Topic: TEAM Marantz PMD 660 (Part II)

[tfs8271]

nice! does line out cut out the volume nob too? 

Yes.

[Krispy D]

thanks tfs +T.  Now go brew me some beer!

[rockthing]

Pad on+external=no problem

You got it.

Just to be on the safe side, I stopped using the pad on my mics and the very limited hpf
thinking those may draw extra power... no science in that, tho...

[danlynch]

Ok. so I had another power outage, this time I think that the rechargeables just were finished.  Fully recharged before the show and went dead in the 2nd song.  I tried to power back up after the show and it went up for about 5 seconds and then went dead.  I used 4 AA batteries at home and the deck is fine.

So, at this point I'm pretty sure I'm going to just get an external battery to prevent any further issues.
I just tested one of my standard ESA DVD batteries that I use for my mini-me and it powered up the 660.  But reading through this topic, it seems like this might not be the right voltage (oops).  Any advice for an externally-powered-660 noob?

Thanks.

[Javier Cinakowski]

I have had terrible luck with alkaline batteries and just recently my 2500mah nimh's have been crapping out.  I decided I would give AA's one more try before going to the external solutions.  I bought the LaCross charger and reconditioned all of my batteries.  On a pair of Sanyo 2700 nimh I got almost 8 hours out of the pmd660 before it shut sown....

[tfs8271]

Any advice for an externally-powered-660 noob?

Thanks.

Should be what you are looking for here........

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,61053.0/all.html

[intpseeker]

I like this one.

http://salestores.com/tekkeonm.html

No problems,other than the guy who kicked the cord out of the tip before I was able to save the file. A little gaffers tape for security since.

[danlynch]

Egads, that's $100 with shipping. 
My question is whether one of these ESA DVD Batteries (the "Walmart" type) that I use to power the Mini-Me will work with the 660.

[dennisrtyler]

Egads, that's $100 with shipping. 
My question is whether one of these ESA DVD Batteries (the "Walmart" type) that I use to power the Mini-Me will work with the 660.

only if it has a 5v setting

[danlynch]

Thanks.

My external battery for the MT 24/96 is a 5v Macally battery:
http://www.amazon.com/MACALLY-External-Battery-all-iPods/dp/B000CGG8LW

Except that the connection to the device is a usb cable, which doesn't work with the 660.

[jacobmyers]

 I got my Songcatcher PMD660 yesterday. All I can say is: Oh. My. Gawd. What the hell was I thinking even considering buying another f-ing MiniDisc recorder? This thing just plain rocks! It took me all of ten minutes to set it up the way I want it (I'd read the manual before in PDF before I even placed the order) and actually recording with it is a one-touch affair (or two touches if you choose to use the pre-record buffer).

 It took one "run" (record, dump CF to computer, open WAV in Audacity) to figure out that I need to run with some headroom (the meters are dead on - the "clips" are really clipping). Still sounded pretty good. The first recording was just a band rehearsal so not a big deal. But then I took it out on the town.

 The community college had its Juneteenth celebration/concert last night. So I went there without changing the battery (Sanyo 2000 mAH Eneloop cells fresh from the package - factory charged). Rehearsal was more than two hours and I got a little over an hour of recording (the machine was on for longer than that) on the remainder of the charge. It should be noted that I was supplying +48 VDC to the NT4. When the battery ran out, I didn't even notice. I had the cans off and was busy watching the band. When I looked down, it was dead. The last time I'd looked, the battery meter read "full" (and yes, it's set on NiMH in the menu).

 I swapped the battery and recorded for almost two hours straight. Then I played back half an hour or so in the car. Track splits are inaudible. Still reading a "full" battery. When I got home, I popped the card into the reader (still haven't used the 660's USB capability). With the levels (rarely) peaking at -2dB and sitting mostly in the green, the recording is crystal clear and plenty loud enough (though the 660's headphone amp is a little weak to drive my cans well). It really has to be heard to be believed. I haven't heard sound this good out of anything that wasn't 24 bit (or analog - but that's a different flavor). I put the card back into the 660 to format it (unit was displaying half battery at this point) and left the machine on. The battery died (with the beeping warning) a few minutes after formatting the card.

 I now completely understand see why Oade Brothers Audio recommends the PMD660 so highly. I have a ~6 hour gig tomorrow and I'm not even sweating it. I have a 4GB card, two Eleloop batteries and some 2700 mAH cells that came with my BC900 (charger). I'm thinking that an external battery for longer shows (especially if I'm running +48) is not at all a bad idea, though, and I'll be looking in to that. I'll do my best to get some rig pictures up next week (my weekend's booked solid).

[newplanet7]

Congrats jacob.
This has been been called the best 16 bit all in one box
by many people on ts.
I would definitely get an external batt.
I use an external and always have a fresh set of E2 lithiums in the battery sled.
The best part is that when the external runs out it will switch over to the internals without
skipping a beat.

I love this fucking box. I have the busman mod.
What are you running for mics?

+t
-todd
EDIT:
Just saw the NT-4

[jacobmyers]

Thanks, Todd.

 I can totally see why people would have the opinion that this is "the best" all-in-one 16-bit box. I tend to agree (which is, of course, why I bought it). It has everything I need (and more) and even a few things that I don't strictly "need" (the editing features, for instance, as I do my editing on the computer.

 I used it yesterday at BrunoFest (an annual local/regional free music fest) and pulled a little about three hours of music (the recorder was on for about six hours). I used the 2700 mAH battery (LaCrosse) for most of it but changed to a set of Eneloop for the last set (even though the meter still read full) because I didn't want to risk running out. I only used the 660's phantom for a few of the sets (and the difference between NT4's internal battery and +48 VDC is certainly audible).

 I got quite a few rig pictures and some video of my home-made windscreen and shockmount for the NT4. I'll post some pics as soon as I get back to the other computer. I'm really glad that I had the windscreen - there were gusts in excess of 20 MPH (and probably closer to 30 MPH, truth be known). The foam/"fur" screen (on top of the stock foam) completely blocked all but the strongest gusts.

 I haven't listened to the audio on a "real" playback system but I plugged the USB CF adapter into the laptop (with external "PC speakers" attached - more useful as a headphone amp for my Frankenphones). I'm pleasantly surprised by the sound and the performance of the windscreen. The preamps are as good or better than any I've heard (which, believe it or not, is high praise). The foam section of the windscreen needs some work (and I may end up replacing the inefficiently blocky stock foam) but the wind is reduced to a breathy low-frequency rumble (and is actually way quieter than being there).

[newplanet7]

Bump.

[su6oxone]

Bump.

Anyone know when/if the (hopefully, 24-bit and smaller with better battery life!) succesor of the PMD 660 will be coming out?  I am interested in an all-in-one box that is not too large (e.g. FR2LE) but would want 24-bit and a bit stealthier size and at least 3-4 hours battery life on NiMH batteries.