Customer Reviews
Excellent Portable Recording with Phantom Power 
2008-04-04
I'm not sure why other reviewers found the construction poor or the product otherwise less than excellent. The construction/physical device is of higher quality than other similar products from other manufacturers. The sound quality using phantom-powered mics is nothing short of amazing. (The included little mic is not so impressive but you shouldn't be using it anyway.) Menus are clear, functions straight forward. Buy TRS-to-XLR (female) cables for less than $10 and you are all set.
Disappointing 
2008-04-01
Researched this product thoroughly before buying, very enthusiastic about its touted capabilities. In theory this unit sounded great. On opening the box it has proven to be a total disappointment and waste of time; I'm writing this review to alert others. The first surprise was poor build quality out of the box; plastic feels cheap, like a $30 unit, not $499 list. This unit ships WITHOUT ANY MEMORY CARD; not even a token 125mb card, so you'll need to buy your own card/s even to test it.' Documentation was a joke';just a 12 page pamphlet so vague as to be useless. The accompanying CD is, incredibly, NOTHING BUT A SCAN OF THE 12pp PAMPHLET. No video demo of any kind, no tutorial, no illustrations, no troubleshooter, no index, nada. Nothing but the pamphlet, scanned. A 99% empty CD thrown in for marketing. Because instructions do not correlate with the screen messages, setup is a nightmare.
Next disappointment was the monochrome LED screen. Outdoors, it's completely unreadable. Indoors, at highest backlight setting (which is not very high) the screen is almost unreadable. Button control placement is inexplicably awkward, as if the unit had been designed in a Martian bunker by aliens that have never seen a standard 1970s-1990s handheld recorder before. The flash card eject button is an awkwardly tiny plastic folding lever which feels fragile, flimsy and breakable. The plastic body feels flimsy and fragile, as if a drop off a desktop would probaby kill it. The 'erase' and 'record' buttons are exposed and subject to accidental triggering, with all the problems that implies. M-Audio's tech support leaves much to be desired.
Altogether the MT2 was an expensive disappointment, and I've returned it. More a Beta internal prototype than a product, not ready for actual release, terrible 'documentation', poor design, poor build, unreadable screen, and short battery life (the built in battery took 4 hrs to charge; M Audio advises against running the recorder while it's plugged into an AC jack (!!!) another severe drawback. The only one getting a good deal out of this was the shipper, who made money on the round trip. two stars only for being an interesting concept; execution more like one star.
Speedy! 2008-02-24
THis is a great product--it makes wonderful recordings, stereo or mono, using either the enclosed inexpensive microphone or high quality ones. I use it for radio production, and it's also great for field recording of birds and other natural sounds.
Good upgrade 
2008-02-01
I already use a Microtrack 24/96. This MicrotrackII is an actual upgrade for several reasons: 48V phantom power, real attenuation on recordin gain, broadcasting wave format for impressing bookmark in the recording and so on.
Only yougth problem on the firmware. It often hangs while closeing recording, under external power. Need reset but the file is not corrupted
I don't dare open my new MII, after reading all reviews! 2008-07-08
Holy cow!! I can't believe, that after all I had just gone through, with M-Audio, that I'm STILL, right back to where I had started! I will try to synopsize, as much as possible here.
First, I'd like to thank all those, who posted their reviews, on this device. If I hadn't taken the time to read, I would've been setting myself up, for another HUGE disappointment.
To begin...I had purchased the MT 24/96, last year, with the intent of capturing, home-recorded tracks from my acoustic guitar sessions, for self-improvement. I had purchased the AT2041 mic bundle pack, after being assured from Guitar Center, that these condensers would work with the 48v, phantom power, onboard the MT 24/96. NOT!! There was absolutely NO signal! All other known glitches aside, this "glitch" was enough for me, to get really ticked off, since this unit was marketed, by M-Audio, as being compatible with condensers.
