The poor old audio interface has the most important, least glamorous role in the entire studio. It’s expected to do its job flawlessly each and every time, and it only receives any attention when it’s not functioning properly. Otherwise it will toil away for years, often outlasting the computer it’s plugged into. 

The Zoom UAC-232 probably isn’t going to change how the world views audio interfaces, but it is quietly raising the bar for affordable audio interfaces that do more than just allow you to get sound in and out of your device.

What tricks does the UAC-232 have up its sleeves? For starters it’s fully USB-C compliant, which, although it’s becoming standard, is definitely worth celebrating.  

But the brightest feather in the UAC’s cap is 32-bit float recording – it even proudly declares the fact on the front of the unit, so you know it’s a feature Zoom is excited by. Zoom claims that it’s the first dedicated 32-bit float audio interface.

BIT BY BIT

Aside from being a pioneer in bit-depth, the UAC is fairly typical of most small audio interfaces. It includes two XLR/TRS combo inputs, full-size MIDI in and out ports, a headphone output with its own volume knob, stereo TRS main outputs, and a main output volume knob. It makes use of Zoom’s F-Series preamps and features a dedicated button for direct monitoring. Loopback functionality lets you record playback audio from your computer. There’s also an extra USB-C port for powering the device on lightning devices and a security port.

Following on from many of Zoom’s portable recorders, the UAC has familiar rails allowing it to be used horizontally or vertically, as well as mounted to mic stands or tripods. Simple velcro straps would be enough to fix it to most surfaces you could think of. It’s able to do this because it’s surprisingly lightweight, although after using it while travelling it’s thankfully not flimsy. I could happily sling it into a backpack without any fear of it adding weight or becoming damaged in transit.

The UAC was instantly recognised and available to use with both an iPad Pro and a recent generation MacBook Pro, without the need for any software installation or drivers – just plug it in and away you go. Using it across various DAWs and editors, it happily did everything I asked it to, including recording some synthesizers and voiceover, as well as playback of various sources.

Good things come in brown paper parcels. This is what I’ve come to learn from Zoom, which continues its recent habit of plain cardboard packaging. The contents of the box are also simple —  the unit itself, a thin material cover for the microphones and a small quick tour guide printed on paper. Minimal.

The unit is of a tough polymer construction and looks to be robust enough and keeps the M4 lightweight, which is important for a handheld unit of this type.

It has an unusual battery caddy that holds 4 x AA batteries in a pattern that slides into the unit and then has a locking screw on the back — a good solution to ensure the batteries don’t inadvertently fall out. The specs indicate that the four batteries provide 18 hours of operation which is solid for a unit like this.

The windscreen cover that comes with the unit is so thin it feels more like a dust jacket. I will certainly be putting that to the test later in the review.

FIRST 32-BIT IMPRESSIONS

32-bit recording is an incredible format. In theory, it provides a far, far greater dynamic range than you’ll ever need, so peaking and digital ‘overs’ are a thing of the past — in fact, Zoom’s 32-bit products don’t even come with gain controls.

For my particular project, I needed to record the sound of coins moving and sliding like they would in Smaug’s dragon hoard. I decided to treat the M4 with no mercy — just ‘point and shoot’, without any precautions to ensure the recording quality. I set up in the middle of my lounge room with the coins piled on a towel, and I didn’t even bother to switch off the heater fan, so I knew there was a risk of sound contamination. 

To my surprise and the M4’s credit, its built-in mics dealt with this scenario very well. I often wax lyrical about Zoom’s mic preamps (the M4 uses the same pres as Zoom’s pro-grade F Series); they’re really very good, and, combined with good microphones, these Zoom recorders are capable of capturing whisper-quiet sounds. But my test proved that even the M4’s built-in mics will get the job done. Certainly, if I amplified the recording loudly enough, I could hear the heater fan in the background, but for my project, at the levels I needed, it wasn’t audible.

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE NOISE

I was intrigued by the gossamer-thin windshield. It feels like it should be too thin to be effective. Typically, when I need to test for wind noise, nature gives me two or three days of dead calm. The BOM should hire me out. So it was with my time with the M4 — not a breath of wind. To simulate wind noise I swing the device back and forth like a can of billy tea. Pleasingly, it generated no wind noise at all. This is in stark contrast to a device I reviewed last year where any movement of any kind created wind noise against the built-in mics — a very undesirable trait in a handheld device. Conversely, the M4 scores very highly in this regard.

Now to the subject of handling noise. Like any handheld device with microphones onboard there’s a degree of handling noise. My initial impression was that the M4’s handling noise was about on par with the original H series. But after I took time to compare the M4 with the H4N, H1 and the original H4, the M4 performs considerably better in this regard. If you want to avoid handling noise altogether, then don’t handle the device. So nothing beats using external mics — which is something I’ve been doing with the Zoom F6 and F3 recorders for some time now.

