Topic: Marantz PMD 671 announced (on Oade)

[Chuck]

honestly, i know that the preamp is crap.  so i'm not into testing how crappy it is.
and i'm also not fond of livingroom tests to try and get a feel for how a unit sounds. 

I'm curious whether the stock line input is also subpar, i.e., is the stock deck worthwhile with an external pre.

Doug told me he thought it sounded OK running line in. It's the microphone pre-amp thats sh*t.

[Nick's Picks]

line in is how i intend to run it.  i dont know if that still runs through the preamp though.  a lot of decks like this, "line in" is just mic in with some built in attenuation.

[esteyes]

line in is how i intend to run it.  i dont know if that still runs through the preamp though.  a lot of decks like this, "line in" is just mic in with some built in attenuation.

i am pretty sure that we can infer that the line in is seperated from the mic in as the ACM mod causes a loss of the line in - here's my thinking - part of doug's unhappiness with the stock front end is that the signal runs thru some switching (MIC or LINE source select). knowing this, i would guess that one of what he eliminates is a switch (IC or MULTIPLEXER of some sort) leading me to believe the line in is not just a padded version of the mic in. IMHO

i have been running line in and when i told doug what my current setup was, he inferred that i should be fine. and i have no complaints with what i have taped input stage-wise.

fwiw, if you want to test the mic pre's for noise on the end user level, you should short the inputs (pins 2/3 on an xlr) to pin one - make sure phantom is off. then listen with the gain's all the way up, you can also use a matched pair of resistors to shunt to ground. then any noise you hear is the circuitry. it is too bad i no longer have access to an AudioPrecision test rig. we could do tons of test really fast. i may get lucky tho and hook up with a local company shortly that does have a couple and then we could do some of these tests accurately.

also i am still hoping people will post the brand of memory that they are using. or maybe you guys could just send me the info and i could post the results...

neil in san marcos
esteyesatcoxdotnet

[spyder9]

Neil,

It would be nice if you can get that test rig.  I'd like to see a full battery of tests on the 671.  If I can get a good pull without running a Pre in front, that would be great.

For myself, I just met a local TV reporter who had a stock 660 at one of our Town Board meetings tonight.  Here we are talking about the Town's 2006 budget, and I couldn't take my eyes off the Marantz.  I'm gonna throw him some cds of some of my shows and he's gonna give me a complete demo of the 660.  I'm psyched about that.   I can't get over the 660's size.  Easy smuggle job.  Ultimate stealth box.     Eventually, I'd like to get a 671 too, for 24 bit stuff.  But 660 is the main target right now.

[Nick's Picks]

yea, the 660 is cool....

[bagtagsell]

I would love to hear a shoot out (acm660 vs acm671), when doug gets all the parts.  I think it would answer, in a lot of peoples minds, is 24bit worth it?  Is size, price, worth it?  Depending on the results, I could see the 660 being very popular.

[Nick's Picks]

i had that same dilema.
but Doug told me "a good ear will want 24bits".
and i'm sick of teaching myself that Doug is always right.

[thegreatgumbino]

I would love to hear a shoot out (acm660 vs acm671), when doug gets all the parts.  I think it would answer, in a lot of peoples minds, is 24bit worth it?  Is size, price, worth it?  Depending on the results, I could see the 660 being very popular.

I agree.  Could be a very interesting comparision.  Ultimately, 24 bit will probably be the winner, but more so for audiophiles with the playback to support it.  For the next XX years, 16 bit will still be the playback of the common listener.  That's the dilemma I face.  A 24 bit playback system would be fantastic, but 95% of my listening is in the car or at work on 16 bit systems.  Sure it would be nice to archive everything in 24 bit & create a 16 bit copy as well, but that's a few more steps and blank discs that I don't know if I want to mess with for "future" capabilities. 

Oh the dilemma of the common taper.

[Chuck]

We're at our 25 page maximum, so lets take this over to:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=52751.0