Importing from TP-7 and Other Recorders

How to import recordings from the teenage engineering TP-7 and other USB/MTP audio devices into SR-7.

Overview

SR-7 works as a standalone recorder, but it also serves as the perfect companion for dedicated hardware recorders. Connect a device to your Mac via USB, browse the audio files, and import them into SR-7 for automatic transcription, AI summaries, and full-text search.

Using the TP-7 with SR-7

The teenage engineering TP-7 is a portable recorder that captures 24-bit WAV audio. SR-7 can import these recordings and turn them into a searchable, transcribed archive.

Enable Memo Mode

The TP-7 has a dedicated memo button for quick voice captures. Press it and the device starts recording immediately — even from a powered-off state. Memo recordings always use the internal microphone and are stored separately from regular multitrack recordings.

In later firmware versions, the memo button still works but Memo as a dedicated mode is turned off by default. Enable it in the TP-7 settings so voice memos are stored separately — this makes them easier to find and import.

Connect in MTP Mode

The TP-7 uses MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) for file access. To enter MTP mode:

  1. Connect the TP-7 to your Mac via USB-C
  2. With the device off, hold down the stop button while turning it on
  3. The TP-7 boots into MTP mode

SR-7 handles the MTP connection directly — you do not need teenage engineering’s Field Kit app installed.

Quit Field Kit

If Field Kit is running on your Mac, quit it before connecting the TP-7. Field Kit may claim the USB connection, preventing SR-7 from accessing the device.

Browse and Import

With the TP-7 connected in MTP mode, it appears in SR-7’s sidebar. Click it to browse all audio files on the device. Select recordings to import — SR-7 automatically transcribes them, generates AI titles and summaries, and makes them fully searchable. Imported recordings work exactly like ones made directly in SR-7.

If the TP-7 is connected but not in MTP mode, SR-7 still shows it in the sidebar with guidance on how to boot into MTP mode.

Other Devices

SR-7’s USB and MTP import works with any device that exposes audio files over a standard connection:

  • Field recorders — Zoom, Tascam, Sound Devices, and similar
  • Voice recorders — any USB recorder that mounts as a drive or MTP device
  • Android phones — accessible via MTP
  • USB drives — any drive with audio files

Supported Formats

SR-7 imports the following audio formats:

FormatExtension
Waveform Audio.wav
Audio Interchange.aiff, .aif
MPEG Layer 3.mp3
MPEG-4 Audio.m4a
Advanced Audio Coding.aac
Core Audio Format.caf
Free Lossless Audio.flac
Apple Lossless.alac

Uncompressed formats (WAV, AIFF, CAF, FLAC, ALAC) are transcoded to high-quality AAC on import for a space-efficient library. Already-compressed formats (MP3, M4A, AAC) are kept as-is.