M-Audio MicroTrack II Review

First Impressions

Except for the classy darker color, the M-Audio MicroTrack II looks identical to its predecessor. Same layout. Same controls.

When we first picked it up, we noticed that the MicroTrack II is a little heavier (5.5 ounces versus 5.3 ounces) and its sides are covered with a rubberized material, improving grip and handling. Very considerate.

The "hand feel" of the MTII is very good.

In the Box

The MicroTrack II comes with the following items in the box:

USB cable
stereo 'T' microphone
48V phantom power
1/8" female to male extension cable with lapel clip
earbuds
protective bag
USB switching adapter/power supply
Quick Start Guide
CD-ROM containing the USer Guide, test tones, and Audacity editing software

The most notable omission from this list is a compact flash card.

Most other companies offer a token 128-512 mb-sized flash card to get you started. Seems like M-Audio could have done the same.

MicroTrack II Angle View

Ease of Use

The MicroTrack II is easier to use than version I.

The volume meters make level-setting much easier than it was with the little red and green lights.

The formerly twitchy Nav Button is now fairly stable.

The REC button can be programmed as a "REC PAUSE" button to avoid creating dozens of files while setting levels.

The first firmware update was posted on 28 Dec 2007. Specifications, manuals and update information can be found M-Audio's MicroTrack II webpage

M-Audio's new, "more professional" features and enhancements in the MicroTrack II include:

extended input gain range
analog input limiter with bypass
48V phantom power
faster data transfer rate via USB 2.0
easily add markers to BWF files
monitor S/PDIF input via headphones while recording
seamless recording of files greater than 2GB
customizable folders for organizing files
built-in CompactFlash speed test
backlight dimmer
hibernation mode

These are all indeed handy improvements. Unfortunately, two notorious irritations from the MicroTrack I have been continued in the MicroTrack II:

no real way to mount the unit on a mic stand or tripod (m-audio staff jokingly suggest duct tape) and

a battery that can't be replaced by the consumer

Battery Life

The MicroTrack II battery does appear to be more efficient than the one in the MTI. It lasted more than 4 hours during our battery life test.

The MTII Quick Start Guide contains an ominous warning that "failure to fully charge the MicroTrack II battery before first use can limit the capacity of the battery, lowering the total time of MicroTrack II."

We charged ours overnight and haven't had a problem. MicroTrack II inputs and outputs

Storage and Connectivity

The MicroTrack II still has the most diverse and professional array of inputs and outputs available in a handheld audio recorder.

We suspect this is the reason it has become a portable recorder of choice for some professional sound designers and broadcast journalists.

Input Jacks

s/pdif
mic/line stereo 1/4" TRS
1/8" stereo mic
USB

Outputs

RCA (L - line - R outs)
1/8" stereo headphone
USB

The USB 2.0 connection is very speedy

The MicroTrack II accepts compact flash cards up to 8GB in size.

Sound Quality

We can't figure out how M-Audio managed to get such good sound from the cheap little stereo 'T' mic that comes with the MTII, but they did.

The MicroTrack II sounds very good. The excellent sound quality is why so many people put up with its irritations.

Better than the first version? Marginally so. The MicroTrack II may convey a bit more spaciousness in its aural sound stage than its predecessor.

Check out our MicroTrack II sound samples and judge for yourself.

Conclusion

The MicroTrack II isn't perfect, but you'd have to spend a lot more money to find the same combination of sound quality and connectivity found in the MicroTrack II.

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