Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: datbrad on October 03, 2010, 02:30:08 PM
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New thread...............carry on. :)
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loving this little box. finally ordered 8 lenmar 2700s yesterday.
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:) Checking in, it is not so new anymore but this is where the chat is at. The [TEAM PMD661] thread has not been active at all lately.
Link for Team Boards "Team PMD 661" (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=118094.135)
Link for Recording Gear "PT: 1 New Marantz PMD661 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=112681.0)
Link for Recording Gear "PT: 2 - New Marantz PMD661" (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=119213.0)
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:) Checking in, it is not so new anymore but this is where the chat is at.
Not always a bad thing, eh?
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I just ordered a new ACM 661!!!
Whats the best powering options for mics that draw 5mA? Trying to get about at least 4 hours. I don't know how to do that math, what mAh or and whatnot should I look for. I remember through my surfing around a while back seeing a compiled list somewhere... I searched for a while and thought I'd just ask.
Thanks in advance!
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PMD661 Battery test data here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=119213.msg1597270#msg1597270
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PMD661 Battery test data here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=119213.msg1597270#msg1597270
Thanks!
Any idea how much of a difference 5mA over 4.6mA? I'm trying to get a solid 4 hours of recording time. Has anybody tried http://www.lenmar.com/Web/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=PPU2100K (http://www.lenmar.com/Web/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=PPU2100K)?
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PMD661 Battery test data here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=119213.msg1597270#msg1597270
Thanks!
Any idea how much of a difference 5mA over 4.6mA? I'm trying to get a solid 4 hours of recording time. Has anybody tried http://www.lenmar.com/Web/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=PPU2100K (http://www.lenmar.com/Web/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=PPU2100K)?
the difference between mics that draw 5mA vs 4.6mA is relatively small.
in regards to that lenmar battery linked above, the capacity is only 1560mAh. You can get internal AA's with a capacity of ~2700mAh. so you're better off using 4 internal AA's then using that lenmar battery.
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Just a quick note for anyone who was interested in the issue I had with my 661 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=119213.msg1796455#msg1796455). Marantz found some sort of way to solve the noise issue I had, so Doug has fixed my unit and so far so good.
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I have some current-draw figures for the PMD-661 (measured by Everett Basham) which will allow anyone to calculate how long their batteries will last. I am also seeking current-draw figures for the Tascam DR-100 and Zoom H4N, so if anyone can help out, please have a look at: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139694.0
In what follows, it is assumed that your batteries have been properly charged and have not lost their capacity through age or numerous discharge cycles. All too often, poor run time is a result of poor battery capacity for a variety of reasons. If you do not achieve the run times indicated, the problem most likely lies with your battery. Stick with batteries made by a respected manufacturer (me: I avoid anything with Made in China on it and have found that Eneloops made in Japan are among the best) and you should achieve the run times indicated below. And remember, todays best NiMH rechargeables have more capacity than alkalines and last hundreds of cycles.
I will use the nominal voltage for NiMH of 1.2 volts. It actually goes up to about 1.35 volts when fully charged, drops rather quickly to a fairly constant 1.2 volts for most of the discharge time, and then drops rapidly when the voltage reaches 1.0 volts, at which point the battery is nearly exhausted. Variation in voltage directly affects current draw (the higher the voltage, the lower the current). However, as stated, I will use 1.2 volts.
Current Draw
Everett's tests reveal that the PMD-661 draws 200-220 mA when recording (OLED display set to 1 on a scale of 1-8 for light output; 2nd VU meter off), and up to 280 mA with the meters fully on. It is unlikely that changes in recording conditions (mp3, various sample rates and bit-depth) will have much effect, but this hasn't been tested as yet. I will choose a figure of 250 mA as representing minimum current draw (meters off or reduced), and 300 mA as a typical current draw.
Inverter Draw
The current drawn by the inverter (the circuitry which converts the battery voltage of 4.8 volts to 48 volts) has also not been measured as yet, but it is straightforward to calculate. The current drawn by the inverter, I(INV), has to be added to the currents mentioned above. I will assume an inverter efficiency of 80%. Let the current drawn by the phantom mikes be I(PH) in milliamps.