The inclusion of a built-in normalisation function is nice, but I’m dubious as to how popular this feature might be. Many digital devices include the ability to edit and manipulate the recordings internally, but in the decades of location sound recording I have never had recourse to such features. I have a range of software I use for various steps of production, and I suspect most other users would be the same. That said, there may be a cohort of in-the-field, in-the-recorder editors I don’t know about. If that’s you, make a comment in the section below!

Zoom has developed new models of USB audio interfaces featuring an industry first 32-bit float recording technology, giving musicians the ability to record pristine audio to their computers and smart devices. The new Zoom UAC-232 (USB Audio Converter) is now available and feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive. As a result, Zoom is moving forward with plans to release an 8-channel interface, giving creators even more inputs and features than originally anticipated (previously announced as 4 channel model UAC-432). 

The Zoom UAC-832 will provide 8 inputs in a rack-mountable unit with added functionality to fit home recording studios as well as live set-ups. The technology built into the UAC series allows the user to capture the highest audio quality possible, with an ultra-wide dynamic range and an incredibly low noise floor. 32-bit float recording, along with sample rates up to 192kHz, processes audio at an increased bit-depth and at full bandwidth. All of this is done without the need to set gain.

Standout Features
32-bit float recording gives musicians peace-of-mind, ensuring that their audio will never clip — no matter how loud or soft the signal, the audio capture is crisp and clean. Additionally, Zoom’s new interfaces feature a robust chassis, XLR/TRS combo jacks, main and headphone outputs, Direct Monitoring and MIDI In/Out.

UAC-232 Available Now.
UAC-832 coming late 2023.

While I write this, someone at Skywalker Sound made a post on social media that can essentially be boiled down to ‘People spend too much time obsessing over the gear and not enough time just pointing mics at things’. While I do own high-end gear I certainly did not start out with it. In fact, I still regularly use lower-priced equipment as part of my regular workflow. I think that if a product can offer useful functionality at a price that allows beginners and hobbyists to be creative, then I will only ever see this as a positive thing. 

MIC CHECK

We could ask why Zoom might bring small form microphones into an already flooded market. Well, many of the other choices are prohibitively expensive — and the way I see it, a fantastic sound captured on any device is more valuable than no sound captured at all.

Price-wise, these Zoom microphones fall roughly into the range of classics such as the SM57 and SM58. These Shure mics have a reputation for being reliable and indestructible, but are also popular for being cheap enough that you can buy one for every member of the band. The ZPC-1 condenser mic is cheap enough that you could buy several for the drum kit, a pair for the piano, and maybe a few more for the acoustic guitars and percussion toys. The price point is likely to be the initial drawcard for many users.

PENCIL ME IN

The boxed presentation of the product feels substantial and sturdy, and the microphones seem well designed and constructed. The box includes two ZPC-1 pencil microphones, as well as clips, windshields, and bags for both mics. The windshields are well considered, with a mounting ring design that clips securely onto the mic. I also appreciate the utilitarian aesthetic of the simple cardboard box. Shipping products in fancy packaging may provide some initial sales buzz but given this is often quickly discarded, Zoom’s option seems like quite a practical alternative.

Some specifications of note are the microphones being able to handle a maximum SPL of 134dB, and a frequency range of 40Hz to 20kHz — these being specifically relevant to me as they are useful for capturing large, loud machinery. These specs also mean that the ZPC-1 is well suited to drums and percussive instruments. Thanks to advancing technologies decreasing the differential between the highest and lowest end of the technology range, the ZPC-1 has specifications that are very close to microphones many times the price.

Zoom has released a trio of 32-bit float, portable recording devices with it’s new MicTrack range. Offering clipping-free audio, the M2 hand-held recorder, M3 on-camera recorder, and M4 4-track recorder provide content creators with an extraordinary breadth of versatility in a wide array of situations and applications.

The M2 MicTrak is Zoom’s latest innovation in portable recording, and with its all-new X/Y mic capsule design the M2 MicTrak always gives you great sound in one take. The mic provides several monitoring options: through the headphone out; the on-board speakers; or visually, via the LCD screen. Its glossy finish also contributes to a reduction in handling noise.

The M3 MicTrak shotgun mic gives filmmakers the ability to elevate their content with pristine audio. By default, this on-camera stereo microphone / recorder saves a backup mid-side RAW to allow for the adjustment of stereo width in post, and has a specially designed shock-mount to minimise handling noise.

The M4 MicTrak is the first portable recorder equipped with 32-bit float recording and built-in timecode generator, giving filmmakers and musicians everything they need to capture outstanding audio. It features X/Y capsules, with two additional mic inputs via the XLR inputs, and colour LCD display for visual feedback of the waveform in realtime.

More information about 32-bit float audio here.

M2 MicTrak
RRP A$399

M3 MicTrak
RRP A$399

M4 MicTrak
RRP A$799