Topic: TEAM Marantz PMD 660 (Part II)

[Javier Cinakowski]

Oade recomends running the pad for loud stuff.  I read that it does not degrade the signal to have it on and there is still plenty of headroom...

If that is true than I would rather have the option of extra gain for quiet stuff than have an extra 20db of headroom that you would never use....

[stevetoney]

I am amazed that this thing can do EVERYTHING (pre/AD/recorder) in such a small size.
The only thing I wish it could do is record from the line-in and the mic-in at the same time like the UA5....

Sa-weet...fuckin' slut!!!  Ha!

As long as we're wishing, I'd like to be able to still go through the XLRs and bypass the internal pre-amp circuitry.  It would be nice to use external preamps (like my MP-2) and still hook it up with XLRs instead of having to go Line In.

Although I'm overseas, I'm hoping mine comes back from Busman before I get back home in a week. 

We can meet up at a show and rag on the sound of each other's 660!  Ha.  (mine sounds better than yours...nyah nyah!)

[Javier Cinakowski]

(mine sounds better than yours...nyah nyah!)

I had Oade put a "flux capacitor" in 660, you don't have a chance!               

[stevetoney]

(mine sounds better than yours...nyah nyah!)

I had Oade put a "flux capacitor" in 660, you don't have a chance!               

I'a fluxing shoo my'a weecorda gotta one'a dem fluxin' capacitors too.  So flux you!

Actually I have no fluxing idea what a fuck capacitor is...or sumpin like that.

[Krispy D]

So what seems to be the consensus for powering one of these units?  voltage range?  etc...

[Keyser Soze]

Get the Busman Mod. I just got mine back and there is a noticeable difference. Especially in the Preamps. Before I was forced to run at -20 attenuation and now I can run it wide open. Found that the level meters are more accurate and there is less hiss now. Busman got it back to me pretty quickly. I can't wait to record more music with it. Now I just need to figure out how I can record a whole day worth of music with one power source. Anyone used and external battery pack with success?

Is that the busman mod compared to the Oade ACM?

The above is a huge difference over the Oade version, IMO.  I don't know if Doug's version can do that now, but I owned his first modded 660, and you had to run the -20 pad.  I'd love to see the results of the Busman 660, attenuation at 0, for a heavy bass show.  That would be a major plus over the Oade mod if it can't brickwall.

Thanks for the info.  Now I guess the only question left if how a Busman mod would sound with my AT stealth set up (next to the WCM that is)?  Hmmmmm, decisions, decisions!

[stevetoney]

Thanks for the info.  Now I guess the only question left if how a Busman mod would sound with my AT stealth set up (next to the WCM that is)?  Hmmmmm, decisions, decisions!

Notwithstanding all the technical info, the price could be a major factor for me.  An ACM is $729 whereas you can pickup a new 660 now for $450 and send $160 to busman...total of $610. 

Some people feel that the extra money to Oade is worth the premium for having an Oade box and being able to tie into any potential future Oade mods, but I personally find that to be a consideration NOT to buy from Oade due to this 'exclusivity premium'.  However, there's no debating the fact that Oade is THE man when it comes to staying on top of this hobby and supporting our community, so I can't be too hard on the man.  He earns what he gets, that's for sure.

[paullySC]

Thanks for the info.  Now I guess the only question left if how a Busman mod would sound with my AT stealth set up (next to the WCM that is)?  Hmmmmm, decisions, decisions!

Notwithstanding all the technical info, the price could be a major factor for me.  An ACM is $729 whereas you can pickup a new 660 now for $450 and send $160 to busman...total of $610. 

Some people feel that the extra money to Oade is worth the premium for having an Oade box and being able to tie into any potential future Oade mods, but I personally find that to be a consideration NOT to buy from Oade due to this 'exclusivity premium'.  However, there's no debating the fact that Oade is THE man when it comes to staying on top of this hobby and supporting our community, so I can't be too hard on the man.  He earns what he gets, that's for sure.

I wonder how the oade ACM and busman mods compare as far as sound quality.

[NOLAfishwater]

They are both good mods, just need depends on what you are looking for. I think that Oade's mod is going to be warmer, but that is not what I was looking for.  I personally do not like recordings that are too warm (too much bass) with not enough high/mid. I have run my Busman Mod and have been very happy with it. Still am experimenting. For the money and the service, you can't go wrong sending your deck to Busman. It is a noticeable difference in sound quality.

[NOLAfishwater]

So what seems to be the consensus for powering one of these units?  voltage range?  etc...

I personally would rather be able to monitor the levels. Usually I just run one set of batteries on the 1st set and another on the 2nd set. For festival season, I just bought a 5V Lithium Ion battery pack that puts out 44WattHours. That should be able to allow me run all day.



$99

Key Features:
High capacity. Most Digital Cameras/Video Camcorder's standard batteries only have 5Wh~10Wh capacity. This battery has 44Wh (Watt-Hour) capacity. For reference, an AA battery has about 2.7Wh capacity (1.8Ah at 1.5V). This may help calculating your expected run time.


Ultra light weight design.
Compatible with
Devices which require 5V, 8.4V or 11V power supply, such as network routers, BiX Pocketsize USB or Firewire hard drives, BiX Slim USB or Firewire Optical Drives.
Compatible with following Cameras/video cameras: Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Fuji, Olympus, Nikon, Casio, Kodak, HP, Minolta.....
as well as most cameras or devices which require 5 to 12 volt power supply.
No memory effect. Can be recharged at any time regardless of the amount of discharge.
Built-in batery gauge which displays power level of the battery pack.
AC quick charger included. Temperature and over-voltage/current protection.
Universal camera cable included. Compatible with most all digital cameras/video cameras or equipment.
Can also be used as an external power supply for any device such as portable Radio, CD/VCD/ DVD player etc...which requires 5 to 12 volt power input

[NOLAfishwater]

Anyone have trouble with their 660 when it is hot. I ran it at Bonnaroo and it was hotter than two rats f*cking a wool sock. Got a card error and later that day, I had a channel go out on me?? Since then, I haven't had any trouble.

[danlynch]

I had trouble with my 660 at a show in the rain.  The 660 did not get wet, as it protected inside of a bag.  However, my best guess is that the humidity got to it.  It seized up about and hour and 30 minutes into the show.  I hit stop, powered down, powered up again, and started recording.  It finished the rest of the show without a problem.

[bobbygeeWOW]

No rain to speak of, but mine got pretty damned hot at Telluride for four days and ran without a hiccup.

[pmonk66]

I am going to give my busman mod 660 a test run at ratdog next week!

[Krispy D]

so is this 256K card that the unit came with good for anything?  how much wav audio is that an hour?