Topic: New improved microtrack (MT II)

[Colin Liston]

Sure its a good thing they are delaying the second shipments, but....

Shouldn't they have worked out all the bugs with the first Microtrack? 

[OFOTD]

Sure its a good thing they are delaying the second shipments, but....

Shouldn't they have worked out all the bugs with the first Microtrack? 

One would think they would have.  This is a prime example of companies outsourcing products and departments overseas though.  One branch does the design of the casing.  One branch does the PCB design.  One branch picks the chips, one does some QC.  Then someone in the US gets to sell it.      Plus for $300 there is probably not a whole lot of fire under their asses, ya know. 

[gt6john]

I was experimenting with the 1/4 unbalanced noise thing and discovered that if the two wires from the unbalanced source are connected to the tip and ring with nothing on the sleeve it works great, no weird noise and very clean recording.

[NOLAfishwater]

Well, I will just continue using my MTII until the day they say everything is fixed and send me a new deck. So far, I couldn't be happier. It is lighter than my cellphone for god's sake!

[rustoleum]

I got mine late last week... just need to wait for the stupid CF card to come in the mail to start testing/playing.  Looking forward to it!

[Rick]

Its looks like the next batch got pushed back another week...

ETA 2/29/08

The more this gets pushed back the more likely I'll get a R-44.

[chitaper]

As an early MT 1 owner, watching this thread unfold is a big deja vu......

It's deja vu all over again!

But my MT 1 is still chugging along.

[dactylus]

Well, I will just continue using my MTII until the day they say everything is fixed and send me a new deck. So far, I couldn't be happier. It is lighter than my cellphone for god's sake!

Will M-Audio be sending out new replacement decks once this problem is fixed or is that just wishful thinking?  Has M-Audio told you this?  I certainly hope so...

 

[Jamos]

Sure its a good thing they are delaying the second shipments, but....

Shouldn't they have worked out all the bugs with the first Microtrack? 

One would think they would have.  This is a prime example of companies outsourcing products and departments overseas though.  One branch does the design of the casing.  One branch does the PCB design.  One branch picks the chips, one does some QC.  Then someone in the US gets to sell it.      Plus for $300 there is probably not a whole lot of fire under their asses, ya know. 

Apparently their Quality control division doesn't do a hell of a lot...
 
I agree that a $300 device is not going to be their #1 priority, but they've been doing a sh*tload of advertising for the MT II, so it must be on their radar...and plus, after the debacle with the release of the MT I, you'd think they would have done it differently this time.

Oh well, M-Audio has probably lost me as a customer for good...

[deadheaded]

my mt 2 actually worked flawlessly for me.  about time.
v-3 spdif @24/48
i don't think it likes my transcend 120x 8gb card.
worked perfectly for 2 sets with the 6gb hitachi microdrive.
will probably be a great bit bucket once they work out all the glitches and i'm the one who called it a piece of shit after my 1st use.
happy taping
ed

[Husker Du]

Hi,

I just found this forum and thread by searching google for information on the noise problem I noticed in my recently purchased Microtrack II. I get the same "water sprinkler" noise that you are reporting here, tested with balanced and unbalanced through the 1/4 (with unbalanced sources is quite severe, specially with a contact mic). It's interesting that I spent three days looking for one where I live (Toronto) and nobody had it in stock and just  kept telling me that they are expecting a shipment anytime soon... but I finally I found one at another store and probably from an older shipment. The fact that nobody else has it seems to fit with the idea that maybe that first batch was really defective and they are working on a new one. Anyway, I will return mine tomorrow. Does anyone have any recent news about this problem? I would like to use the Microtrack because it seems to be the only portable recorder in that price range that has digital inputs. which I need.

Thanks!

Hector

I've had the same problem twice now. I returned my first MT II for an exchange thinking it was just a random defect. Now, the second one does the exact same thing. I'm not sure if the retailer is going to take the second unit back for a full refund or not. If they do take it back, I think they'll charge me a 15% restocking fee.

M Audio customer service did not lead me to believe that they think this is an issue. They must have a lot of complaints because they have a name for this noise - "the sprinkler sound". Their solution to my incident report was short - "This behavior will not occur with balanced cables." That doesn't sound like they're going to do anything to fix the units that are already sold.

