Zoom's tiny F6 uses 32-bit floating point converters to overcome the need for user-adjustable input gain. How does it sound? 32-bit floating-point has been a processing standard for years and, now, as an audio file format theoretically provides a staggering dynamic range compared to Linear PCM. As a rule-of-thumb, Linear PCM offers a dynamic range of 6dB per bit, so 16-bit offers 96dB, 24-bit offers 144dB, and 32-bit offers 192dB. In comparison, the 32-bit floating-point format provides over 1500dB of dynamic range, which is far more than will ever be needed to represent the dynamic range of an analogue audio signal. Dynamic range is measured as the difference between a device's noise floor and its maximum level before distortion. According to the user manual, the F6 has an EIN (Equivalent Input Noise) of -127dBu and a maximum input level of +4dBu on the microphone inputs, giving it a dynamic range of 131dB. With over 1500dB of dynamic range to play with, the F6's converters are easily able to accommodate the 131dB of dynamic range offered by its analogue input circuits and deliver a signal that levels in post. Nonetheless, if you're using the F6 in Dual mode and using the 32-bit Float files as backups in the event of clipping the Linear PCM files, you're not going to be worried about a bit of noise if it makes the difference between a useful recording and a clipped recording.
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