Here is what I have worked up thus far, just spending the last hour or so on this...
feel free to post revisions to my statements and add more topics. I numbered the topics by 10s so I could add more without changing the whole number scheme.
M-Audio Microtrack 2496 (MT2496) FAQ v0.1.1
I. General information
[000] I don’t know much about recorders, where do I start?
Before you go any further, please go here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=46.0 [010] What is the MT2496?
The user guide is available here, please read this before proceeding.
http://www.taperssection.com/reference/pdf/Manual_MAudioMicroTrack2496.pdf [011] How big is the MT2496?
[012] What formats and sample rate can it record?
[020] How much does this thing cost, and what does it come with; where are the best deals?
[030] What are its advantages/disadvantages, relative to other recorders?
II. Storage media
[040] How big a compact flash card do I need to buy?
[041] I heard that there is a 2 GB file limit. How do I work around that? Is that going to be fixed?
[050] How fast does the compact flash card need to be?
[060] I want to record a festival and CF cards are expensive. Is there an affordable, tested solution so I can dump the files and keep recording all day long?
[061] I get an error when I try to transfer files over to my PC from the media. It tells me that my card is not properly formatted or that my files are corrupt. What is going on?
III. Functionality
[070] How do I operate this thing?
[080] I have to restart the recorder when I put in a fresh compact flash card; why is that and are they going to fix it?
[090] Can I run my mics or the soundboard directly into my MT-2496?
[100] What input is best to use, as this thing gives me too many options?
[110] Does this device really provide 48V phantom power?
[120] Should I use an external pre-amplifier?
[130] Should I use an external ADC?
[140] What sort of self-noise is there when using the internal pre-amp and ADC?
[150] Will the self-noise impact concert recordings?
[160] Is the electret microphone that is supplied with the device any good?
[170] Will the mic-in take a 1/8” line-level signal?
[180] Are there any post-production modifications available that will improve performance of the MT2496?
[190] Does the S/PDIF input work for 16 and 24 bit recordings, and at what sampling rates?
[200] The level meters do not appear to work properly when recording with S/PDIF, what is going on?
[210] I seem to be getting some intermittent channel swapping with S/PDIF recordings, what is going on and will this be fixed?
[220] I want to use this as a “bit-dump,” is it bit-perfect when fed a digital signal?
[230] My computer doesn’t recognize the MT2496 when I plug it in, what do I do?
[240] Do I have to transfer to a computer, or can I use a different device to dump my recordings?
[250] Will Macintosh computers recognize the recorder?
[260] Does the headphone amp work when I am using the digital input? How about analog input?
[270] I get a message “WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk” when I open MT2496 files in CDwave or when I go to FLAC the files. Is this a problem? Am I losing part of my recording?
IV. Power
[280] Does it take regular batteries?
[290] How do I charge this thing?
[300] How long does the internal battery last when recording?
[310] The first time I charged it, it stopped charging after a short period of time, and when I plugged it back in, it went back to charging. Is there something wrong?
[311] Can I replace the battery myself if it goes bad?
[320] Is there an external battery / power source that can be used to power the MT2496?
[330] Does using the phantom power or electret power (mic-in) impact the run time?
VI. Support, bug reporting, and planned upgrades
[340] What is the latest firmware?
[350] How do I know what firmware I have?
[360] How do I upgrade the firmware?
[370] Has M-Audio taken an active role in addressing issues that people have had?
[380] What are the future plans for upgrades?
[390] How can I contact M-Audio to inform them about issues I have with my MT2496?
[400] Are there other resources for me to discuss problems or issues about my MT2496?
This information has been pulled from various threads on taperssection.com and by viewers like you.
[010] What is the MT2496?
From M-Audio’s website:
The MicroTrack is a rugged high-fidelity mobile 2-channel digital recorder that records WAV and MP3 files to CompactFlash or microdrives—perfect for everything from professional field recording to corporate meetings, training, education and worship. Record via balanced line inputs or built-in high-fidelity microphone preamps complete with phantom power for studio-quality microphones. Connect MicroTrack to a PC or Mac via USB and simply drag and drop recordings to your computer for immediate editing or Web posting. Power derives from a lithium-ion battery, and the unit can recharge via the computer’s USB connection or USB power adapter. The MicroTrack combines quality beyond that of DAT recording with the convenience and cost-effectiveness of personal digital recorders for the ultimate solution in mobile recording.
