Transcribe long podcasts and lectures recorded on a Samson Q2U USB to a laptop or XLR to a recorder.
A Samson Q2U records either over USB into software on your computer or over XLR into a recorder or interface, and whichever file that makes uploads here, a 100-minute episode coming back as text in about 3 minutes. On a first visit the first 20 minutes are free, and five recordings of 100 minutes use the $6 pack of 500 minutes to the last minute.
Two outputs, one transcript
The Q2U has a USB plug and an XLR plug. The file comes from whatever is on the other end.
Over USB
Plugged into a computer, the Q2U is a sound input for Audacity, GarageBand, Reaper, a browser recorder or a call app. That program writes the file, often a WAV or MP3, into the folder its settings name. Export one finished file per episode or lecture and drop it on upload page.
Over XLR
Plugged into a field recorder, mixer or audio interface, the Q2U is just the microphone and the device makes the file. A recorder writes WAV files to its card; an interface feeds a program on the computer. Either way, upload the file that holds the full session.
Why 100 minutes is the number
Among paying uploads, 100 minutes is the length seen most often: a long podcast episode, a double lecture, a recorded seminar. On the $6 pack, one 100-minute file leaves 400 minutes, and five of them use it up exactly.
Show notes and study notes
Each recording returns a brief with the thesis and takeaways, chapters with timestamps, and the names, numbers and dates said. Your guests are named in the summary, key quotes and chapters of each episode. Paste the chapters into show notes, or ask the chat which reading the lecturer recommended.
Long podcast files elsewhere
A good episode on a budget mic still runs past most free limits.
✗ What slows the edit
The recording is done; the paperwork is not.
- A 25 MB cap on Whisper API uploads
- Free limits shorter than one episode
- Episodes cut into pieces to upload
- Timestamps that reset in each piece
- Show notes typed from a replay
- Quotes found by scrubbing
✓ One upload per episode
The full episode back as a document with chapters.
- WAV or MP3 straight from your software
- 100 minutes back in about 3 minutes
- One pack, five full episodes
- Chapters to paste into show notes
- Each guest named in the summary
- SRT and VTT for video versions
Sample
A two-person podcast on budget mics, as it comes back.
Written for this page to illustrate the output; it is not a real show. Roles stand in for names; the timestamps follow a 100-minute episode.
Export
One transcript. Five clean formats.
Every pack exports all five — no format is held back for a higher tier.
Plain text
De-ummed paragraphs. Ready to paste.
SRT captions
Timed to the speech. Every video editor reads this.
WebVTT
HTML5 player + YouTube uploads.
Show notes
Formatted with chapters and pull-quotes.
Machine-readable
Timestamped text for your own tools.
Pricing
Honest pricing, no surprises.
A pack from $6 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript. After that, no subscription and no auto-renew — every tier is a one-time minute pack, and credits never expire. Buy once, use the minutes whenever you need them.
Casual pack
$6/500 min
8 hours of audio — $0.72 an hour. One-time — credits never expire.
- 500 minutes of audio
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
- Executive summary & key quote
Best value
$12/2,000 min
33 hours of audio — $0.36 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 2,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
Bulk pack
$24/5,000 min
83 hours of audio — $0.29 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 5,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- API access for batch pipelines
- All export formats
FAQ
Samson Q2U recordings, the common questions.
How long does a 100-minute Q2U recording take?
About 3 minutes and 20 seconds, at roughly 2 minutes per audio hour. A 3-hour lecture would take about 6 minutes.
What does a season of episodes cost?
First-time visitors transcribe 20 minutes free. Five 100-minute episodes are 500 minutes, exactly the $6 pack. A 20-episode season of the same length is 2,000 minutes, which is the $12 pack of 2,000 minutes, and credits never expire between recording days.
Should I record over USB or XLR for transcription?
Either works; the transcript depends on how clearly the speech was captured, not on the cable. Keep the mic close, since a dynamic microphone like this one rewards speaking near it, and avoid clipping the loud laughs.
How big will a 100-minute file be?
A mono 16-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV is about 318 MB an hour, so 100 minutes is roughly 530 MB. An MP3 at 128 kbps is about 96 MB for the same length. Both are far below the 5 GB per-file limit and the 2 GB that uploads before a pack.
Which languages can the episode be in?
Any of 99, detected automatically, including Spanish, Tagalog, Hebrew and Afrikaans. An episode that switches between English and Tagalog is handled.
Which files can I download, and does anyone else get my audio?
TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT and JSON, all from the same upload. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training, and your raw episodes stay yours to delete at any time.
Related
Podcast mics and 100-minute files
Upload the episode. Check your first 20 episode minutes free.
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