I sent a diplomatic, but obviously heated, email, to M-Audio. To my surprise, I received responses, the very same day, from both the General Manager, and the Sales Manager. They openly confessed, that there was a known issue, with the phantom power, only having enough "juice", to power a short-list of condensers. My AT2020 and 2021, was NOT on that "list", and to my surprise, they offered to ship to me, as a swap out for my MT 24/96, their new MTII, at no cost to me, ASAP. Now, I have to say, that in my case, of seeking a resolution, M-Audio, far surpassed my expectations, regarding customer care. Not only, did they respond with such unexpected speed, and shipped out the new MII, immediately, via FedEx, 2-day delivery, but they have yet to send out the call-tag, to pick up and return to them, my MT 24/96, also offered at their expense.
So, I received my new MTII, but in the back of my mind, something prevented me, from ripping that celophane, off the box, during my sheer excitement. For now, after reading all reviews, and comparing all, already known performance failures, dissatisfactions, and problem carry-overs, to the "redesigned" and "enhanced" MTII, I DON'T DARE OPEN THE DARN BOX!!
Although, for the sake of trying to provide a "Reader's Digest" version, of this statement, and leaving out many extra steps taken, to get this recorder to function properly, AS IT WAS MARKETED, I have decided to sacrifice convenience and portability, for reliability.
As I had clearly, and bluntly, stated to M-Audio...I could have invested, in a high-end, RELIABLE, audio interface, for LESS!
At this point, I'm saying...to heck with portability! I'm now, more than willing, to take any extra steps, and spend the extra time required, to utilize an AI, for my recording needs.
I truly understand, the big, beautiful concept, of wanting/being able to record spontaneous, exciting new tracks, and "drive-by" inspired 'thoughts'. This very concept, is what drove me to bank too much faith, on this recorder's ability, to deliver this need, "today".
The Microtrack II, and I concur, is an outstanding concept, if and when, M-Audio can work out all kinks...just not yet.
For some uses, the ONLY digital recorder 2008-06-22
I am a professional storyteller. As such, I have long been looking for a digital recorder that meets these requirements:
1. Is small enough to fit into my pocket when I perform.
2. Is easy to use in a performance (or practice) situation.
3. Is reliable enough for recording can't-be-repeated performances and workshops.
4. Has low enough hiss that I can make a saleable professional recording from it.
5. Makes it easy to transfer files to my computer.
6. Works well with pro mics.
7. Is affordable ($400 or below).
Until the Microtrack II came along, there were no digital recorders that met all those requirements. I know; I tried several of them and researched the rest. All failed in one way or another, most noticably in ease of use (requiring digging into menus to set the record levels, for example), in low hiss (this model's predecessor, for example, was just too noisy for pro recording), and in compatibility with pro mics, which requires true phantom power.
In fact, there is, as of this writing, no other small digital recorder that provides true phantom power for under $500. Period. Excellent performance recordings require a pro headworn or earset mic that is close enough to my mouth to screen out most room noises. No recording can be better than the sound of the mic used to record it! For people like me, therefore, phantom power is a must-have feature.
So you can imagine that I was excited when I read the specs and early reviews of the Microtrack II.
Initially, I was cruelly disappointed: the first units shipped with a bug in the firmware that caused most recordings to be lost. Major problem!
Fortunately, the 1.0.3 firmware update solved that major problem, completely. Now the Microtrack II is blessedly reliable.
At least one other review faulted the Microtrack II for having the record level controls on the top surface where they could be accidentally hit during a recording. This WOULD be a problem except for the excellent and convenient hold switch. And, for my purposes, the accessible record-level buttons on the Microtrack II are more than okay; they're a part of fulfilling my criterion number 2 (above). When I'm trying to perform and record myself, I need record-level buttons that I can adjust easily. I can't manage digging in a menu to adjust the levels, for example; I have enough on my mind and too little time, as it is.
By the way, the defeatable limiter on the Microtrack II seems to work great. It keeps loud sounds from being clipped, as it should. And it does that without creating distortion of any kind that I can hear. This is essential to my use, since I don't watch the record levels while performing (just while setting up). A good limiter means that, if I talk louder than expected during a recording, the recording won't be ruined, even if I have set the levels a tad too high.
