MicroMemo is coming...

Thanks to the guys at CongressRadio in Germany for pointing out that XtremeMac are working on a piece of software called MicroMemo. I've signed up for more information to see whether they have managed to make any iPod record with 44 kHz quality.

Sonosax MiniR82 - 4500 Euro recorder

Robert Freeman in London sent some nice wishes and says he thought of this blog will perusing this site The Sonosax flash recorder must be hand built since it has a Patek Phillipe price tag. Frankly I'd be scared of losing it.

The site is written in a sort of "Swinglish". In part the sales pitch is..

In our willing to offer sound engineers modern, powerful equipments perfectly tailored to their specific needs, and after almost a year of intensive research and development, taking benefit of the latest innovations of today's available technologies, SONOSAX is proud to introduce the MINIR82 , a robust, small sized hard disk and CompactFlash Card audio recorder specifically designed for on location recording.

Despite its reduced size, only 120 x 80 x 28 mm (4.75” x 3.15” x 1.1”) weighting only 430gr (1/2 pound) with 4xAA standard alkaline batteries, the MINIR82 offers all functionalities and features required in modern mobile sound recording.

Freely configurable from 2 to 8 tracks with recording capabilities from 44,1kHz to 192 kHz at 24bits, writing industry standard WAV and BWF Mono or Stereo audio files to either its internal 20 to 30Gb hard disk or to the CompactFlash card, equipped with two high quality microphone amplifiers with switchable limiters using state of the art SONOSAX technologies, 2 analog line inputs and 8 Digital Inputs ( 4xAES/EBU ), the MINIR82 will be your perfect companion whenever used as a stand alone recorder for ENG/Documentary applications or on a sound cart when used in conjunction with an outboard mixer such as the SONOSAX SX-ST for larger production sets. Of course, the MINIR82 offers full Time Code capability, including HDTV format, and can be used as master or slave.


Do you understand why manufacturers assign the product numbers they do? Not sure I would call a new device the MINIR82. But that applies to most equipment guys. They assume we're all armed with bits of paper as we wander around electronic equipment stores.

Happy New Year 2006

Thanks for all the good wishes - and feedback - in the last couple of weeks. Around half a dozen magazines picked up the news of the survey, so I am going to wait until the middle of February before shutting entries. But it is already clear that the radio industry still have a lot of issues with the current crop of audio recorders out there - from Minidisc to flash. Please keep the feedback coming. There is quite clearly a need to share information in this field.

More on M-Audio Microtrack

M-Audio Microtrack
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

The Dutch distributor still claims there is no stock, so unable to provide one for review. In the meantime, Tim Locke who works at BBC News shares the following observations. In general, he is positive. But he notes:

1. The unit takes quite a while to boot up - around 20 seconds. A worry for reporters in a hurry..

2. Using the extra gain on the TRS inputs seems to add a "whine" when recording from the BBC's standard Beyer M58s microphones.

3. The inability to swop out batteries is a worry - they have bought an Ipod AA USB battery pack to mitigate against trouble - it would be good to bundle these like the mains ones supplied.

4. The promised mono recording firmware is not out yet, expected Feb 06. - currently they are either having to use hardwired solutions which are clumsy.

5. There's no pause+record function - so you can't tweak your record levels before starting recording.

6. Accidentally hitting the navigation button and inadvertantly pausing during a recording is a too easy.

7. Nav selector for menus can be too sensitive and overshoots intended selection.

8. There is no way to add track marks during recording.