XtremeMac's new MicroMemo audio recorder for iPod with Video and iPod nano 2G supports stereo recording at up to 16-bit, 44kHz quality through an external microphone. That alone made me want to give it the coveted "Five Books" rating. I practically wrote the review before I got the thing out of its packaging and snapped onto my iPod. But, in the interest of objectivity I held back and actually tried the thing out first. I'm happy to report that it's generally excellent. I'm a little sad to report, however, that it's not perfect enough to warrant Five Books. I gave it four and a half ... here's why.

Yes, it's called MicroMemo not MicroRecordYourBand, so I know that most of the target audience is likely interested in the built-in mic's performance while recording "memos" (i.e. Interviews, Lectures, Notes to Self, and the like). It works great. Recordings can be made in low or high fidelity mono or stereo, are saved as .wav files and labelled according to time and date of creation. All of that is Apple's doing - if you'll recall, Apple built recording functionality into the 5G iPod. XtremeMac's solution "unlocks" the recording feature and provides the recording hardware, but they have no control over the iPod's recording settings or user interface.

Recordings can be played back directly from the iPod and/or transferred to a computer via USB. The mic is omnidirectional and the gooseneck mount pivots and bends so you can get it closer to your source. Test recordings I made of voices came out loud and clear with the MicroMemo - you can plop the thing on your desk, hit record, go to sleep for two hours, and listen to your professor's lecture later while you're out for a jog.

The fun came for me when I brought my iPod, MicroMemo, and a stereo microphone to a band rehearsal. I tried the gooseneck mic first, just for curiosity's sake, and it sounded generally overwhelmed by the noise. Swapping it out for my guitarist's Sony stereo microphone yielded much better results. The built-in gain settings handled the amazingly loud noise of drums and electric guitars pretty well, though some kind of manual level control would be a nice addition. Later I ran a stereo cable from my iBook's headphone jack to the MicroMemo, and switched MM's input selector from Mic to Line. I recorded some snippets of iTunes tracks to the iPod and played them back over my Ulitmate Ears earbuds. The results were impressive - the MicroMemo captured the music with breadth and clarity. So long as you're able to control the level of your source material from the other end, MicroMemo seems quite capable of turning your iPod into a high-quality digital recorder.

MicroMemo also features a small, front-firing speaker. While the speaker is tinny and thin sounding as one might expect, it's a very handy way to quickly review recordings or share bits of audio with others. It's good for voice recordings, if not ideal for music.

A Few Flaws
I haven't yet tried the two other iPod recording attachments currently on the market - Belkin's TuneTalk Stereo and the Griffin iTalkPro - but they both feature built-in stereo mics, an apparent step up from the MicroMemo. Reviews I read were mixed on the performance of the Belkin and Griffin models, but again, I can't comment myself. I can tell you that one of my minor issues with MicroMemo is that when it's snapped into your iPod's dock port, you can't plug your AC charger into the iPod as well. As such, you'll need to make sure your iPod is all charged up before you try to record anything. Minor issue, but important to think about if you regularly record and rarely remember to charge. Belkin's TuneTalk Stereo supports charging while recording with an included cable.

The other design issue with the MicroMemo is that you can't use it while your iPod is in any sort of case. MicroMemo snaps more or less flush into the bottom of the iPod and as such doesn't leave any room for a case. Again, TuneTalk Stereo has a dock connector that leaves room for a case (it also comes with a plastic stand to prop your iPod up during recording). This is a bit of a drag as iPods tend to scratch easily, and I like keeping mine in a case as much as possible.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5
When it comes down to it, MicroMemo's functionality is excellent. Voice recordings made with the included gooseneck mic came out loud and clear, and swapping the gooseneck out for a stereo mic or line-level source yielded excellent stereo recordings. My band usually records our rehearsals on a Mac-based multitrack system; one of us takes the "tapes" home, mixes them on our computer, and then posts the mp3 files to an FTP site for sharing. That process yields fantastic results but takes a few days. With MicroMemo I had decent stereo recordings of our session that I could listen to the same night. Not as good as the multitracks, but less waiting. And much easier to take to an iPod and MicroMemo to a gig than it is to haul out the entire multitrack setup.

If MicroMemo fit case-protected iPods, had a charging port, and had a manual level control, I'd probably give it Six Books. If it had two of the three, I'd give it Five. So as is, four and a half seems fair. I haven't tried the Belkin (did I say that?) so I can't compare sound quality. The MicroMemo sounds great and has a speaker and adjustable microphone. I recommend it.

The XtremeMac MicroMemo digital audio recorder is compatible with iPod with Video and iPod nano 2G models. It sells for $59.95 direct from XtremeMac.