The Zoom H6 looks good, but it's very new and I don't think any of the regulars here have tried it to report on.

cupakm,

I have only seen the ads for the Zoom H6, but I, like Boswell, think it looks interesting. I have a Zoom H2N and I love it. I know a ton of people use the H4N and have great success with it as well. I just recently purchased the Tascam DR-680. It's called an 8-track, but tracks 7&8 are really just a stereo mix of the other 6 or can be fed SPDIF, so I view it mostly as a 6 track. It has 4 XLR or 1/4" inputs and two 1/4" only inputs. It's a little funny with setting levels using switches and the menu, but for a fairly small portable device, you've got to sacrifice something I guess. I've only used it a couple of times, but so far I like it a lot. I haven't used it on battery power only yet, so I can't comment on battery life, but it will run on 8 AA batteries. It's more expensive than I remember seeing for the Zoom H6, I think. Those two, as well as the H4N really (4-track), are the ones you should definitely compare.

Have fun!

Rob

The best four track option would be anything by Sound Devices. That said, the Tascam R44 or R88 is a tremendous unit with massive versatility including battery operation w/phantom for many hours. The Zoom H4n has been a great unit for the budget conscious so the H6 should hopefully be up to the same quality.