just making sure here, if i'm running a pre in front of the 661 and i wanna get all my gain from the pre, i should have the 661 dial at 0?
I don't think what you are considering is even possible with this unit. Unlike most recorders with unbalanced -10db consumer level line inputs, the PMD661 has +4db balanced XLR pro line level inputs. That's a 14db difference in gain range. When my Sound Devices MP-1s are maxing output at 17db when the limiters kick in, the gain knob on my 661 is always sitting past "5" or the 12 o'clock position for good levels. I just can't imagine that any preamp could pump enough gain to allow the gain knob on the 661 to sit at zero, just does not seem possible at all to me.
thanks Brad. so do you think the 702 doesn't have +4db pro line level inputs? i always just set it to 0db and pumped all the gain from my psp-3, usually ~35db for a rock show.
The 702's line input can take up to +20dBu, if I recall correctly. The difference with the PMD-661, I think, is that 0 on the knob doesn't equal 0dB. Which brings up the fact that I don't think I've ever seen testing on the PMD-661 to find out where "unity" gain is going line-in.
Well my pmd 661 failed me last night. The recording just stopped after 2 minutes. I restarted immediately and it did it again... When I first purchased this recording device they recommended lexar... So bought me a lexar. The card failed instantly. Err 2 err8 ect. So then I switched to transend cards and they worked for 2 weeks. So I called Marantz up and once again they recommend lexar. So I bought another lexar card, but it wasn't very fast. The card was stable, but I notice a digi pop here and there. So once again I switched to a lexar 8gb card and it worked great.. So I needed another card and the bought the 16gb lexar and it failed me again...like the first card I bought. Are these lexar cards crappy? Should I try another brand? I had err 2, err 8 and err 10. Very frustrating to say the least. Who can recommend a good card for this device that's not lexar. Sandisk, Kingston, or who? One thing I know is to test the card out, from beginning to end. Also how are class 4 cards?
sorry to hear about your troubles. I've used a SanDisk and a PNY card since I got the deck, with no troubles with either. As others have stated, many people are using SanDisk cards, all without trouble.