[011] How big is the MT2496?
Width:61mm or 2.4”
Height:109.5mm or 4.3”
Thickness:28.5mm or 1.12” over the LCD.
Weight:4.9oz or 138.9 grams without CF card; 5.2oz or 147.4 grams with CF card
[012] What sample rates and formats can it record?
MP3 recording:96 to 320kbps at 32, 44.1 or 48kHz
PCM recording:16 or 24-bit at 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96kHz
Apparently, the 24 bit, 96 Khz S/PDIF input does not work properly.
In fact, the MT2496 functions properly at 24 bit, 48 khz at present time.
This is an issue that M-Audio says that they will address with future firmware updates.[020] How much does this thing cost, and what does it come with; where are the best deals?
The suggested retail price is 499.95 US dollars. The “street price” appears to be 399 US dollars. There have been reports of much better prices from people buying them at various online dealers. The best prices I have heard about have been from Guitar Center, using someone else’s receipt, as shown in this thread:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=51854.0It comes with a USB cable, an AC/DC converter for USB cable, a 64 MB CF card, an electret stereo microphone, a set of cheap headphones, and the MT2496 itself.
[030] What are its advantages/disadvantages, relative to other recorders?
This can be a subjective topic, as there are all sorts of opinions about what makes certain devices good/bad/otherwise.
MT2496 vs. DAT
Pro:
No moving parts, no capacity to have tapes eaten by recorder
1 time media investment, opposed to continued media investment
24-bit, 96 khz recording potential
Cons
Long-term reliability unknown
Initial investment in CF cards is almost as much as recorder
MT2496 vs. JB3
Pros:
New product, better continued support
24-bit, 96 khz recording potential
Smaller, lighter
Does not require proprietary software to connect to PC
Coaxial S/PDIF input as opposed to optical means better compatibility with many ADCs
Cons:
Removable media is more expensive
Less proven/test
Un-removable batteries.
MT2496 vs other solid-state recorders
Pros
Much less expensive
Small
Cons
Compact Flash cards and microdrives are more expensive than bigger conventional HDDs, gig for gig.
Does not supply 48V phantom power – making it less of an all-in-one box than most others (PDM-660/671, SD-7XX, etc)
[040] How big a compact flash card do I need to buy?
This depends on how long you plan to record for and what bit-rate and sample rate you are using. A 4 GB card will hold enough data to record a 1 h set and a 1.5 hour set, recording in 24/96, which seems to be the standard rock and roll show these days. There have been numerous discussions about the sample rate/bit rate and file sizes on taperssection.com.
Follow this link for a table on this subject:
http://24bit.turtleside.com/pcm.wav.file.sizes.pdf[041] I heard that there is a 2 GB file limit. How do I work around that? Is that going to be fixed?
This is true. To work around this, most people will just start a new recording before the time limit is up. If you don’t do this, the recorder will just save the file and stop recording. This may be an issue that M-Audio can fix with a firmware upgrade, but it does not seem like a high priority issue to them at present.
[050] How fast does the compact flash card need to be?
A 40-45X card or faster is needed. A list of “approved cards” is on the M-Audio website
[060] I want to record a festival and CF cards are expensive. Is there an affordable, tested solution so I can dump the files and keep recording all day long?
You can always bring along a laptop, provided you buy a couple of CF cards. Most solutions are going to require more than a single CF card, in fact. There are many battery-powered “on the go” drives that you can purchase.
[061] I get an error when I try to transfer files over to my PC from the media. It tells me that my card is not properly formatted or that my files are corrupt. What is going on?
There is something about FAT32 formatting that makes for this error to occur. A resolution to this is posted in the following thread:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=53423.0[070] How do I operate this thing?
This involves various topics including: charging, set-up, recording, and transferring.
note: Please see the users manual for details with operations, it does a very good job of describing how to operate this device.
[080] I have to restart the recorder when I put in a fresh compact flash card; why is that and are they going to fix it?
