Topic: PT: 2 - New Marantz PMD661

[dactylus]

Ordered my "concert mod" 661 today.     Can't wait to give it the festival season workout!!

How much was the shipping quote 

Shipping included -      Should be shipping out on Wednesday!!



Have any of you tried these cards with the 661:

16GB SDHC Cards Toshiba for $30 at Sams 

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,121649.0.html



How many of you have upgraded to the new firmware and have had no issues?

[greppson]

so what about this, besides being smaller and newer and shinier, would entice me to sell my 671 and get this instead?

edit: i've read a bit of the thread, but can't seem to see the differences between the two except that this uses SD cards and the 671 uses CF.

[datbrad]

so what about this, besides being smaller and newer and shinier, would entice me to sell my 671 and get this instead?

edit: i've read a bit of the thread, but can't seem to see the differences between the two except that this uses SD cards and the 671 uses CF.

Well, in terms of form factor, it's less than 1/2 the size and weight, the display is better, and the internal battery setup is much better ergonomically. From a powering perspective, you only need half as many AAs to run it, and they fit directly into the deck, not inside a sled with 2 contacts known to have issues for users. With just four 2650 Duracells, running line in, I have run it for hours and still had a full charge showing on the display. Mic in, using the preamps, users have reported exeeding 5 hours with a single set of AAs. So, my 670 has been retired to the home system to use for transfers of my old DATs, since I got my modded 661 at the end of March.

Operationally, I think the biggest differences are both a plus and a minus. The minus is that there is no digital out. But, unless you are taking a digital in from a V3/Apogee/AD2k, the digital output on the 671 is not functional anyway, so it's not that big of a loss if you are using the A/D on the 671 you now have.

The big plus, the main factor that sold me, is that the 661 is the only flash recorder besides the SD702 that has a true professional XLR line input that has +4 db pro line level sensitivity. Your 671, for example, has a consumer level line in that is 14 db more sensitive than an XLR line in, and therefore cannot accept a hot input from an externa preamp or soundboard without clipping.

Also, with the HDP2, FR2LE, and the 671, modifications to improve the preamp only improve the mic input, the line input is still stock. With the PMD661, the modification is made to the XLR inputs, so both the line in path and the preamp path (mechanically switched) have upgraded inut capacitors and opamps, with just an additional set of upgraded chips for the mic pre when the switch is moved to mic in.

Hope this helps you decide.

[ksg4299]

just bought a stock unit...should arrive tuesday or wednesday...my peluso's should sound sweet on this...thanks for all the battery, sd card, and firmware tests that were done....great resource

[audBall]

I just did the firmware update.  It was quick and easy.  Many thanks for the explanation on page 8 by DATBRAD.

As for the the question about the blinking Pause light on the screen vs the red ring on the REC button.  Yes, the blinking tempo changes somewhat.  I dunno exactly how, but I noticed a difference before and afterwards.  Afterwards, it doesn't blink 'in synch' with the ring's tempo, rather almost at random now.

Maybe we can suggest that future firmware updates revert to the more 'in synch' blinking tempo as to not affect those of us with ADHD.   

[Mike R.]

just bought a stock unit...should arrive tuesday or wednesday...my peluso's should sound sweet on this...thanks for all the battery, sd card, and firmware tests that were done....great resource

Cool! a stock unit.  It seems like everybody here has a modified box.  I'd love to hear how the stock version does.

