Zoom XYH-5 X/Y Capsule

The sound quality on this mic really exceeded my expectations. I've been a photographer for a few years, and in the last 2 my focus has been on concert photography. Well, no $4,000 DSLR on the market has the quality audio you'd expect so I had to find an alternative method to recording audio for client's music videos. The ZOOM Q8 did a superior job with just the mic it came with, but this XYH-5 took it up one more notch! I only use the Q8 for audio purposes unless I'm recording my own personal guitar playing and vocals for YouTube vids. I do not require high-quality picture when it's just my stuff going up on social media.I've tried a few different methods recording audio with the Q8, such as Microphone>>Mixer>>Q8, and running the Q8 on board my Nikon. When I'm on the go at music venues or concerts, taking my mixer and a bunch of gear is not ideal, and honestly, this microphone with the Q8, and settings on Compression or Leveler, sounds just as good. They really got the mixing options right in this recorder, and it's made shooting music videos so much easier. Audio with DSLR has always been a daunting task to handle. I've spent so much money trying to find the right gear and maintain a simple workflow. I'm talking thousands of dollars. The Q8 or even the Zoom handheld recorders like the H4 and H6 are definitely the way to go. I only decided to upgrade to the Q8 to have a simple video/audio option for my personal music, like I said. The video is definitely good enough for YouTube or social media purposes!This mic specifically, did beautifully in concert and small venue settings. It even does wonders in my living room! No floor noise when using the filter options, which is just amazing. None of the rooms in my home are sound-dampened for recording, and for my needs, it's not at-all necessary since I have the Q8. The clarity is amazing, and their compression is perfect for this soloist. I really don't even bother with any post production when I use their compression setting.Anyway, this mic was made for music shows! Both mics exceed, but as previously stated, this one took it up a notch or two! Don't waste time if you haven't purchased a Zoom recorder yet. Save yourself the hassle.Sorry Amazon! I actually purchased my Q8 on my Musiciabs Friend account, but I did get the mic on here!

This stereo mic module is stellar! Excellent fat forward elliptic stereo pattern without being punchy.It works w/o any issues whatsoever and has great separation and clean center pick-up pattern that is predictable and not punchy.... smooth roll-off as you walk around the recorder.I use this for ambient city "traffic" on a Zoom F1 and was completely satisfied out of the box...NP!!!

I got this as an upgrade to the XY without the suspension. It has extremely high self noise. So much that I found it unusable. Also the plastic ring that holds the suspension on fell of the first time I took it out of the box.

the XYH-5 has a wonderful advantage for recording in crowded places: the windscreen is separated from the recording level knob by a metal bar. The xyh-6 is missing the bar, so if anyone bumps the windscreen it turns the knob which changes the recording level :(Add a 140.dB max SPL (only 136 for the xyh-6) and you have a winner. Love the xyh-5 :)

works well

Does the job

I like it

Well designed, would definitely suggest to a friend needing something like this.

Veramente un ottima cpsula XY per la registrazione più forte e rotonda rispetto quella in dotazione sull'H6 che rimane più brillante. Ottima la risposta sulle basse... unico neo a me è arrivata la prima con uno sbilanciamento notevole del panorama stereo a SX .. così ne ho ordinata un'altra che è andata bene... non è perfettamente centrata anch'essa ma è accettabile la registrazione. Consigliata!

this is the best sounding mic out of all of the zoom mics apart from the Zoom SSH-6 Stereo Shotgun but thats a shotgun mic better for outside