Once again, Zoom raise the bar for high‑quality, affordable handheld recorders.
In 2019, Zoom brought us the world’s first location recorder that offered 32‑bit floating‑point recording, the F‑6. This revolutionary technology removes the need to optimise recording levels in real time, so is of particular benefit to inexperienced users or those working in situations where levels can’t be controlled or predicted. Other Zoom models (and other manufacturers) soon adopted the same technology, and the latest to do so are Zoom’s new MicTraks, reviewed here.
A range of low‑cost, portable audio recorders, the MicTraks — the M2 stereo recorder, the M3 stereo on‑camera recorder, and the M4 four‑channel recorder — share common features, including the F‑series’ dual‑converter 32‑bit floating‑point recording technology. Powered by AA batteries (two in the M2/M3, four in the M4) or over USB, they record directly to micro‑SD cards (up to 1TB SDXC) and can serve as USB mics when connected to Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android devices. While the M3 mounts directly onto a video camera’s hot shoe (see ‘Rule Of Three’ box), the M2 and M4 resemble large stage mics and are clearly intended for handheld use.
Two Cool
The M2 MicTrak is a stereo recorder, with integral microphones protected under a large open‑mesh plastic grille. It’s 221.5mm long, with a 62mm diameter at the grille reducing to 30mm at the base, and with batteries installed weighs just 204g. Included accessories are a furry windshield, a large plastic mic‑stand clip (with 3/8‑inch thread adaptor) and several Quick Tour guides in different languages. The guide is sufficient to get up and running, but a detailed online manual provides useful background and details of many facilities not mentioned in the guide.
Arranged in a coincident 90‑degree X‑Y format, the mic capsules were designed specifically for the M series and give a wide stereo recording angle (SRA) of around 180 degrees. A summed mono recording mode is also available. One advantage of 32‑bit floating‑point recording is that there’s no need for a manual gain control — the M2 can cope with anything up to a whopping 135dB SPL — so there isn’t one.
The M2’s body is made of a shiny, smooth, black plastic, designed to minimise handling noise, and the top surface is dominated by a small monochrome 96x64 LCD screen. Buttons below select mono/stereo recording, activate a high‑pass filter (off, 80, 160 or 240 Hz), and scale the waveform when the Home screen is showing. When the Menu screen is activated by a button on the right side panel, the buttons navigate the menus and adjust parameters.
The transport controls on top form a quincunx with the large red record button at the centre, and fall easily to hand. Operation is logical and familiar, and all the expected functions, including a 2s pre‑record buffer, can be found easily in the simple menu. A knurled thumb‑screw releases the battery compartment, which slides from the base of the recorder to accept alkaline, NiMH or Lithium batteries. Alkaline batteries give around 11 hours continuous operation, while Lithium cells almost double that, and the unit powers off automatically after a selectable period of inactivity (sensibly, it doesn’t switch off if recording or connected via USB).
Usefully, the M2 can record to its micro‑SD card while live as a USB mic.
The M2 can be employed as a USB mic with a fixed 48kHz sample rate and 24‑ or 32‑bit audio data and, usefully, the M2 can record to its micro‑SD card while live as a USB mic. An ASIO driver (from Zoom’s website) is required for Windows, but not for Macs, smartphones or tablets, and a card‑reader mode allows a computer to access any recorded files over USB, which is probably easier and safer than extracting the card!
Recordings are always 32‑bit floating‑point WAVs, at sample rates of 44.1, 48, or 96 kHz. Long recordings are automatically split at the 2GB limit and saved to the micro‑SD card at regular intervals, so a power failure won’t lose an entire recording. Files are identified by a date stamp and take number (incremented for each new recording made on that day). If necessary, very quiet or loud recordings can be normalised through a menu function and saved as a copy file for export in 32‑bit floating‑point, or 24‑ or 16‑bit fixed‑point formats. If recorded files need to be synchronised to video, there’s a menu option to record a half‑second tone blip at the start of each new take: connect the M2’s headphone output to the video camera’s input, and that blip will make sync’ing much easier in post‑production.
The monitoring system’s auto‑volume feature makes life easy with loud and quiet recordings. Monitoring during recording and playback is via a 3.5mm stereo headphone socket on the left‑hand side with up/down buttons to adjust the volume. Just 20mW of power is available per channel, but I found that adequate with efficient 32Ω headphones. There’s also a tiny built‑in speaker for playback auditioning.
I found the waveform display reassuring and helpful, and with 99 location marks available navigating files is simple. Although tiny, the screen shows all the relevant information on timings, battery status and so forth during recording and playback.
