by David Redmond

I’ve been using Zoom products for quite a few years. There’s a h4N pro beside me as I write, and I’ve also used the H6 in the past. The audio quality of both products is incredible in my view, and while I have been disappointed by some Zoom products in the past too, notably the Zoom IQ6,  they really are tempting me to spend money again.

Zoom recently announced new products in the handy recorder range, and they come with one brilliant feature. They’ve got a screen reader built-in, making them truly accessible audio recorders.

Firstly, I just want to say a huge well done to the team at Zoom. I’ve worked professionally in content for a while now and I know from experience that every radio station will usually have some form of Zoom product. The fact that these products are starting to ship with accessibility features now will make such a difference to those who use them.

The new accessible audio recorders in the zoom range.

The new recorders are the Zoom h1E, H4E, and h6E. The e in all three cases stands for essential. All three have 32-bit float recording, and the h4E and H6E also have XLR inputs. The devices can act as USB microphones, so in theory, if I wanted to broadcast an event to our V I Live service I could just plug Zoom into an iPad and use an app like Backpack Studio to stream the audio.

Realistically is that something I’d do? Probably not, but It’s always good to have options. The fact you can do all that on a device under €500 is in my view incredible. Not only is it under €500, but It’s well under €500. The H1E comes in at €109, the h4E is €219, and the H6E comes in at €329. For decent audio gear with accessibility built in, that’s great pricing in my opinion.

Users will be able to use the voice guidance feature in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, or Chinese. So, the product will hopefully be accessible to content creators across the world.

I’ve got really high hopes for this range of products, and while I definitely won’t be running out to buy right now, I’d certainly consider a H6E when my H4N pro decides not to work anymore.

Seeing professional equipment like this ship with accessibility features built-in is honestly such good news, and I’m hoping it’s a trend we see continue.

I hope this role will come out across the full zoom range in time, and hopefully, this can be a wake-up call to other players to add accessibility features to their products.

The new Zoom recorders are expected in q2 of 2024. For now, well done to Zoom. Hopefully, this turns out to be as good as it sounds.