Review Marantz Professional PMD661 Digital Recorder with XLR

Professional solid state recorder with XLR mic/line contections. SD recorder support to 2TB size cards

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[Malaka57]

@oragiecom Hi oragie...

Do you have some experience with this recorder...??? I am looking to buy it or the tascam DR 100.... I am a radio reporter, mostly spoken stuff, occasionally a little music/theaer... mix my own stuff, use an old Sennheiser mic----- I really need good sound, my editors are picky.... rightfully. I currently use an old MD player from panasonic. Would appreciate a brief report.

[oragiecom]

Awesome recorder.

[12creations]

I was skeptical of a portable recorder actually getting the quality I needed, but this recorder is truly amazing. Just make sure you get a proper, external microphone (such as Sennheiser). The on-board mics are pretty good but not the best.

[luminousoctaves]

Ok! It doesn't compete with my old Sony TC-D5ProII (0,2 secs) hehe! But it's good enough. :)

Someone told me that having the 661 in standby-mode (rec-pause) works fine and that it doesn't take much power. In that case you can be quicker.

Does anyone know if the remote control from older PMD:s work with the 661?

[luminousoctaves]

Aha, great!

[cielencom]

If you want more presets just use different SD cards. Each card can store its own set of three presets that can be loaded. So you might use a large card for high quality recordings and the included 1 GB card for voice/mp3 recording - each with the according settings stored on the card.

[cielencom]

The mic preamp is pretty low noise/good quality, probably a lot better than the 660. It takes about 2.5 seconds to boot the PMD 661 up until it is ready to record so in most situations this should not be an issue.

[plianto]

maybe the cons, since there's no outer case like for the PMD 660, it gets dirty easily especially shooting on the beach. That's just my prediction, even though I only have the 660 not the 661. I'm hoping they will make the outer case like the one for 660.

[soundseller]

Hey, thanks for the tip!

I didnt think about that but on the other hand that I dont like carrying around so much stuff.

I am getting older every day :)

But its probably the best solution.

I really like the 661 so far although I haven't spent too much time with it.

The menu structure is simple.

The components have a good look and feel.

The XLR connectors were the main reason for my purchase.

This is my first "serious" field recoder so I am not able to compare it to other products.

[luminousoctaves]

Yes, no limiter is probably a tactical decision. However, there is always the option to invest in a portable mic preamp (incl. limiter). US company Sound Devices have some top notch stuff that I am thinking of myself. They cost almost as much as the 661 itself, but on the other hand you can use them together with any future audiorecorder.

If you find more pro/cons about the 661, plz post them here. I'm not an owner YET... :)