Topic: How reliable is the microtracker?

[marc0789]

comments? Thanks, Marc.

[Todd R]

I think you'll get a wide range of opinion on this one, Marc.  Probably including a lot of opinions from people who have never run one.

From my standpoint, I'd say it is pretty rock solid at 16 bits, if you plan on running one behind a mSBM1.  I've never had any problems at 16bits, and don't recall too much or any complaints at that bit rate.

I've run one since the beginning and really haven't had too much problems with it, and the few problems I had (channel swapping with digi-in 24bits, incorrect record time left available) occurred with the early firmwares.  The latest firmware has been very stable for me and many others.

One issue is finding a CF card that works well.  The Kingston Elite 45x that I use is a very good one.  In general, you probably want one that is in the range of 45x to 80x.

It isn't perfect -- somewhat picky about CF cards, no gapless 2gb splits, etc -- but is very good bit bucket.  In that regard, probably the only contender to the D8/M1 (small, inexpensive, bit-bucket) as a solid state recorder.

[Church-Audio]

I had one I think they are very solid, firmware is the only main issue once you find a version that is stable stick with it, unless there is a reason to change it because of new features ect. I think the main issue is battery life ( not that great) and people that use microdrives, I think using a microdrive with a edirol or a tracker is pretty dumb why would you want to increase your latency?? I mean there is nothing faster then flash memory so why mess with a good thing!

I think most of the people that use microdrives do so because they are cool! not because they perform better then Flash ram. Also dropping your MT with a microdrive is a bad thing. So I would say in general all of the flash based systems are dependable compared to a mechnical recorder like Dat, MD, Microdrive, Harddrive. There is no moving parts so its all about electronics and firmware stability. My take on electronics is that if you have not had a problem with in the first 30 days of owning a product, chances are you wont. That being said there have been issues in the past with the battery exploding, but I am sure that was an isolated incident. As for firmware its a computer program it can crash good firmware = reliability of the device plain and simple thats why I say find a version that works and stick with it.

Chris Church

[rowjimmy]

That being said there have been issues in the past with the battery exploding, but I am sure that was an isolated incident.

Isolated it may be but as my friend could have lost a hand (or his house had he not been quick with a fire extinguisher) or worse...
I'll never own one.
But if i were compelled to do so, I'd be sure to get a NEW one which is less likely to have a battery from the same lot as his. Also, i'd have more interest if someone were to find a way to pull that internal battery altogether.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I think you'll get a wide range of opinion on this one, Marc.  Probably including a lot of opinions from people who have never run one.

Same as it ever was...  For everyone one person who says the mt is 'solid', you'll have others who say it is flakey. There is a reason for that.. it is flakey!    I think you really need to learn about a lot of quirks in order to use the mt reliably..

Contrast that to the r09.  Most owners seem to think it is solid and I'm not aware of a single person saying otherwise.  There are no major 'need to know!' quirks.  People hardly even talk about the r09 because they just work.  The mt is dead meat if edirol releases a bit bucket version of the r09.

I still have my mt for doing comps, mostly out of the v3. But I'm not doing so many of those these days so mine will probably be going up soon.

You can make the mt work but it isn't reliable enough for me. Record 100 shows with it and let us know how much you lost, etc.

[cmoorevt]

I think the main issue is battery life ( not that great)

Basically my only complaint.  Ideally the thing would have replaceable AA's but I've found a number of external battery solutions that work fine.

I've had one since they first came out and luckily have never had any problems that I didn't cause myself.  Most recent firmware seems solid.  I primarily run it in open taping situations, 16bit, using the digi in and it has worked great.  Also stealthed with it several times using the 1/4 inch inputs and again, no problems.

Not to diminish the exploding battery issue experienced by one of the members of this board in ANY way(certainly could have been a lot worse as noted above), but those things can happen with this type of battery and with other devices-see Dell laptops.  Wouldn't stop me from buying a MT(or a Dell for that matter).

[funkoff13]

While I agree with Freelunch I also believe it is important to point out what you are using it for!  Personally, I have used one as a bit bucket with no problems.  Well except the 2 gig thing bit me in the ass once, but that was my fault essentially.  I am not a fan of the a/d in it edirol units have a smoother sounding a/d.  

Microdrive vs. CF?  CF all the way.

edit:

The mt is dead meat if edirol releases a bit bucket version of the r09.

Yep!

[it-goes-to-eleven]

While I agree with Freelunch I also believe it is important to point out what you are using it for!

Very true.  If you can monitor the situation closely, it raises the overall reliability.   If you are doing a set it and forget it... Lowers.  Especially if you have to do a 2GB file break without taking the unit out of your pocket.

I was assuming you'd use CF.  Given everything I've read, there is no way I'd rely on microdrive unless it was just a backup source.

The Aerco has an 1/8" output and RCA output.. I've been wanting to do an analog r09 vs. mt comp that way, just for kicks, but haven't gotten around to it yet..

[sygdwm]

have you thought about ditching the shitmapper and going 148>r9? the a/d sounds fine.