Using the M2 is pleasingly straightforward and in general recordings were quiet and to a high standard. If holding the recorder, the low‑cut filter and windshield are essential to prevent unwanted LF wind and handling noise, and I heard an occasional HF noise when I placed the unit very close to a Wi‑Fi modem or phone, but the M2 is a great machine for recording podcast interviews, live fly‑on‑the‑wall musical performances, or natural ambient sound effects.
Fantastic Four?
The M4 MicTrak is essentially a four‑track version of the M2, measuring 206mm in length, 70mm at its widest part, weighing 325g (with batteries), and costing twice as much. The shiny, low‑noise plastic body, controls, menus, USB connectivity, stereo mic array, and specifications are all virtually identical. However, the M4 offers extra physical connections and the buttons to activate them, built‑in timecode, a larger (240x240) colour LCD screen, the ability to record at 192kHz (as well as 47.952 and 48.048 kHz for video work), and a 6s pre‑record buffer. Included with the M4 are a pair of fabric (not furry) windshield covers and, again, Quick Tour guides in various languages, but there’s no stand‑mount clip: this device has a 1/4‑inch threaded socket on the bottom to mount on a camera tripod.
On each side of the unit are combi XLR sockets for the additional two inputs. These accept up to +4dBu on the XLR (mic) input or +24dBu on the TRS (line) input, and phantom power is available at 24 or 48 V. The preamp circuitry is apparently derived from Zoom’s F‑series products and performs very well (‑127dBu EIN with a 150Ω source). If that weren’t enough, the M4 also has four further connectors. Two 3.5mm sockets accept a stereo mic/line input (with plug‑in power) and provide a stereo line output (0dBFS=+1dBu), while a third is used for timecode in/out, with the usual sync options and supporting all standard frame rates. Finally, a 2.5mm socket accepts remote control from Zoom’s RC2, RC4, RCH‑5, or RCH‑6.
Naturally, with four tracks the display needs to be larger and convey more information, but the colour helps and it’s easily readable under normal lighting. Again, the sound quality is impressive, both from the internal mics and the external inputs, and the compact size and timecode options make it ideal for video work. The ability to record additional balanced mic or line inputs (eg. from a FOH mixer) adds considerable versatility. When recording mono or stereo tracks from the M4’s internal X‑Y mic array, the AA batteries provide around 19 hours (alkaline) or 31 hours (lithium) of life, and using all four channels reduces this to a still‑impressive 10 and 18 hours, respectively.
Right On Trak?
I’m very impressed with the MicTrak recorders, which offer remarkable value for money and genuinely good sound quality. It would have been nice if USB‑C cables were included, but that’s a very minor objection and at this price there’s really nothing else to complain about. The M4 looks professional and reliable and can do a lot. Connecting XLRs to the sides looks ungainly, and right‑angled plugs might be a good idea to minimise leverage on the sockets, but the resulting recordings are impressive. The smaller M2 may lack some of its sibling’s features, but it’s a very capable recorder indeed. Both models deserve consideration by anyone looking for high‑quality budget recorder.
Rule Of Three
The M3, mounted on a camera.The M3 (not sent for review) is intended exclusively for video camera applications. Based around the same internal tech as the other MicTraks, it has a Mid‑Sides stereo mic with a short interference tube in front of the Mid element, and a switchable low‑cut filter mode is available. The mic comes with a hot‑shoe shockmount, a foam windshield, and a mini‑jack cable to link decoded stereo sound directly into the camera as a backup and for sync. We’re told a pair of AA batteries has a 12‑hour continuous working life, and a headphone output allows direct live monitoring and checking of recorded files on playback.
Four audio tracks are recorded to micro‑SD: the raw M‑S outputs plus decoded L‑R stereo. The equivalent stereo recording angle (SRA) of the latter is configurable between mono, 90 and 120 degrees. The only supported sample rate is 48kHz (fine for video) and the only file format is 32‑bit float (WAV/BWF), but a free app allows fully adjustable M‑S source decoding in post, and offers level normalisation of the 32‑bit files.
Pros
- 32‑bit floating‑point technology: no need to set recording levels!
- Impressive sound quality.
- High‑quality preamps.
- Easy to use.
- M4 adds useful I/O and timecode facilities.
- Good battery life.
Cons
- USB cable not included.
- Prone to excessive LF noise without HPF and windshield.
Summary
These high‑quality MicTraks raise the game significantly for budget audio recorders.
Information
M2 £246, M3 £246, M4 £490.80. Prices include VAT.
Sound Service MSL Distribution Ltd +44 (0)207 118 0133.
M2 $199.99. M3 $199.99. M4 $399.99.