This is the case, and for now, there is no work-around. They may be able to fix this, but it is doubtful that they will. To many this is not a big deal.
[090] Can I run my mics or the soundboard directly into my MT-2496?
Yes, you can do either one, provided the source has the right amount of signal. Some microphone based sources are going to be too “hot,” and some are not going to have enough signal to get around the fairly high signal-to-noise ratio inherent in this device. See the answer below for specifics about which input to use for different sources.
[100] What input is best to use, as this thing gives me too many options?
This depends on the source you are using. For small, electret microphones, it may be best to use the 1/8" Mic Input. For line-level inputs, it may be best to use to 2 stereo ¼ inch jacks without phantom power. For condenser microphones, it may be OK to use the phantom power, even though it only puts out 30V of power. If either your microphones will be damaged by using less than 48v phantom power or if you want a cleaner sound than the preamps inside provide, you should use an outboard preamp or an outboard preamp and ADC, and use the S/PDIF. There are problems with monitoring S/PDIF recordings right now, but if you have decent level meters on another device, this won’t matter.
The specifications for each input are listed on the M-Audio website.
[110] Does this device really provide 48V phantom power?
This has ended up being a real bugaboo for a lot of people. It appears that the unit only supplies 30V of phantom power.
There is an FAQ about this on the M-Audio website, here:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.faq&ID=7fb377f3ef962038a26bc5c2291bafc1[120] Should I use an external pre-amplifier?
If your microphones require 48 V phantom power or if you are not getting a good signal to noise ratio, it is recommended that you use an external microphone preamplifier.
[130] Should I use an external ADC?
This depends on the quality of the external ADC and what the sound you like. You could run line-level in via ¼” inputs and see if it sounds OK. If you like it, you can take that free-standing ADC out of your bag. IME, ADCs in recorders will come nowhere close to performance of ones made by manufactures such as Grace designs, Benchmark, Apogee, or even Sony.
[140] What sort of self-noise is there when using the internal pre-amp and ADC?
There appears to be quite a bit of noise inherent in this unit. There is enough that some people that record quiet things, such as nature sounds think that this unit is useless.
[150] Will the self-noise impact concert recordings?
It depends on the volume in the concert hall. If it is quiet, acoustic, unamplified music, it may have a great impact. For many rock-and-roll concerts, or most amplified events, the amount of signal should be able to mask the self-noise sufficiently that it is relatively inaudible.
[160] Is the electret microphone that is supplied with the device any good?
Are any of them any good?
[170] Will the mic-in take a 1/8” line-level signal?
It will, but it requires very little signal, as it amplifies the signal coming in through that path. Chances are, the ¼” inputs are more suitable for almost every line-level type of recording.
[180] Are there any post-production modifications available that will improve performance of the MT2496?
Not at this time. The Oades may do something to modify the inputs to reduce the noise in the analog inputs, but this probably won’t have any impact on the digital input.
[190] Does the S/PDIF input work for 16 and 24 bit recordings, and at what sampling rates?
The S/PDIF appears to work at 16 and 24 bits for 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz rates.
[200] The level meters do not appear to work properly when recording with S/PDIF, what is going on?
With the S/PDIF, the level meters do not work, or are very irregular in how they function. M-Audio is aware of the problem and they have said this will be addressed with the next firmware upgrade.
[210] I seem to be getting some intermittent channel swapping with S/PDIF recordings, what is going on and will this be fixed?
With the S/PDIF, there appears to be channel swapping, at least with 24-bit signal encoding. M-Audio is aware of the problem and they have said this will be addressed with the next firmware upgrade.
[220] I want to use this as a “bit-dump,” is it bit-perfect when fed a digital signal?
Nobody has conclusive or extensive test comparing it to other recorders, but it appears to be bit-perfect and does not re-sample digital signals that are put into the recorder.
[230] My computer doesn’t recognize the MT2496 when I plug it in, what do I do?
This is very common. Apparently, the PC tries to place drive into slot that is already mapped, and this is not a MT-specific problem. This is how “Tainted” fixed it:
- Right-click "My Computer" on desktop and choose "Manage"
- Go to "Disk Management" under "Storage"
- The MT should show up on the screen
- Right-click on the section for the MT in the bottom right pane, and choose "Change Drive Letters & Paths"
- Change drive letter to something you never use for anything else
- DONE!
