Topic: Marantz Oade PMD661 vs Sound Devices 702

[morebutter]

I'm in the market for a portable recorder.  I'm a recording engineer and sound quality is a big deal.  i'm feeling the recession too so price is a factor. 

Just in terms of sound quality, can anyone chime in on the difference between these two?  I know it may be difficult because the PMD661 just came out.  The SD was always my dream recorder.  The SD is more than 2x the price however, so realistically I'm looking at the PMD-661. 

Basically I want someone to say there isn't much difference so I can feel better about buying the cheaper one.   Plus I like the Marantz cuz it's smaller.

I'll probably be using Beyerdynamic MC930's.  I'll be recording music, percussion and SFX.

[halleyscomet8]

why not an r44? sounds great and has 4 channels...

[audBall]

This isn't really a direct comparison, but I ran stagelip the other night (mics>oade 661) with another taper (mics>702).  We were attached to the same stand.  Big differences in setups though..

PMD-661 source: http://www.archive.org/details/fhg2009-03-26.cm1k.flac24
SD-702 source: http://www.archive.org/details/fhg2009-03-26.u89i_24bit

I haven't really sat and compared the two extensively but they both sound pretty darn nice.  

[flintstone]

Here's one direct comparison that shows a difference in noise added by the preamp section
http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm

Equivalent Input Noise, impedance: 150 ohms, gain at maxiumum
Sound Devices 722   -130 dBu (A weighted)
Marantz PMD661     -125 dBu (A weighted

You'll need to be recording in a very quiet setting, with mics that have very low self noise of their own, to hear that difference.  But under such circumstances, the difference will be quite noticeable.

Of course, you could buy four PMD661s for the price of one 722, or three PMD661s for the price of a 702.

Flintstone

[JasonSobel]

you mention that you'll likely be using a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930's.  Here is a recording with the Beyerdynamic CK930 (pretty much the same sound/specs as the MC930, but with a remote cap), directly into a PMD-661 (also note that my PMD-661 isn't a stock deck, but rather, modified with Doug Oade's "concert mod")...

16bit version - http://www.archive.org/details/clubdelf2009-03-20.ck930.flac16
24bit version - http://www.archive.org/details/clubdelf2009-03-20.ck930.flac24

One other thing to note about the beyerdynamic > PMD-661 combo is that the beyer's are very sensitive mics.  Because of that, you'll most likely have to use the on-mic attenuator, and use the lowest gain range on the PMD-661 (-18dB) to avoid overloading the mic pre-amp of the PMD-661.  That said, I think the beyerdynamic/PMD-661 combo sounds great together.  Based on the cost difference, it was NOT worth it for me to get the SD 702.

Hope this helps,
Jason

[morebutter]

why not an r44? sounds great and has 4 channels...

The r44 looks nice but 4 channels is overkill for me. 

[morebutter]

you mention that you'll likely be using a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930's.  Here is a recording with the Beyerdynamic CK930 (pretty much the same sound/specs as the MC930, but with a remote cap), directly into a PMD-661 (also note that my PMD-661 isn't a stock deck, but rather, modified with Doug Oade's "concert mod")...

Thanks that is very helpful.  Those recordings sound really good!