DIY Portable Mic Preamp for Zoom H2

With 486 comments at last count, our discussion on the Zoom H2 handheld surround recorder is teeming with questions and tips. One of the latest struck me, because I'd been wondering about this myself. Reader Lee Wong wrote:

Help! Does anyone have a schematic they can share for making a really small, portable preamp so I can stick my Soundman OKM II mics in to the H2?

Within hours, reader Gershon responded with this link to reader Trevor Marshall's home-built preamp. Here's a photo of the outside; the inside looks nothing like I expected, given the promise of high fidelity. (I won't ruin the surprise; click the photo below to see it.)

Trevor Marshall's DIY microphone preamp for the Zoom H2 reportedly provides much better quality.

Don't miss our extensive review of the Zoom H2 and follow-up article on turning its recordings into surround-sound DVDs.