Zoom XYH-6 Adjustable X/Y Stereo Condenser Microphone Capsule for Select Zoom Recorders

The Zoom XYH-6 X/Y microphone capsule comes standard with the H6. The capsule adds two matched high-quality unidirectional microphones to your H5 or H6 Handy Recorder, and also, your Q8 HD Video/4-Track Audio Recorder. This kind of microphone is most sensitive to signal coming from directly in front, and less sensitive to signal coming from behind or from the sides; in technical terms, they are said to utilize a cardioid polar pattern. These mics have the largest diaphragm size (0.579” = 14.6mm) of any ever available on a portable recorder.

The X/Y miking technique is optimal when you want to cover a wide area and still capture sound sources in the center with clarity and definition, making it great for all types of live stereo recording.

Playing back stereo X/Y tracks in mono results in a fuller sound than you would get with one microphone, but if mono compatibility is critical (for example, in television production), the Mid-Side (MS) mic technique can be a better choice.

As shown in this illustration above, the angle of the two mics can easily be changed from 90 degrees to 120 degrees for a wider stereo image (US Patent 8184815).