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=51891.60 [240] Do I have to transfer to a computer, or can I use a different device to dump my recordings?
You can use on-the-go drives to transfer your recordings to; for details see topic [060]
[250] Will Macintosh computers recognize the recorder?
It appears that there are even fewer issues with Apple devices than with windows PCs.
[260] Does the headphone amp work when I am using the digital input? How about analog input?
The headphone amp appears to be disabled when taking in a digital signal.
The headphone amp works when taking an analog signal, but it is not that loud enough to use, even with headphones with excellent isolation.
[270] I get a message “WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk” when I open MT2496 files in CDwave or when I go to FLAC the files. Is this a problem? Am I losing part of my recording?
This is not a problem. This happens with various recorder- or software-specific headers.
See
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=53348.0 for details.
[280] Does the MT2496 take regular batteries?
No, it has a proprietary lithium-ion battery and is not user serviceable.
[290] How do I charge this thing?
You can plug the AC adaptor into the wall and plug the MT2496 into that using the USB cable provided. The other option is to connect it to a computer USB port and it will charge from that power.
[300] How long does the internal battery last when recording?
Various different runtimes have been reported.
[310] The first time I charged it, it stopped charging after a short period of time, and when I plugged it back in, it went back to charging. Is there something wrong?
This appears to be commonplace. Just keep charging it and it will fill up eventually, usually with 3-4 repetitions of charging. The battery, being Li-Ion, should never be full discharged, and does not have nearly the memory effects of other battery types.
[311] Can I replace the battery myself, if it goes bad?
It is not recommended, and it will void the warranty. See the link below for M-Audio’s statement in regard to the battery:
http://www.m-audio.com/images/en/warranty/MT_Warranty.pdf[320] Is there an external battery / power source that can be used to power the MT2496?
Yes. Two companies, Segue enterprise and bumblebee cables make voltage regulator boxes and cables that are compatible with the MT2496. Contact ToddR or leegeddy (Marc) for details about their products. They are both affordable solutions and work reliably.
[330] Does using the phantom power or electret power (mic-in) impact the run time?
There is no doubt that the phantom power will reduce the runtime significantly. The 5 v for the 1/8 inch output may have some impact, but it will probably be minimal.
[340] What is the latest firmware?
As of the 4th of November, 2005, Version 1.1.5
[350] How do I know what firmware I have?
Power up the MT2496. Use NAV key to scroll to “system,” and scroll to and select “version.”
[360] How do I upgrade the firmware?
How to update your MicroTrack 24/96 firmware to version 1.1.5:
1) Connect the MicroTrack 24/96 to your Mac or PC. (Please refer to your manual for details on this procedure.)
2) Load the two files, “PP5020.mi4” and “Resources.arl,” on the CompactFlash card in your MicroTrack 24/96.
3) Properly unmount the MicroTrack 24/96 from the computer. (Again, please refer to your manual for complete instructions.)
4) On the MicroTrack 24/96, navigate to Main Menu > System > Firmware Update and press the NAV button.
5) It will ask you to verify this action. Press the NAV button again.
The download is available here:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.drivers&product=196cc4c35a380d800a80448f139bcfe7&showbeta=1[370] Has M-Audio taken an active role in addressing issues that people have had?
M-Audio has provided excellent support for this device, thus far. There is no reason to think they will not continue to address all of the issues that are fixable with firmware updates.
Some people have had their units ruled defective and M-Audio replaced them.
[380] What are the future plans for upgrades?
This isn’t really clear. There have been various emails floating around that people have posted with M-Audio saying they will address a bunch of different issues.
You can have an impact on future firmware upgrades by going here and providing feedback to M-Audio:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.betaform [390] How can I contact M-Audio to inform them about issues I have with my MT2496?
Yes. You can email them directly or call them. Contact information is available on their website.
[400] Are there other resources for me to discuss problems or issues about my MT2496?
As of right now, taperssection.com seems to be on the leading edge of discussion about the MT2496.
Topic: M-Audio MicroTrack FAQ (Read 6435 times)