[willndmb]

MOST of the people i know of who said it was flacky/sucked got rid of it before 1.4.3
i don't think anyone running 1.4.3 will say its not good for the money, bit bucket

i used mine at 24/48 with microdrive and had no issues at all
i also use a 4aa battery box, i have used the same 4aa for 3 shows and never been close to losing power at the end of a 3hr show

edit--i do run a jb3 as backup though since i have seen the bad reviews

[Brian Skalinder]

While I don't use my remaining MT all that often anymore since I'm still enjoying playing around with my R-4, even on older firmware (1.2.3, I think) it proved stable for me.  Took sorting out a couple quirks that seemed related to unreliabilty - simple things like feeding it a digi-signal before powering up (I documented a couple of these somewhere) - but once done it's worked quite well.  It's really the only low-cost 24-bit bit-bucket available at this point.  The others all cost roughly double or more.

Check out the MT2496 FAQ Andrew Pierce put together for some general info.  I don't think it's remained up to date with the new firmware releases, but should give you some ideas about the unit.

[Todd R]

I think you'll get a wide range of opinion on this one, Marc.  Probably including a lot of opinions from people who have never run one.

Same as it ever was...  For everyone one person who says the mt is 'solid', you'll have others who say it is flakey. There is a reason for that.. it is flakey!    I think you really need to learn about a lot of quirks in order to use the mt reliably..

Contrast that to the r09.  Most owners seem to think it is solid and I'm not aware of a single person saying otherwise.  There are no major 'need to know!' quirks.  People hardly even talk about the r09 because they just work.  The mt is dead meat if edirol releases a bit bucket version of the r09.

I still have my mt for doing comps, mostly out of the v3. But I'm not doing so many of those these days so mine will probably be going up soon.

You can make the mt work but it isn't reliable enough for me. Record 100 shows with it and let us know how much you lost, etc.

Yep, definitely same as it ever was -- there always has been and probably always will be a lot of bandwagoning on ts.com.  Not aware of anyone saying there are problems with the r09?  Last I saw there were 3 pages of people complaining about the 1/8" inputs going bad on the 09, yet everyone glosses over that.  If there were these input problems with the MT, people would be jumping all over M-Audio about their bad quality and unreliability.  I'm not slamming it over this, yet this just confirms one of my fears about the 09 -- I don't much trust 1/8" input connectors.  1/4" TRS aren't ideal, but they are much better in my book.

Personally, I'm not that invested in the battle.  If Edirol comes out with a R09 v2 with a digital input, I will most probably be buying one to check it out.  But without a digital input, I'm just not interested.  The MT and H140 work quite well for me for the times (mainly stealth) that I want to skip the V3 and just run analog in.

On the MT reliability, I've run it for over 100 sets in the field plus a lot of transfers.  Had exactly three problems that I can recall:  (1) when I first got it and was running 16 bits, I was talked into trying it at 24bits at setbreak knowing nothing about how it handled 24bits at the time.  It shut down early do to glitches in the early firmware making it think that not enough file space was still available.  (I had a 16bit back up via an M1, so nothing was lost.  Probably wouldn't have tried the experiment if I didn't have that M1 back up.  And this problem has been fixed with the newer firmwares.)  (2) Once with earlier firmware had an issue with channel swapping when running digi-in at 24-bits.  I had known about the potential and had been marking my channels to start with finger-snapping.  No problem at all switching them back with CoolEdit, so nothing lost.  (3) At a free show at a ski mountain I hadn't planning on taping, we used my MT to go analog in from an AT822 someone else had (pooling gear to see what we might be able to accomplish).  Only had cables for using the 1/8" input, not the 1/4" TRS, and I knew up front there probably wasn't a chance in hell of it working without brickwalling -- and it didn't.  All of these problems have been fixed with the latest firmware, or can be avoided by knowing the MT's limitations and using the right cables.

So overall, I'd say with my own pretty extensive use, compared to my own experience with other recorders, this makes the MT the most reliable field recorder I've ever used -- compared to the Sony D3/D8/D100/M1 (never ran a D7), the Aiwa HDX3000 and Aiwa HDS1, and the Nomad Jukebox 3.  Never owned or ran extensively the DA-P1 or PortaDAT, which may have proven more reliable than the MT, and the H140 might prove to be a very reliable recorder (haven't used it enough yet), but fragile optical digi cables make me worried.

Anyway, that being my experience with the MT.  Perhaps it is quirky, but for me anyway, easy enough to work with it's quirks.  No worse than needing to insure proper tape loading with Sony DAT portables or keeping from having the dreaded heat shutdown of the JB3.

[j5brock]

As a bit bucket - other than the 2 gig file limit - works great.. never had a problem..

[rodeen]

comments? Thanks, Marc.

Hey Marc,

Mine works great and I'm coming up on one year with it.  I recently picked up a Tascam HD-P2 that I like a lot so the MT will probably only be used for stealth.  No issue with with either compact flash or micro drive in the MT.  I can honestly say I don't miss tape at all.

-Rick

[svenkid]

I really like the MT as a 16 bit bit bucket. I have only had one issue with the recent firmware 1.4.1v. the bugger stopped automatically, byut saved the file. and couldnt start a new recording file. but bc of the super easy transfer, etc, it is my device of choice.

I do run a jb3 back up from time to time, but that's just to keep my paranoid mind at ease.