I just got a MT24/96 and decided to put it through a test at a recent party I was attending (not working) to see how it holds up. I used a 6 gb microdrive for storage.

I must say I was left confused and unsure what to do after everthing was over...

First off - the unit I bought had issues with the buttons. The volume up works fine; volume down causes it to go to the menu. Same thing for the left level down button. The right level up and down adjusted both left and right audio levels...weird.

So I charged it up, loaded new firmware, and got it ready for the evening...

Later that night at the party - I basically hit the record button, checked the audio through the headphones and adjusted the levels and sat it down on the side near a wall proped up on some canvas camera case. The catering room is quite large.

A bit later I went over to it and it was off. I picked it up and looked at my watch.. Kinda short recording time..hmm..

Well, a day later I'm copying the wave file to my pc... It was recorded in 16bit, 48khz wav format. The file is 799 megs, 70 minutes in length.

The good:
Audio quality using the included stereo mic was fan-tas-tic... Clear, crisp, sharp and incredibly detailed. You can hear the performers singing and playing music and hear the chatter of guests, their glasses coming together during toasts, forks hitting plates, etc.. you name it..

The bad:
Built in battery life was 70 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh, and those weird button shorts causing them to do or not do what they're supposed to.

So as you can see... Tough choice.. I can either exchange it for another and hope the button issue was a random defect but what about battery? Was it quick cause I used a microdrive? Will it be better on CF memory instead? What other options for ambience recorders are there!? Digital is preferable. (i.e. that use CF storage, Hard drives..)

Wait till the next model when they've got the
bugs worked out. I'd return it.

CES is coming up pretty soon, maybe they'll have
something there.

There's this new recorder (can't think of who makes
it) that looks pretty cool. It has analog level
gauges and the built-in mic looks like an NT4.
I'm sure someone hear knows what I'm referring
to.

I would expect the microdrive would reduce the battery life since it consumes more power than a CF card.

Do you have the latest firmware updates applied?

Microdrive will take a hit on the internal battery. I would suggest getting a USB battery box to supplement longer record times...

Steve - Yep, the latest firmware was applied.

I just swapped the unit out for another one.. I'll try this one at home leaving it running until it dies... I'll also try the test with the same microdrive and then once with a 1 gb compact flash to see the difference the drive puts on the battery.

BTW.. Any recommendations for a USB battery box?? I haven't seen too many decent ones that last.

Thanks.

Check this USB battery box (even has a light)
http://pdaden.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&action=view&product_id=16686

Thanks Mark...

Interesting USB battery box... Though I question how much life 800ma of juice would give me... 400 bux on the recorder and a $10 battery box.. kinda feel like I'd be depriving the MT24/96... I'm willing to pay a little more for something with greater capacity battery power. Would be nice if it used my DVXs 5400mah batteries.

Thanks Mark...

Interesting USB battery box... Though I question how much life 800ma of juice would give me... 400 bux on the recorder and a $10 battery box.. kinda feel like I'd be depriving the MT24/96... I'm willing to pay a little more for something with greater capacity battery power. Would be nice if it used my DVXs 5400mah batteries.

The amount of battery life isn't dictated by the 800mA's... what you're talking about is mAh's and that all depends on the AA batteries you use. You can find some good 2400mAh rechargeables out there so you should be able to end up with some really decent record times.

pasty

Good point Pasty. Thanks.