Anybody here familiar with Oade Brothers?
 

These guys have a pretty good rep with the taper community and I'm wondering if any of the PRO's we have here can vouch as well.

Long story short I'm looking at an ACM pmd660 for $750.

For my broke-ass that's a lot of scratch for a recorder... especially with the MicroTrack just now becoming available... but the downside is that I know about 5 people who have their MicroTracks so far and the reviews are mixed. From what I can tell they aren't in the league of the Marantz recorders... at least on functionality and reliability. Basically I'm starting to chicken out on the MicroTrack for fear that it's just not a professional enough option... for me anyway.

The next best thing... as far as I can tell... is the modded pmd660. (Pre-amp guts replaced with high-performance guts)

Anybody know Oade Brothers around here?

the oade mode eliminate line inputs
if you have decent mixer you dont really need it
about the micro track - it full of bugs and it really need few months to see where is the wind blow and what m-audio intend to do about , since the specification on the paper show better results
the only disturbing thing , even the bugs would go , the unit will not supply full 48v phantom or do better for the internal battery life , but these things less important if you have external ph box or 12 v powered mikes and ext battery
what might happen marantz would come with better answer
what about fr-2 , its only 300 over the oade modded 660 but you can upgrade for tc later , the pres are good and it quit proven recorder already
my 2 shekels

Since at this point in time (23 Sep) the microtrack has not been officially released, can I assume the folks who have them are in possesion of pre-release models that may or may not represent the released model?
Curious is all as I have one on pre-order waiting for its release sometime at the end of September or October.

Mark, one can only assume you're correct. I've also got one on order, and because of a show that M-Audio wants to promote, pending all things being great, I'm on a "priority" to get one and hear from them every other day...so I doubt anyone has a purchased, shipping model. I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt until after I've received it, because they've never yet released a doggy product. But they've also never released a recorder like this, either.

I have heard the reason for its slipped release was to fix some bugs in the firmware/hardware....but this was second or third hand information.

Sorry to say guys that you are mistaken. The MT is in fact shipping (in limited quantities), and they are NOT pre-release models, they are the actual production units. That is why all of the bugs and early testing and reviews are slowly starting to get out. The taper community is all over this thing like flys to... Well, you know what I mean. Anyway, M-Audio has shipped a limited quantity, with more on the way soon (supposedly), so it's more a function of who you ordered with, what their priority is with MA, and then where you stand on your seller's waiting list. That said, if you want to read more about real-world, actual hands-on experience with the MT, you should go to this thread (but you might want to work your ways backwards rather than starting at the beginning because all of the juicy stuff is closer to the end):

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=50364.0

Also, Oade Brothers has a very, very good rep in the taper community, and BTW, if you go to their message board, you'll see a whole bunch more conversation about the MT, including remarks from the Oade Brothers themselves.

My own personal assessment of the news to date on the MT, is that it still holds some real potential, but it's got some serious issues (random hangs, 30v phantom max, and no S/PDIF at 24/96, which is amazing considering that's in the freakin' NAME of the product, and it's batteries aren't living up even close to the stated specs). So, it basically already needs a firmware update, which supposedely is coming out within "weeks." So, it definately has potential, but right now it doesn't even seem close to being a pro-audio piece of gear.

I agree with everything Bill just said... people had units 9 days ago and posted pictures to prove it. I guess they were pre-release... which would be nice to think 'cause they have been too buggy for me to consider one now. I called and cancelled my order.

The reason I asked about Oade is 'cause they are actually a great store to deal with. Doug is SUPER helpful on the phone! The taperssection reviews of all his stuff are very good... and try to keep it a secret... but Doug is also really cheap on stuff! Like $150 cheaper then a certain store we all know and love... on one of the recorders I'm considering. That's not a subtle price difference.

Anyway Doug says that the ACM modded 660 will sound better then pretty much ANYTHING else in 16/48. I even asked about running a MixPre > stock 671 and he said the ACM 660 will blow that away on sound quality. Since the 660 has the level knob at the front-right corner... and it's a dual level knob where you can put one channel 3 or 6 db down... I was thinking that I could probably run levels like that?

I'm wondering if I should just go THAT route? I mean and dump the idea of the MixPre completely? Doug says that the comparison won't even be close. For the record I ALSO considered running a MixPre into either an Edirol R-1 or the 671.

That's why I'm asking about Oade... and I was hoping some of you guys were familiar with the pre-amp mods that they do. It's not like there aren't enough people to ask over there... but I know you guys better... and THIS board is geared to video (and audio) rather then audio (with a primary focus on taping stereo music).