The background hiss on the Microtrack II is not as low as I'd ideally like it. But it is low enough that I can easily edit it out. (The Noise Removal on the free Audacity editor, versions 1.3.5 and higher, for example, removes this level of hiss completely and without introducing artifacts.)
The biggest drawback in the Microtrack II's design is its lack of a removeable battery. Other recorders manage to work on removeable AA's. I wish this one did, too. But the workaround isn't too hard to find: use an external USB charger when you want more than about 3 hours of recording before charging. (I like to be able to record an all-day workshop, for example.) Two good choices are the APC UPB10 Mobile Power Pack for charging mobile devices, which will run the Microtrack II for 11 hours or more on a single charge, if the Microtrack II is fully charged at the start, or the MobilePower USB Power Bank, which uses 4 AA batteries; to keep recording, just change out those batteries during a break after about 3 hours.
Other minor issues are the lack of a storage card (you have to provide your own), the use of Compact Flash cards instead of the cheaper SD cards, the absence of a belt-clip case, and the absence of XLR inputs.
To be fair, XLR jacks are so large that I can't imagine where they could be put on a machine this small. And the included 1/4" TRS balanced jacks are much more reliable than the usual 1/8" jacks. So this seems like a reasonable trade-off for small size, even though you'll have to search the web for a short adapter cable (to go from the XLR output of your pro mic to the 1/4" TRS input). A 3-foot adapter cable adds too much bulk for my pocket! Fortunately, I found a 1-foot adapter by Rapco.
For my requirements, all the drawbacks to the Microtrack II are minor or can be worked around easily enough. I use my Microtrack II to record many of my performances and workshops, since it's inconspicuous enough not to be distracting to my audience, even in small spaces and results in great recordings.
All in all, then, this is the first recorder to meet all of my requirements. I have been using my Microtrack II for over 6 months and can say that I love it. I have even taught a course in using it, for non-techie storytellers. If they can learn to love it and I (a high-techie storyteller) love it, you can love it, too. If you need a pocket recorder that works with pro mics, this is really your only choice on the market.
Unfortunately a flawed product 
2008-06-11
This unit is a reasonably capable recorder seriously hampered by an unreliable battery system. Mine held a decent charge for the first half dozen uses and then quickly tapered down to about a 15 or 20 minute max. Unfortunately I held mine a few months befor putting it into regular use. When the time then quickly came that I realized I should be looking at the warranty, I found that M-audio's regular warranty doesn't apply to battery issues. Think they know there's a problem here? And then its 75 dollars to replace the battery which, of course, I'm concerned will be another worthless unit. Expect to have to run this unit on AC if you're expecting to do any length of recording, and even then it occasionally shuts off as if its out of power. I'll be buying a Tascam product on the next round.
nice one 2008-05-11
very easy to use, straight form the box. very lightweight too, and the included stereo mic is nice, indeed. a little straining for the eyes the stilish blue display, but who needs to look at it for a long time, anyway? just set it up and let it do his work.
great battery too, i managed to record more than 3 hours live and still have a littel battery on the display.
Soon to be Junked by M-Audio 2008-04-11
This recorder like its predecessor has been plagued with problems. This is the one time I can defiantly say that the sequel Microtrack is by far worse than the first.
Some of the major issues that plague the Microtrack II are:
1.Unbalanced input noises coming from the 1/4" analog jacks. This is now officially product feature as explained by M-Audio. This is a design flaw that cannot be fixed with firmware updates and is so major that they are given refunds to people are complaining about the issue. This will likely result in the discontinuation of the Microtrack two.
2. If that did not scare you off then how about a battery life of like 30 min. Since the m2's battery is internal there is no way to just pop in a couple of fresh batteries in the field. If the battery dies then you must ship it back to M-Audio and have it replace with the same crappy battery for $75.
3. There are some issues using the Microtrack with larger sized Compact Flash cards as well.
If I were you I would stay away from this recorder. It will be nothing but a headache for you and not worth the money.