[leehookem]

Operationally, I think the biggest differences are both a plus and a minus. The minus is that there is no digital out. But, unless you are taking a digital in from a V3/Apogee/AD2k, the digital output on the 671 is not functional anyway, so it's not that big of a loss if you are using the A/D on the 671 you now have.

mine is functional

[ksg4299]

just bought a stock unit...should arrive tuesday or wednesday...my peluso's should sound sweet on this...thanks for all the battery, sd card, and firmware tests that were done....great resource

Cool! a stock unit.  It seems like everybody here has a modified box.  I'd love to hear how the stock version does.

i'll post some clips when i get the chance...may get this modded if and when busman starts tweaking this model

[datbrad]

Operationally, I think the biggest differences are both a plus and a minus. The minus is that there is no digital out. But, unless you are taking a digital in from a V3/Apogee/AD2k, the digital output on the 671 is not functional anyway, so it's not that big of a loss if you are using the A/D on the 671 you now have.

mine is functional

Really? That's interesting, because the 670 will not output digital when the unit is in analog mode, only when taking in a digital signal, or during playback. D&M told me the 671 was the same way, but I guess they were wrong?

[Goldy]

Protective Case From Marantz

Found this while surfing. Wonder when this will be available in the USA?

http://www.proaudio.uk.com/pdf/PRC661%20Pro%20case.pdf

[audBall]

^  Looks nice.  Portabrace released theirs as well.  I emailed to ask if there were other pictures (possibly with the unit inside) but they didn't seem to have any.  They really need to swap out the current photo, imo.

http://www.portabrace.com/productC-AR-PMD661

[datbrad]

I just learned something new. Unlike the PMD670 (and I assume the 671), the digital input will not simply lock on to the inbound clock signal automatically at whatever sample rate it's being fed. You must go into the menu for the digital input and change the presets to the bit depth and sample rate you know will be feeding the digital input. If you are taking a 48khz input, and have the preset selected to 96khz, you will get a digital in error message. As soon as you change the preset to 48khz, it will lock right on the signal.

This makes me wonder about resampling again, since the 670/671 seems to be able to read the input by itself and lock to any sample frequency automatically. Not a biggie, but worth knowing about if you are getting a digital in and seeing the error message and not understanding the problem. Before you start trouble shooting cables and whatnot, be sure to check to make sure what bit depth and sample rate is being sent to your recorder, and make sure the settings in the menu presets match.

[JasonSobel]

Marantz has a new firmware update on their website.
Version A1.16 - released July 8, 2009

If you download the zip file with the firmware update, there's also a .doc file with details on what has changed.  it looks like not much:

PMD661 v.1.16 Firmware Details:

Resolved issues below:
1. By using pitch control, the unit locks up at audio files recorded at 24 bit 96 kHz.
2. EDL marks corrupt file date created properties.

I haven't yet updated, and I'm not in any rush, as I don't use either of the two features that had issues resolved by this firmware.

[Rleeee]

I asked this in the Team 661 board and haven't had a reply, so I thought I would try here. 

What Oade Mod would you recommend for Someone who runs Busman BSC1's, and records a variety of Music styles?  Everything from, solo acoustic to REALLY LOUD ROCK.  Thanks in advance for your help.

[JasonSobel]

I asked this in the Team 661 board and haven't had a reply, so I thought I would try here. 

What Oade Mod would you recommend for Someone who runs Busman BSC1's, and records a variety of Music styles?  Everything from, solo acoustic to REALLY LOUD ROCK.  Thanks in advance for your help.

well, not the super-mod (as that's intended for recording very quiet sounds only).  So that leaves you with a choice of either the warm mod or the concert mod.  Either mod will be fine for recording a wide variety of music, because the PMD-661 has a lot of options in regards to input sensitivity.  For example, I mostly record loud music, and I pretty keep the input sensitivity on -18dB.  If I was going to record very quiet music, I could change that to -12dB, -6dB, or 0dB, depending on my guess of what the situation called for.  So, because both the concert mod or the warm mod will be fine for a wide variety of music, it becomes an issue of what you prefer, and what would be a better match with the Busman mics.  I'm not familiar enough with the Busman mics to know which would be a better match.  Generally speaking, the concert mod is more transparent while the warm mod adds a bit of low end color to the sound.  If the Busman mics are more on the lean/thin side of the sound spectrum, perhaps the warm mod would be a better fit.  but if the Busman mics have their own color and you want more transparent gear after the mics, then the concert mod is the way to go.

hope this helps.