinking a pair of NT5 mics would be good for violin

iphone 11 : flat ..no saturation
Zoom H5 : clear and dynamic ( great result )
RODE NT4 : warm, classic and so delightful