Question: There are so many reviews spread around the web about the Zoom H4N, some of them praise this recorder, other say some things about bad preamps, hissy mics etc...

Who has had experiences with this device? Would you recommend it? How are the internal mics? I am thinking about going out into the woods to record ambient sounds. 
I also like the multi-track feature and would like to use external mics, too.

Answer: 
I love mine...Always in my briefcase, and often in my booth. 

I don't find the XLR's on my version to be noisy (not that I'm recording REALLY quiet sounds with it) - assuming you have your phantom power set correctly. The H4n has both 24 and True 48 volts phantom power, and I have found a lot of mics don't like the 24v very much, which is what the unit defaults to. Of course 48v eats batteries a LOT faster.
I spent a year with it, recording corporates...short films etc and I have to say that it got me through them, albeit clumsily. For field recording, I'm sure you can get some really nice results, but for stuff like shorts, I had no-where near enough control…but that's why you pay for something like the SD744 I guess. 

For recorders in its class I'm pretty confident in saying it beats them all, but it depends how much you need to push it.