[guysonic]

Hi,

I just found this forum and thread by searching google for information on the noise problem I noticed in my recently purchased Microtrack II. I get the same "water sprinkler" noise that you are reporting here, tested with balanced and unbalanced through the 1/4 (with unbalanced sources is quite severe, specially with a contact mic). It's interesting that I spent three days looking for one where I live (Toronto) and nobody had it in stock and just  kept telling me that they are expecting a shipment anytime soon... but I finally I found one at another store and probably from an older shipment. The fact that nobody else has it seems to fit with the idea that maybe that first batch was really defective and they are working on a new one. Anyway, I will return mine tomorrow. Does anyone have any recent news about this problem? I would like to use the Microtrack because it seems to be the only portable recorder in that price range that has digital inputs. which I need.

Thanks!

Hector

I've had the same problem twice now. I returned my first MT II for an exchange thinking it was just a random defect. Now, the second one does the exact same thing. I'm not sure if the retailer is going to take the second unit back for a full refund or not. If they do take it back, I think they'll charge me a 15% restocking fee.

M Audio customer service did not lead me to believe that they think this is an issue. They must have a lot of complaints because they have a name for this noise - "the sprinkler sound". Their solution to my incident report was short - "This behavior will not occur with balanced cables." That doesn't sound like they're going to do anything to fix the units that are already sold.

Sent my MT2 in over 3 weeks ago for repair of several issues discussed in threads here.  Yesterday got call from tech supervisor wanting my opinions of MT2 issues.  The noise problem was most of the conversation as I related from my extensive experience in analog circuit/PCB design this kind of performance is most likely due to improper analog ground paths where cuts and jumpers on the PCB might solve the problem if M-audio is very, very lucky, but most likely re-design of the PCB ground paths is needed to really solve this problem. 

I also related that using the common-mode rejection of balanced mode input to get more acceptable noise performance is a 'band-aid' approach that doesn't bode well in taper's (and engineering) circles as a solution to way excessive analog ground reference noise. 

Our discussion was documented and sent to engineering for consideration on what might be done, or not done to correct MT2 shortcomings. 

FWIW Shortages of MT2 at dealers was said to be from high demand, and fact M-audio restricted number of units initially sold to test the market for reaction before making larger release shipments fitting buyer demand.  Looks to me like this a good move considering the situation.

[huskerdu]

Sent my MT2 in over 3 weeks ago for repair of several issues discussed in threads here.  Yesterday got call from tech supervisor wanting my opinions of MT2 issues.  The noise problem was most of the conversation as I related from my extensive experience in analog circuit/PCB design this kind of performance is most likely due to improper analog ground paths where cuts and jumpers on the PCB might solve the problem if M-audio is very, very lucky, but most likely re-design of the PCB ground paths is needed to really solve this problem. 

I also related that using the common-mode rejection of balanced mode input to get more acceptable noise performance is a 'band-aid' approach that doesn't bode well in taper's (and engineering) circles as a solution to way excessive analog ground reference noise. 

Our discussion was documented and sent to engineering for consideration on what might be done, or not done to correct MT2 shortcomings. 

FWIW Shortages of MT2 at dealers was said to be from high demand, and fact M-audio restricted number of units initially sold to test the market for reaction before making larger release shipments fitting buyer demand.  Looks to me like this a good move considering the situation.

It's interesting that that in some cases they are treating it like a real problem and in other cases (like mine) they are telling people to used balanced cables or the 1/8" input and everything will be fine.

[jerryfreak]

ive kinda been over m-audio since 2002, they never seem to deliver relaible solutions. i've used an MTI for backup, although flaky, it worked most of the time.,can anyone comment on whether the MTII works in the following regards:

1. not buggy, stays on and stays recording regardless of input dropping and restarting
2. boots up at least as quick as MT I , records and works 9% of the time on first try
3. Tested extensively with different AD's, is bit accurate, doesnt drop samples (I'm not talking about 'sounds good to me', but has anyone done serious testing on thsi unit?

[NOLAfishwater]

Well, I will just continue using my MTII until the day they say everything is fixed and send me a new deck. So far, I couldn't be happier. It is lighter than my cellphone for god's sake!

Will M-Audio be sending out new replacement decks once this problem is fixed or is that just wishful thinking?  Has M-Audio told you this?  I certainly hope so...

 

This is not what they told me. However, if they make physical changes to circuitry, I imagine they would probably allow the 1st gen owners to send theirs in for a replacement. So far, mine has worked flawlessly for what I need. Has anyone patched using the 1/4 or 1/8 input? The only cable I have is 1/8 to dual male 1/4 and I imagine this cable is balanced, so I should not have trouble.