M-Audio rolls out MicroTrack II digital audio recorder

M-Audio sure took their time churning out a follow-up to its original MicroTrack digital audio recorder, but it looks like the company has finally put the finishing touches on the long-awaited (for some) successor, with the MicroTrack II now making its debut. As before, this one records onto CompactFlash cards, and will give you two-channel, 24-bit/96KHz audio recording in your choice of WAV or MP3 formats. New this time around, however, is an extended input gain range, an analog input limiter and, perhaps most importantly, seamless recording of files larger than 2GB in size. If that's enough to convince you to upgrade, you should be able to grab this one shortly (if not already) for a list price of $400, which includes an electret t-shaped microphone, editing software, a carrying case, and some other goodies.

[Via Electronista]

[Apreche @ Nov 29th 2007 2:09PM]

Without XLR inputs, it can't compete with the likes of Marantz.

[John Myers @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:03AM]

Apreche: The MicroTrack II's 1/4" inputs are balanced TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) connections. They also run phantom power. More and more devices are being engineered to do this. I'm a recording studio engineer, so take it from me, they are just as good (at least on a portable unit).

A good example of this is using an high quality external preamp rather than the one built into your mixing console. The signal is sent to the line input (on a console) via 1/4" TRS connections. It's not only just as good, it actually has one advantage. (more so on a console the MicroTrack II).
It prevents you from making the mistake of accidentally double-preamping a signal.

What happens is this: Using a superior external preamp, you plug it directly into your mixer's XLR (mic) input. The problem is that if you don't have a high-end mixer it probably doesn't have a line/mic switch (or array of buttons) to toggle between -10dbv (line) and +4 dbu (mic) input gain. And if you take a signal that's already been preamped and boost it more with another mic input, it's going to sound very bad. If
your mixer doesn't have ballanced line inputs (on it's 1/4" inputs), you'll have to settle for an unbalanced signal. However, because you used a high-end preamp, it will still sound better than using any of your other options. The other options being hooking up a mic directly to your consoles own mic preamp (via XLR), or using both the external & your built-in pre and double-preamping it!

[Victor @ Nov 29th 2007 2:14PM]

Maybe they expect people to just get XLR adapters?

[nathan.wong @ Nov 29th 2007 2:21PM]

Why is it so FAT? Couldn't they have slimmed it down some?

[paragraph @ Nov 29th 2007 2:21PM]

for $400 it should atleast come with a card, or support SDHC, or something other than CF... sure, CF is great and all, but how many people have CF slots on thier computers? and these days CF isn't on most of the cheap card readers... so really... :\ the USB port looks promising though...

but for $400 why not just, you know, use your computer.... you can get adapters for RCA to 3.5mm... and you have sound recorder ;)

i guess this product is lost on me, someone care to explain what makes it so great?

[CaptSaltyJack @ Nov 29th 2007 2:31PM]

It's a good portable device for foley artists and sound designers who want to take something out there in the field and record sounds. Try lugging a computer or laptop with you, it's not as easy. Besides, a computer is not a good choice because the internal components (fans, hard drives) will introduce noise into your recordings. You need a silent piece of machinery when recording certain things.

[R @ Nov 29th 2007 2:34PM]

I agree. Compact Flash sucks. Otherwise, I would've bought their earlier model 2 years ago. I keep waiting for M-Audio to realize that SD is the way to go.

[Tom @ Nov 29th 2007 6:04PM]

@ Paragraph
@ R

Ummmm..... wait. How does Compact Flash suck? Because it's faster than SD? Your reasons are that not many people have CF slots in their computer - which I believe is remedied by this unit's USB 2.0 connectivity - and.... oh wait, no more reasons.

What the crap are you smoking, and what have you got against Compact Flash? And, seriously, why do you have something against compact flash? It's not like CF is a proprietary Fuji media (*cough* xD-Picture Card). It's use in everything from high-end digital cameras to MP3 players to sound recorders. You can even set up rigs of CF cards to run as a hard drive in a PCI slot - can't do that with SD (well, not to my knowledge).

Please, talk to us about this obsessive hatred of yours. It helps to talk about these things, you know.

[Nathan @ Nov 29th 2007 2:44PM]

Bought this and an 8gb CF card.
I have a friend who has the first gen.
It rocks.

This one actually has true 48v phantom (instead of the 30v the last one had).
also, there are two TRS 1/4 inputs, so it is very very easy to make an adapter cable for XLR and use a standard mic input.

can't wait to get it!

