I'm currently happy with my AT853 or DPA 4061>R-09HR setups, but given the cash-bleeding, upgrade-fueled nature of this hobby, I feel down the line I will want to upgrade, either going "all the way" with DPA 402x or Schoeps, or possibly doing an interim upgrade with Audix 1280s.
I do most of my recording in situations where stands are not allowed or discouraged. Also, since I live in NYC and don't have a car, carting my stand around is not always a convenient option. Meaning, I tend to either be "stealth" or at least, wearing what I'm recording with. With the setup I have now, I can keep everything conveniently in my jeans pockets, which is a big plus to me over having to wear a hip sack or something like that. Most bands I tape are amplified rock music, so I am not too concerned about the self-noise of the R-09HR's internal pre.
Since whatever I step up two will require phantom, I'm trying to think about the most convenient setup for my typical uses. It seems if I keep the R-09HR, the absolute smallest power supply I can get is the PS-2 (or the Coresound 2Phant - has anyone used that?) and I can run that into my current R-09HR. It looks to me like this could go in a back jeans pocket, with the R-09HR in front. Is that about right?
The other option, which seems more optimal for sound quality (and of course, more expensive) is a PMD661 with the Oade concert mod, which has the added advantage of only requiring me to carry one box + mics. I've looked at the specs, an it looks to me like this thing would fit in a pocket, although maybe sticking out a bit (looks vaguely like this is the size of the old Sony WMD6C analog box or slightly smaller, maybe?
I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts, particularly on how advantageous, for my specific purposes, the PMD661 could be, as well as whether my estimation of how I could wear the PS2 is correct. And if you don't keep the PMD 661 in a pocket, what other convenient place you put it (I'm guessing it's back to the fanny/hip pack....).