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Author Topic: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread  (Read 96877 times)

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Offline Brian Skalinder

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M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« on: September 17, 2005, 12:22:55 PM »
All - thought it made sense to separate the old MT speculative threads and create a new thread for posting your hands-on, real-life experiences.  If this makes sense, use it.  If not, ignore it.
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Offline Colin Liston

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2005, 06:34:47 PM »
Great...a thread that no one can post to..... ;D
Occasionally....music mics record

Offline The Kilted Taper

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2005, 06:46:41 PM »
Great...a thread that no one can post to..... ;D

This is not true. A few (well, at least one confirmed) has this in hand. And I believe SoundPros when they say they have a few of these and have started shipping.
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Offline WiFiJeff

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2005, 01:15:13 AM »
Here are today's reports (sorry, no concerts, just foolin' around):

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.

Jeff

Offline MattinSTL

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2005, 01:31:29 AM »
Thanks Jeff... this sort of reporting is VERY APPRECIATED!  ;)

From what I understand 3 hours was the reported duration of battery life when using phantom anyway... so that should be no surprise.

It's a bummer if the thing actually shuts down at 2 GB... How long does it take to get back up and recording?
I didn't know there was a problem until I saw myself sitting there with a glass of tap water, eating an oregano sandwich on a two week old hamburger bun... and the only thing going through my mind was, "God I love this new shotgun!"

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Offline WiFiJeff

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2005, 01:43:55 AM »

From what I understand 3 hours was the reported duration of battery life when using phantom anyway... so that should be no surprise.

It's a bummer if the thing actually shuts down at 2 GB... How long does it take to get back up and recording?

Yeah, but it was supposed to go 8 hours _without_ phantom, and I'm getting nothing like that, even though I was careful to charge initially for 6 1/2 hours.  Sometimes the first few charges are not representative, and the rechargeable has to be conditioned to get to optimal life, but I've never had ones that go from 3 to 8 hours, so I'm worried.  I was reluctant to turn off input monitoring from its default "on" because manual p11 says turning it on "will allow you to see the level of your incoming signal," which sounds as if the meters will be screwed if I turn it off, but I'll see tomorrow.

Jeff

I haven't timed the turnaround to save and restart, but it seems about the same as for the Edirol R1.  When you turn off "hold" and press record, it flashes that it is saving for a few seconds, then when you hit record again it starts up, but there seems to be another second or two of latency until the timer indicates that you're rolling.

Offline F.O.Bean

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2005, 01:45:17 AM »
he WASNT using phantom and only got 3 hrs :'(

bummer.

the 2gb file limit thing is why i WONT own one of these til they release the firmware to fix that, otherwise, its useless to me

id rather have a FULL 16 bit recording than MOST of a 24-bit recording w/ these right now! and once again, why not take the extra time and release it w/ a 2GB file limit fix ???
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Offline udovdh

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2005, 02:13:00 AM »
he WASNT using phantom and only got 3 hrs :'(
Hmm. Looks bad. I don't no Li-Ion batteries but an increase towards 8 hours!?!  ???

BTW: Are we sure the phantom power button works as labelled?

Offline Sebastian

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2005, 03:06:04 AM »
I think Jeff stated in the other thread that he's using a 8 GB MicroDrive. MicroDrives generally consume way more power than flash cards, so we shouldn't really judge the unit by this until we have reports on the power consumption with flash cards.

Offline udovdh

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2005, 03:15:16 AM »
I think Jeff stated in the other thread that he's using a 8 GB MicroDrive. MicroDrives generally consume way more power than flash cards, so we shouldn't really judge the unit by this until we have reports on the power consumption with flash cards.
He wrote 8GB CF and that he was going to try a MicroDrive.
If the current 8GB is a MD as well that could explain the poor battery life.

Offline MattinSTL

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #10 on: September 18, 2005, 07:59:51 AM »
God I hope that's the case... sorry I missed the part about NOT using phantom. 3 hours w/o phantom would be a JOKE and would possibly affect me getting this thing. (or it would make me buy two)

I need a recorder to go for the better part of a day. I was pretty much counting on at least 6 hours minimum!

I'll cancel my order and get a friggin' Marantz and run it line in if the MicroTrack can only do 3 hours... I was ALREADY bummed about the sealed in battery... I mean really, what the F&CK? The thing coulda' been a half inch longer and used DOUBLE AA... and then you coulda' had a pocket FULL of juice for anything! Even a power in that you could wire a battery pack to would be nice... The first thing I'll need to do is mod the adapter.
I didn't know there was a problem until I saw myself sitting there with a glass of tap water, eating an oregano sandwich on a two week old hamburger bun... and the only thing going through my mind was, "God I love this new shotgun!"

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Past mics: MKH-416, AT4073a, ME-66, NT2000, NTK, NT3, TR50, M-150, M58, ATR55, MS907.

Offline it-goes-to-eleven

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #11 on: September 18, 2005, 09:51:07 AM »
Well, so much for a thread with just experiences from people holding the unit  :P

It was a great idea, Brian.  But quickly went just like the other threads - 'my random whine/concern about the MT' thread, or the 'they better do xx or they won't get my money'.  Of course if they were NEW valid concerns that hadn't been posted a bunch of times before, it'd be different. But it seems like we're mostly seeing a repeat of concerns that have been expressed many times before from people who still haven't held one.

Maybe we need a "if you're holding one in your left hand while posting with your right hand...." thread...

Offline chitaper

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #12 on: September 18, 2005, 10:36:55 AM »
Bad news: Again got only about 3 hours not using phantom power, this time at 24/96.
Was the backlight on or off while you were testing? Were headphones connected? Were the RCA outputs connected to anything?
« Last Edit: September 18, 2005, 10:40:14 AM by chitaper »

Offline The Kilted Taper

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #13 on: September 18, 2005, 10:45:34 AM »
Bad news: Again got only about 3 hours not using phantom power, this time at 24/96.
Was the backlight on or off while you were testing? Were headphones connected?

Would those things really cause a 5 hour difference in power usage? I wonder if Jeff just got a bum unit. The L/M/H switch issue would be enough for me to send it back.
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Offline chitaper

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Re: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496 - *actual* real-life experiences thread
« Reply #14 on: September 18, 2005, 10:50:54 AM »
Would those things really cause a 5 hour difference in power usage? I wonder if Jeff just got a bum unit. The L/M/H switch issue would be enough for me to send it back.
Those things would reduce the battery life in my D8 by at least half. W/ a digi signal, it can go 4 hours w/o even dropping a level in the batery meter. But use the headphone or line jack, or feed it an analog signal and it is a big drain on the battery.

eta: I don't think the internal battery in this thing has anywhere near the power of 4 AA's either.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2005, 10:52:30 AM by chitaper »

 

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