I've just received my PMD-661 Mkii.
Firmware version, for the record, is A3.04.
(CORRECTION - I was wrong)
I've noticed some quirks. I'm not sure if this is normal or not. Note that I haven't tried the previous versions.
- If, while recording (I have made the test sending an S/PDIF signal from a Metric Halo ULN-2 interface), I press the track button to generate a new track, it generates a new file. Nothing new there, but, if I play the files I've generated, there's a very slight click from one file to another when playing on the unit. I haven't loaded the files to an audio editor yet to check if the transition is really seamless. It should. Was this click present in older units?
(After checking the manual, I see that a seamless transition isn't guaranteed indeed, so it's not a bug).
- There's a kinda unpleasant effect when stopping a recording, with some clicks suggesting analog circuitry being turned off. I mean when I push "stop", and I hear it on headphones. I can imagine they are powering off sections of the unit when stopping to minimize power consumption?
Still wondering about this one.
- When recording in "dual mono", the unit sends audio just to the left channel on headphones. Not a major problem, as I can see that it sends it to both channels if I select "mono" instead, but it was a bit puzzling.
I was wrong: It did record a signal to the right channel, with an attenuation of 20 dB, which is a good feature actually. I had an already low recording level, and that's why I didn't notice. My apologies.
Regarding the headphones amplifier, I think it's fine at least for my headphones, which are quite efficient. Ultrasone HFI-650.