Topic: MT 2496 vs. MZ-RH1

[kidrocklive]

I was wondering what everybody's opinion was on the better unit for stealthing with regards to ease of stealthing it (sets off metal detector, easy to crouch), using actual unit (easy to start/set up, etc), quality of sound (even though I believe that has more to do with what mics you use). I heard some mixed opinions on it so I thought I'd maybe post this and get a few more inputs. Thanks.

[fmaderjr]

I own both. MZ-RH1 Hands down. Only reason to use Microtrack over the MZ-RH1 is if you want a 24 bit "bit bucket".

MZ-RH1 is super easy to stealth with (can keep in shirt pocket and easily see & change the levels). It is easy to crotch and will not set off a metal detector (although the Micrtrack probably wouldn't either-both are mostly plastic).

Battery life is fine with MZ-RH1 while Microtrack requires an external battery if you want to record for much over 2 hours. With a external battery it becomes much bulkier than an MZ-RH1.

MZ-RH1 sounds great (even at HI-SP for over 7 hours of recording time). MIcroTrack is theoretically capable of the same sound as the MZ-RH1 in PCM mode and better sound than the MZ-RH1 in Hi-SP mode, but in practice I don't think that's usually going to happen because it is so much harder to use. Also the MicroTrack can distort at very loud shows no matter how low you set the levels, which is a serious flaw. Forget about the benefits of 24 bit recording with the MicroTrack unless using it as a bit bucket-the preamp is too noisy to take advantage of the benefits of 24 bit.

The MZ-RH1 has an excellent preamp for shows that aren't too loud, but I do recommend a battery box into line in for loud shows. Then you'll never have to worry about clipping. I use the tiny Church Audio battery box. It is barely bigger than a 9 volt battery and I can easily hide both the MZ-RH1 and the battery box in the same shirt pocket. Nobody can ever tell I'm recording. To safely record very loud shows with a MicroTrack, you probably need to use something like the Church Audio ST-9100 Preamp into line in because the ST-9100 can attenutate as well as amplify (so it could solve the problem of the Microtrack sometimes clipping no matter how low you set the levels).

Only real downside to the MZ-RH1 is having to use the Sonic Stage software to transfer the files to your computer instead of simply dragging & dropping, but I haven't had too much trouble adapting to it. It's worth putting up with Sonic Stage because the MZ-RH1 is so easy to record with.