Topic: Has the Microtrack "settled down" yet?

[balou2]

So, I bought a Microtrack when it first came out, used it 20-30 times, and LOVED it, then sold it as I went to the R4.  Had no problems, no explosions...nothing.  BUT...it seems that at least a portion of the units are not providing the same experience.

I'm looking to pick up an inexpensive recording unit for days when I don't need the big R4, and am thinking about the MT again, but don't want the instabilities.  I need the digital in, so for the price I'm looking to pay, it's either MT or back to DAT.  R1/R9 don't have digit in, PM660 is a little more than I want to pay and doesn't have digi-in.

Any opinions?

[china_rider]

I don't have a microtrack anymore but my unit as a bit bucket was very stable with all firmware revisions.  The only issue I had is when my pre ran out of juice and stopped sending a digital signal, the MT would freeze. I made probably 20 recordings with it without any other problems.  That being said the split that is not seamless really bothered me.  It made 24/96 pretty much impossibile and I ran out of time at 24/48 a few times.  I could be wrong but from what I have heard the MT does not have the power to do seamless splits so  another firmware probably won't fix this.... I decided to sell my MT while there was still interest and downgrade to an iRiver.  Got a 120 for less than $100 and once rockboxed I'm very happy with the iRiver as a small/stealth unit until the next best 24bit digital recorder comes out.  It's not 24bit but is a good alternative until the next best thing comes out.

[jlykos]

Used mine for the first time last night with the latest firmware revision and it operated fine.  No complaints to speak of, except for the metering on it, which sucks balls.  It is near impossible to set levels using the MiniMe and the MT like I have.  Just aim and hope that you are close.  It also feels like a cheap piece of crap, but as long as music hits my ears after I use it, it is fine.

[anhisr]

I use it as a bit bucket and have had no problems.

[bubbybooshay]

i havent had any problems with mine

[balou2]

Thanks folks.  Any continued opinions are welcome, especially on the new firmware. 

fwiw, i'm not interested in the iriver.  Whatever smaller unit I get must have coax-in.

[J.T.L]

I use it as a bit bucket and have had no problems.

...same here. Used as a bit bucket for 16 and 24 bit either 44-48 since dec.2005 using all firmwares since 1.23(?) with only 2 header problems which were fixed with a click of a button.

[mdarnton]

Mine hasn't misbehaved once.

[udovdh]

Did they fix the 2GB issue(s) yet?
I mean the 2GB is not 2.000.000.000 bytes but 2*1024*1024*1024 bytes but also the 2GB seamless split `feature`.
How can one call a recorder '2496' when It cannot do seamless splits? 
At 24/96 the datarate is 562,5 KB/s.
2.000.000.000 bytes run out in less than one hour. (3472 seconds or just short of 58 minutes)
So you cannot seriously record a concert at 24/96 on the MT.
Yes, I have a MT and want these bugs to be fixed.

[jtessier]

Did they fix the 2GB issue(s) yet?
I mean the 2GB is not 2.000.000.000 bytes but 2*1024*1024*1024 bytes but also the 2GB seamless split `feature`.
How can one call a recorder '2496' when It cannot do seamless splits? 
At 24/96 the datarate is 562,5 KB/s.
2.000.000.000 bytes run out in less than one hour. (3472 seconds or just short of 58 minutes)
So you cannot seriously record a concert at 24/96 on the MT.
Yes, I have a MT and want these bugs to be fixed.

No to both questions. And on the split question, there's been some talk that it is the way it's going to be (meaning that it's not going to be changed from how it is due to technical or other limitations).

As for the "2496" statement, it's a MicroTrack 2496, not a "MicroTrack 2496 * 2 hour" or "2496 - concert recorder".  Yes I hear what you're sayng but I'm not buying that the name is misleading in any way.  It does record at 2496 (although when it first came up that was not such a sure thing to say)which is all the name infers.

J.T.

[bconnolly]

You know, I've taped a few dozen shows with the MT since January and only had it fuck up on me once (and that may or may not have been my own fault).  I can't speak for the most recent batch (whether or not they're faulty, that is) but, as a device, the MT has treated me very well.

[buffalofloyd]

I have loved the MT ever since I purchased it and have had no problems at all with my unit.  I do however have a problem with the battery life this thing provides.  Twice in a row now I have had my recordings end pre-maturely because of the battery.  I taped Robert Randolph and Gov't Mule here in Buffalo the past week and both are incomplete.  I also recorded the Dave Gilmour shows up in Toronto and had the first night end about 30 seconds before the end of the show.  These were all recorded at 16/44.1 too and anything higher and I would have lost alot more of the gigs.  The battery life on this unit will provide just under 3 hrs. or recording time at 16/44.1.  I really only do stealth recordings and to carry along a large external power sled just doesn't appeal to me very much.  I don't know where to go from here except hope they come out with a new unit that takes throw away batteries.  Why even produce something with a internal battery?  Wouldn't it have been cheaper to produce something that took regular batteries?  I would love to hear any opinions on a possible soloution to this issue.  The unit works perfectly for what I need and use it for but the battery issue just sucks ass.

Cheers,
Jim

[JoeKiller]

I have had my MT since April.  I love it, it had problems but ever since release 1.4.0 it has been rock solid.  Did me right at All Good and 10,000 Lakes.  If it can handle a festival (with backup power of course) then it can handle it fine IMO.

[Scooter]

Mine's been solid through all the firmwares.  Once you get the quirks down, it's a great unit!  I agree about the internal batt, but I don't stealth, so it's not as big an issue for me.  FWIW, you could always go pre>hosa>iriver...

[cmoorevt]

Had mine since they first came out last fall.  I bought it because I wanted the digi input and wanted something stealthable.  With dat media becoming less available and the attraction of never having to transfer a tape at real time, this was a no-brainer for me. 

Haven't had one problem other than dumb stuff I've done(like forgetting to set the hold switch).  As others have noted, there are some quirks, but once you firgure them out everything is fine.  Learning to read the levels takes some time, but I've got it so I peak right around -2 almost every time out.  Stealthed with it several times and never had a problem.  I also would agree that the internal battery sucks, but I have one of the 4xAA USB battery packs and have never had any power issues. 

I heard back from M-Audio the other day who say that a seemless 2GB split will not happen nor will decibel numbers on the levels.  Not a huge issue for me because I'm not doing 24/xx and the manual new-file-start procedure works fine for me when I need it and as I mentioned above, I've got the levels down.

The only remaining significant issue for me is that the device does not pass signal to either the headphone output nor to the rca outputs when using the SPDIF input.  In their message to me, M-Audio claims that this was fixed on the most recent firmware upgrade but I just moved and all my gear is packed away and I cannot test it.  Can anyone else confirm that this is now working?