Zoom PodTrak P8

Six XLR inputs, battery power, and a touchscreen - built for ambitious podcasts

Best for: Podcasters who run large panels, record in the field, or need to capture every guest on a separate track without a computer

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The PodTrak P8 is a portable multitrack podcast recorder with six XLR inputs, six 3.5 mm headphone outputs, a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, nine sound pads, a phone/TRRS input, USB audio interface functionality, and battery operation via AA cells. It records up to 13 tracks simultaneously to SD card at 16-bit/44.1 kHz.

Key features

6 XLR inputs with up to 70 dB of gain and selectable 48V phantom power
6 independent 3.5 mm headphone outputs with individual level controls
4.3-inch color touchscreen display
9 sound pads with 4 banks (36 total clips)
Records up to 13 simultaneous tracks to SD card
Battery powered (AA cells), USB audio interface, phone/TRRS input

Our take

The PodTrak P8 is the device for anyone who has outgrown four-input consoles or needs to record away from a desk. Six XLR inputs means a five-guest roundtable is possible - something almost nothing else in this price range can do. Battery operation via AA cells is a genuine field-recording advantage. The touchscreen is responsive and the per-channel controls are logical. The honest trade-off: 44.1 kHz / 16-bit recording is notably lower resolution than interfaces at half the price - the P8 trades audio resolution for input count and portability. For spoken-word podcast content, the resolution limit rarely matters in practice. For music or audiophile use cases, it does.