Zoom have applied their considerable expertise in standalone recorders to the burgeoning podcasting hardware market. The result is the PodTrak P8, a touchscreen-equipped capture and mixing device that can accommodate six mic inputs and as many headphone outs.
The touchscreen provides control over the preamps (which can offer a generous 70dB of gain, making them suitable even for vintage broadcast dynamic mics), as well as the P8's mixing and editing features. Three further inputs cater for remote contributors: you can hook up a smartphone to either the TRRS socket on the top panel, or a Bluetooth input, and you can even incorporate Skype and Zoom calls into your podcast thanks to a USB return. Those last three inputs also have 'mix-minus' monitoring, to prevent feedback or distracting echoes when taking phone or Internet calls.
Other features include an 'on air' button, so that you can converse with your guests unrecorded during ad breaks and the like, and a 3x3 pad soundboard, which you can use to trigger adverts, jingles and sound effects. The device functions as a 2x2 USB audio interface, with SD card storage up to 512GB or connection to a computer.
The Zoom PodTrak P8 is set to sell for £550 in the UK, and we'll be bringing you an in-depth review of it in an upcoming issue of Sound On Sound. In the mean time, click below to watch Zoom's introductory video.
