M-Audio Microtrack 24/96

The microtrack is easy to use, and it picks up sound quite well for a field recorder. We use it for classroom use, as well as interviews. The numbering system for files is difficult, though; even after all files are deleted, it picks up with the next number in the sequence.

Overall, this has been a good unit. The one big problem is the lack of a removeable battery, which brings us to the issue of customer support.

M-audio has been evasive at best, non-existent at worst. In the last two and a half months, I have not been able to get through on the phone to them at all. I have spent over 30 minutes on hold, and their online system of customer support takes you back to bulletin board days. Although they require you to give your email, they don't respond via email; they post their responses to questions or issues on their site. It's now late January 2009. Since November 2008, I have received one response in this manner, asking me to call or contact them so I can receive a return authorization number to get my battery replaced. Meanwhile, the system is non-functioning.

If it were stolen or lost, I would thank my lucky stars and then justify to my boss that we need to buy something else. When you run into problems with technology, you want to believe that the manufacturer will be helpful. Having created the issue by having a battery that only the manufacturer can replace, M-audio needs to step up.

its fairly easy to use and understand.
hm... newest firmware to date 1 march.
does not want to work with the new compact flash disk i bought 2 gb lexar pro ... something. which is what pulls the rating down down down ..

the sound quality is excellent under perfect circumstances.
the mic that comes with it (a mini stereo jack st. mic ) is good for recording all sorts of things , cept ! it will crap out with some low hertz real easy... tried recording the sound of traveling in a bus ... it crapped out x 10 and maxed out the rec input.
the other thing that pulls this thing down is its sensitivity to cellphones... it will totally pick up buzzing and humming from cellphones within a 10 yard radius . which is pretty frustrating as one can not tell everyone around to turn off phones in all the places you record.
the inputs are pretty good though otherwise ... lots of choices ... stereo input 2 seperate inputs - ordinary jack balanced

with a compact flash card it can handle ..pretty much
the battery time is damn good!
but with the other compact flash card it totally crashed got cranky and only allowed me to record if i did a little usb in and out and pushing of buttons.

havent tried it. no time.

if it was stolen ... im doubtful ... its way too pricey over here for what it is and does. about 2 times as pricey as its worth.
its great for recording small stuff here and there.. the mic that comes with it suprises.
i like its simplicity and ease of use.
i hate the compact flash crabbiness.
the card that came with it from m-audio works perfect...
doesnt say anywhere it cant use others and such..
tried the cf card in another portable player fostex fr-2 it worked like a charm. so its not the card. fr-2 (way more pricey and bigger and in another class so to speak)

Once you get the hang of it, it's downright simple to operate. It has some quirks, but for the most part I can live with them. I use it for recording band practices through a mixer using the balanced 1/4" inputs, but you can also use a mic (stereo mini plug input). It has phantom power, but I don't use it (it's only 30v). I also use this to record conferences, but again, I usually run it off a mixer. You can't name files, and it just keeps numbering them consecutively unless you reset it to factory defaults (which means you have to go back and reset all of your settings). The navigation wheel is kind of funky at first, but I got used to it. Setting the recording levels takes a little getting used to also. What makes it cool is that I can record the band and play it back instantly, but I can easily download and edit files in the computer and burn CD's for each member of the band. The website has downloadable updates.

I'm an old school kind of guy and convincing me that modern technology is better is sometimes a hard sell. I like analog gear! That being said, this little thing makes some great recordings. The band practice room has an old Peavey mixer and some old effects units (ATR, Alesis, etc.) but we have some nice mics (EV, Beyer, AKG and more). I'd like to think our recordings sound like they were made at Muscle Shoals in the 60's, but they don't. They are pretty darn good, though! I also do quite a bit of conference recording with this, and it performs as well or better than the popular Marantz 660's and 670's (at a much lower price). One guy I work with uses the M-Audios exclusively for conference recording.

Looks like it might be breakable, but I have not had any problems. Make sure you use a high quality Compact Flash card. I got burned on eBay by someone selling bogus cards.

The website is pretty good at providing updates and from what I hear, M-Audio has pretty good customer support. I haven't contacted them, but I do get all the updates.

For the price, the quality of recordings and the compact size it can't be beat. It's a very versatile unit. I would definitely get another one. Like I said, it has some quirks, but overall it's a great recorder.

rca and headphone out, spdif in, trs balance 1/4 in with phantom power, 1/8 in with 5v of power, switchible line, mic, high sens. records at mp3, 16/24 bit wav up to 96, (digital in up to 48) This thing is a no brainer absolutly the easiest recorder Ive ever used. Makes the roland vs series look like nuclear science. you can record a file in two clicks, menu and hit record, hit record to stop and the file saves its self. Ive updated mine to the beta software version.

This thing sounds awsome. Ive recorded it with the free mic and a pair of akg stereo mics and the thing sounds great, The free mic sounds great for voice/lecture(in fact excells at it) but does not cut it for music(noisy). The trs inputs and mic preamp sound great. you will need a stereo mic set or a good binaural mic and battery box for music recording. The phantom power only puts out 30v instead of 48v but works perfectly with my akgs. I also a/b the phantom power with my A.R.T. phantom II box which puts out 48v and noticed no noticibly difference through headphones, but mics do vary.

Ive used the thing about 25 times and have never had any problems

Seems to work hard at anwering questions, already updated filmware and list F.A.Q. on the website.

Likes= simple to use, sound quality, price/quality ratio, options are perfect for me, lots of in/outs, very fast transfer rates, free editing software, internal battery(which last 8 hours and 3 hours with phantom power on my test confirm this!).

dislikes: cant name a file, phantom power 30v, 1/4 input to close for some adapters, recording levels not labeled with numbers, nav wheel a little weird.

overall I love this thing, read the options if it works for you buy it! p.s. I got a 2gig cf card for $110!