M-Audio's Microtrack CF-based recorder is now real
posted Jul 25th 2005 8:33AM
We caught the secret prototype of this a few weeks
ago, and now M-Audio has announced this unit, complete with a name change — it's officially the Microtrack, a
CompactFlash-based handheld 2-channel audio recorder. At $499 it's on the expensive side for something that doesn't
have any internal storage, but what sets this apart from the average DAP with line-in is its built-in mic preamps with
48V phantom power (it also ships with an included stereo electret microphone). It'll record at 24-bit/96KHz resolution
to WAV or direct to MP3, the latter of which is handy as a songwriter's tool because you can dump files right from the
device to your computer via USB 2.0 and send them to your bandmates/collaborators. The Microtrack is also sporting a
S/PDIF input so you can grab the output from digital mixers or other digital recording devices. Not too shabby for
something that weighs about a pack of cards.
[Via Music Thing]
I'd actually find this kind of thing pretty useful, with my 512MB CF and all. The only problem is the price. Can't they just make a smaller and cheaper box with line-in that can do decent 128kbps MP3s? It doesn't even need a screen.
Price is 2x, maybe 3x what it should be, especially since it has no storage.
It's an interesting idea but it's an iPod accessory away from being killed, especially at that price if someone made a battery powered mixer/pre-amp and utilized the iPod's line-in interface they could charge $100 for it and it would still be a cheaper solution than this by a long shot.
Damn I'm in the wrong business.
oh and.. *Homer Simpson* PATENT PENDING!
I actually bought a Minidisk recorder hoping that it would serve as a cheap portable audio recorder. Then I found out that you can only digitally transfer files that are in that awful ATRAC format. And there are all sorts of strings attached to that, too.
Oh, and I agree with the above comments. Too pricey.
Re #3, The latest minidisc (HiMD) can transfer uncompressed PCM files digitally as .WAV files. THis does require a little freeware app (HiMDRenderer), but I think the latest edition of Sony's software can handle it on it's own. See http://minidisc.org for more info.
With recorder costs half of this one & 1GB removeable discs costing about $6 each, it rocks the m-audio piece. You don't get the 24/96 resolution or the mic pre's, but the I'd bet that the sound quality of the sony is still on par.
Some iRiver players have an optical input for recording, but of course, it's only 16-bit.
This isn't being marketed at the iPod crowd - it's a pro audio device. I've been looking for a good replacement to my portable DAT recorder and this looks to be it. Stuff like 24-bit recording is important; I would never record to MP3.
$499 is about what I'd expect. My portable DAT back in the day was nearly $1000.
Also, as a musician who records gigs, it's nice to be able to record hi-rez WAVs, use USB to transfer to my computer and then be able to edit, AND have it be in a small, portable device.
Schlepping my Tascam DV-RA1000 is not my idea of fun to each gig.
Marantz has had a similar product out for some time now, at the same price.
http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?SKU=MPMD660XX
Marantz's seem to suck based on reviews.
M-audio tends to do a good job and if they got this right it will easily become an industry standard.
Price is right for a pro piece of equipment - i.e. I wish it were cheaper but there's no real competition at a lower price.
Yeah, but the Marantz is bigger (like my old Denon portable DAT) and is only 16-bit. Roland also has the Edirol R-1, but I've heard mixed things about it. The M-Audio seems to be the best size to functionality ratio for the price.
We use the larger marantz for field recordings at our community radio station (WBCR-LP, 97.7fm, great barrington, ma), but I like the size on this and the longer battery life--the two areas that MD really kick it over the CF recorders. I haven't checked the specs thoroughly on this, but have been anxiously waiting for it.
8 hrs is much better than 2 for battery life. And it'd be nice not to have to carry a unit the size of a big purse or Gravity's Rainbow on a rope.
For those of you complaining about the price. Look what you are getting...portable storage spdif I/O...xlr with phantom power... audio quality superior to CD quality at 24/96. Well I guess you could buy five or six products and put them all together to do what this package does, but it would be a bitch to connect them all and they wouldn't be as handy, not to mention be more costly to buy separately.
yep, i agree this is not marketed for the ipod crowd, this is'suppose' to be a professional piece of equipment... and i'm getting in line to buy one, it's perfect for what i want to do. i still don't think the mic-pre's or d/a conversion will be up to par with what i would like(here's a first, it's too cheap, to be anything but mediocre), but i thought i would buy the thing first and take a listen before i spend another 500-1000.00 on a portable front end converter and mic-pres.
so yeah, if you're recording to mp3, then i agree this is out of your league -- you can find something that has a much better fit for cheaper, or at least get a lot more bang for the same price. i'm just worried about cf media, corruption happens a lot, something i can't afford to have happen -- i'm praying, microtrack, please don't suck...please don't suck...
The Edirol R-1 flash recorder is it's main competition in my opinion and about $50 cheaper. The next generation Neuros recorder is rumored to be flash based it sits somehwre between and MP3 player and a pro recorder.
Actually, it seems to me the unit is not really finished, yet. At first I thought mine was broken since I didn't see any input level. Also, I couldn't record. It turned out that a) the unit couldn't handle my particular CF card (which works fine with my cameras) and b) contrary to what the manual says you CANNOT set record levels before recording. The level meter also won't work in playback mode. Tech support says it will be offered in "a future version" of the firmware. Finding that only through upgrading the firmware you will make the level meter usable at all (out of the box it will never display clipping) and reverse the M-H-L switch to do what it is labeled to do (this may explain earlier postings about record sensitivity) is somewhat scary. A pro unit? I think about returning it now and letting it mature for another 6 months or so.
Bad news: Again got only about 3 hours not using phantom power, this time at 24/96. Tomorrow I will try turning off input monitoring, which factory defaults to "on" to see if that helps timing. Also will test the 4 AA batery USB power pack. If you plug in USB power when the machine is off, it goes into charging mode and the switches don't work to turn on record mode, but if the power is plugged in while the machine is running it seems okay, though I still have to confirm that it is charging or drawing on the power.
Good news: correcting for the L/M/H being backwards (i.e., setting the switch to H for line-in), and assuming unitary gain for line-in is max record volume (without the 27 dB menu boost!!!) I get levels that are recognizable. That is, when feeding in the signal from DPA 4060s with a 10 dB boost from the preamp I get roughly comparable results to feeding that signal to my Edirol R1. And the 24/96 signal sounds pretty nice (but need to test with music rather than just ambiant noise).
At 2 GB limit it shuts off and saves the file (though oddly I could not play it back on the Microtrack, while smaller files will play), opens fine in Wavelab with proper 24/96 properties. Also saves the file when power runs out.
The menu choices and navigation iare intuitively pretty clear. Sometimes it is hesitant to recognize that the Hold switch has been turned off, and needs a reboot or other slightly too drastic action to get it to respond.
I am lookin for an advice, regarding possible investment in a M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96. For some time I have been using iPods 40 or 60 GB for long time interviews - the record must be able to run all day. It works ok, besides a lot of electric noise from mics and device plus noice from the HD of the iPod. The MicroTrack 24/96 has not internal HD, so i suppose this point makes the records less disturbed. But besides I wonder how "good" or "noise free" a mono or stereo microphone record can be on the 24/96. I am not technical educated and its hard for me to recognize what the specifications on dB's and the like actually says about noice. In regard to record quality the size (minutes/hours) of the record is important and i suppose there is a balance there. My need is to have recordings for about 12 hours in a quality better but the iPod, without manipulating the device (switching CompactFlash card etc).