[Nathan @ Nov 29th 2007 2:48PM]

oh, it is only $300 in the real world...
and... how does CF suck? it is still the card type of choice on high-end Dslr.
It is bigger than SD, but it is very reliable and fast.

[Joe @ Nov 29th 2007 2:48PM]

Rechargeable (non user replaceable) battery only?
That would suck in the middle of a field recording and it goes out.
I'll stick with the Edirol.

[Victor @ Nov 29th 2007 3:03PM]

That's the same argument comes back time and time again in the semi-pro and pro D-SLR field. Why CF over SD in all the high end cameras?

The most reasonable answer has thus far been that they seem to fail less on frequent write-read-erase cycles, are more durable in different enviromental extremes for temperature and humidity/moisture ranges, have faster top-end read-write speeds, and are physically more durable. I think there are arguments both for and against CF vs. SD, and these reasons might only matter to pro D-SLR users; but I've found similar reasoning from prof. audio equipment (studio stuff) companies.

Consumers like you and me like might SD, but for some reason; the professionals like CF...

[getz76 @ Nov 29th 2007 3:35PM]

CompactFlash also has an IDE controller and lower overhead for use on whatever system it is on.

[getz76 @ Nov 29th 2007 3:39PM]

I have the first generation of this product. It is okay, but not great. I wouldn't buy it again, especially due to the battery limitation. It is not a small design.

Sound quality is excellent, especially if you bring real microphones. The phantom power is fine for most small condenser microphones. I most often use a pair of Crown CM-700s.

I did have the unit die on me during a firmware upgrade WITH ONE DAY left on the warranty. They handled it, but it took 3 weeks for them to turn it around.

[stephen @ Nov 29th 2007 4:59PM]

great sound recording quality but one of the most difficult gadgets I've ever used. unintuitive functionality. not user friendly at all.

[OnZeFly @ Nov 29th 2007 5:26PM]

Yes! Compact Flash card SUCKS!!!!

I personally stick to my Edirol R-09!
SD card, up to 24-bit/48kHz, no XLR but I have all the adapters possible and it is a remarkable - affordable - portable device.
http://www.edirol.net/products/en/R-09/

[Tom @ Nov 29th 2007 6:09PM]

When did the SD manufacturers start breeding an army of evil mindless CF haters...

Please, explain with full detail your dislike of CF. I'm interested in your species, and would like to write in a scientific journal about you. Mind if I use your real name?

There are only two flash formats deserving enough to have the hate smashed upon them - MemoryStick, and xD. Both proprietary, but prosucketary.

[OnZeFly @ Nov 29th 2007 8:37PM]

Tom, the reason I "hate" CF card form factor it's because its connectors design consist of a bunch of little needles that have to be precisely align to enter those little holes on the card.
http://www.winter-con.com/photo_new/photo_prod_com/cf-0103.jpg

On the other hand, SD card's connectors design consist only of a bunch of small external slats, which is more easy to align and make them a lot more sturdy.
http://www.allproducts.com/computer/yikuo/Product-2003129155139.jpg

I know a couple of people that had literally twisted the CF connectors with the insertion of the card. Their devices was then scrapped forever. Even Canon recognized this problem and had change their PowerShot's design with SD card because too much scrapped cameras was returned.

I don't want here to encourage a "war" between CF and SD card or whatever. The only thing is that, IMO, CF card design is not "friendly user", maybe they have good benchmarks but they are too fragile --- or maybe it's the best way to make us consume more and more electronic devices? Who knows?

[Tom @ Nov 29th 2007 9:29PM]

Okay, I see your point - same reason why Intel switched to LGA 775 from S478. Reasonable - although I myself have never encountered a device with a broken CF slot, I can see it happening.

[michaelportent @ Nov 29th 2007 5:56PM]

Gotta love any high-quality concert bootlegging devices. Lord knows half the most awesome shows in my music library wouldn't exist without gadgets like this.

[jsl @ Nov 29th 2007 6:02PM]

I like my YakBak 2 better

[Aaron @ Nov 29th 2007 6:38PM]

The Battery is the problem, in the field you need to be able to change batteries. CF is fine and the fact that you can get huge storage capacity is what makes CF great but with a battery that only last two hours then a couple GB card is all you need. I was able to use the last model and compare it to the Marantz, the Edirol R-09, Fostex FR2-LE and a Iriver h120 in Costa Rica and for the size the Edirol has the cake for performance its the Fostex.

[Michael Geary @ Dec 1st 2007 5:55AM]

Aaron, which Marantz did you test - the PMD660 or PMD620? Thanks!

[ben @ Nov 29th 2007 7:05PM]

I agree with Aaron -- the battery is a problem. A couple of hours of field recording, and then you have a paperweight.

The other problem is likely to be noisy mic preamps. If they sold a MicroTrack that took 2 AAs and had quality mic pres, it would be a wonderful world.

[dy3g0s @ Nov 29th 2007 8:19PM]

It's a post very interesting, your comments are valuable

[Adam @ Nov 29th 2007 11:31PM]

I ordered one of these very shortly after I found out they were forthcoming... It uses CF cards (which I already own for DSLRs), provides true phantom power, and has louder inputs than its predecessor. While the battery thing could potentially be a problem, it will run off of a USB bus in a pinch.

If you're going to get one, a word of advice: avoid guitarcenter.com/musiciansfriend.com.

[benjasmine @ Nov 30th 2007 6:05AM]

this reminds me of the Sony MD...

[Wayne Shepherd @ Nov 30th 2007 9:56AM]

As a radio journalist, I have used the MicroTrack I the past year in overseas recording where it was helpful to keep a low profile-- it has performed well. I use the excellent stereo T mic, or plug in a voice mic with XLR to 1/4" jack adapter I had made. I also found a way to use AA batteries by simply buying the Energizer mini-USB power source meant for cell phones. I use a 4GB CF card and record .wav files with excellent results. I'm looking forward to checking out the new version.

[Captain Obvious @ Nov 30th 2007 1:02PM]

I don't get it. Where do you put the blades?

[220mph @ Nov 30th 2007 2:51PM]

The new(ish) Zoom H2 pretty well blows away all of these high priced competitors - lower price, does up to 4ch recording - has 4 internal mics

add batteries, turn it on, and make fantastic recordings - take it home and plug into your cptr and burn away

[Marc Stock @ Dec 2nd 2007 3:55PM]

I have the previous version of this device and while the sound quality was very good, the non-replaceable battery made me wish I never bought it. I used the device to record exactly once per week and after about 70 recordings, the battery wouldn't hold a charge and the device would stop working after about 15 min. of recording which made it pretty much worthless. I strongly recommend people avoid this device and get a Zoom or Edirol.

As for the CF vs SD cards...CF cards are better, sorry SD fanbois but it's a fact.

[JeffS @ Jan 29th 2008 2:24PM]

Hi there, just posting a note to say that I have received the MiroTrack II and I love it, WHEN IT WORKS! That's right, it keeps freezing and I just got off the phone with M-Audio... apparently it's an issue affecting some units with the firmware and they are aware of it. Both the original firmware 1.0 and the December update 1.0.1 are affected. They are working to correct it but I cannot seem to find any mention online of other users experiencing this problem so I thought I would try to spread out some information.

[John @ Feb 2nd 2008 10:31AM]

On the subject of freezes; I had the same problem but the new OS solved it. No problems since updating. It's OS 1.04 and its still beta but everythings been working flawless since the update.

John

[Mooner @ May 6th 2008 4:09PM]

CF SD whatever...
As a stealth recorder using HQ mics, the 24/96 has added some astounding audio to my concert library. Although the battery life was a constant worry, a $40 super-slim USB bat pack solved that problem... Hey, aren't all electronics meant to be upgraded and added to in one way or another? It's just a digital recorder. After all, my original unit came with a 128Mb CF card - M-Audio truly has a sense of humour.
Looking forward to upgrading to the MT II.

[Vince @ Jun 27th 2008 2:51PM]

We dropped a pretty sweet tutorial on the Micro Track II

[Vince @ Jun 27th 2008 2:52PM]

We dropped a pretty sweet tutorial in the Micro Track II

http://www.howaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=217&Itemid=251

[Studking @ Jul 6th 2008 1:45PM]

My first foray into buying one of these devices - so pardon my ignorance where you find it . . .

I'm between the Microtrack II and the Zoom H4. Any specific comparisons between these 2 welcome - though I think I learned enough on the topic of SD vs CF here already (thanks everyone). Wind noise could be an important consideration.

Will be using this as a secondary audio recording device while doing some interview work for short documentaries etc, as well as recording live gigs (I'm also a drummer), perhaps along with video.