I (INV) = 48/4.8 * 1.25 * I(PH) = 12.5 * I(PH)
The factor of 1.25 comes from the assumed 80% inverter efficiency.
Sample Calculation 1
• Batteries: Eneloop 2000 mAh
• Unit set to minimum current draw: 250 mA
• No phantom power
Run time = 2000/250 = 8 hours.
In real life, Everett achieved 12 hours with a set of new, freshly charged, 2700 mAh Sanyos, and 8 hours with 2000 mAh Eneloops.
Sample Calculation 2
• Batteries: Eneloop 2000 mAh
• Unit set to typical current draw: 300 mA
• Two 48 volt microphones, each drawing 5 mA (10 mA total)
Total current = 300 + 12.5 x 10 = 425 mA.
Run time = 2000/425 = 4.7 hours
The above calculations show why a unit with 4 batteries is probably a better bet than a unit with 2 batteries – all things equal, current draw will be double in the 2-battery units, and run time halved. Even if the 2-battery unit does have very efficient internal circuitry, the current drawn by phantom mikes must cause the inverter current to double; there's no way around that. For example, 10 mA at 48 volts, equates to 250 mA at 2.4 volts (assuming 80% efficiency). But it gets worse if using alkalines because they have the characteristic of providing less capacity as the current increases. It can be a double-whammy. When using a 2-battery unit the current draw in increased (which results in less run time), and the capacity of the alkalines is decreased thereby resulting in even less run time.
I'd like confirmation that the current draw for a 2-battery unit is greater than a 4-battery unit, so if anyone can take current measurements for the H4N or DR-100, please gmail me at gdburns.
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Thanks for the "noise issue" update. It's not what I would expect from a $600 unit. I have "heat-soaked" and "cold-soaked" various items of electronics when I want to make sure they are functioning properly. My partner gets a bit upset by strange items in the oven and fridge, but you gotta test. This is what I would be doing to ensure the heat problem was fixed (and when I get my 661 I will be doing this):
1. Turn the oven to its lowest heat (say 40º C) and leave for fifteen minutes to warm up and settle.
2. Turn oven off and place PMD 661 inside, sitting on some insulating material (just in case the metal bars are hotter than 40º C), with cables coming from the oven to microphones.
3. Stand guard so that no one turns oven on.
4. Check for hum and hiss.
Step 3 is very important. A friend relates the tale of her mobile phone sitting above the kitchen sink, and being knocked into the suds while washing up. It still seemed to work, so she put it in the oven to dry out (set to a low heat then turned off). Forgot to tell husband, who turned oven on without seeing the phone. The phone might have survived the dunking, but didn't survive the cooking.
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I just ordered a new ACM 661!!!
Whats the best powering options for mics that draw 5mA? Trying to get about at least 4 hours. I don't know how to do that math, what mAh or and whatnot should I look for. I remember through my surfing around a while back seeing a compiled list somewhere... I searched for a while and thought I'd just ask.
Thanks in advance!
What is an "ACM 661"
Doug's site advertises a concert, warm, and super mod on these, but nothing about an "advanced concert mod".
Very curious to know what mods are added to those in the concert mod to make it more "advanced".
Thanks !!!
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FYI: I sent a query in to Marantz to clarify the phantom power spec.
The answer is that the 10mA max in the spec is for both channels together so theoretically only 5mA per channel.
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What is an "ACM 661"
Doug's site advertises a concert, warm, and super mod on these, but nothing about an "advanced concert mod".
Very curious to know what mods are added to those in the concert mod to make it more "advanced".
Thanks !!!
Other than a typo its no different than any other concert mod. My brain, although I've looked over this many times, has processed it as ACM even though there has never been an A there. Funny thing how the mind or my mind at least works. For my sake I say its an Awesome Concert Mod maybe Aaron's Concert Mod :-\
Thanks for the advice on the power source think I'll go with this to start: http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Battery-Charger-Batteries-2700mAh/dp/B000P4PYRA/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t (http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Battery-Charger-Batteries-2700mAh/dp/B000P4PYRA/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t)
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What is an "ACM 661"
Doug's site advertises a concert, warm, and super mod on these, but nothing about an "advanced concert mod".
Very curious to know what mods are added to those in the concert mod to make it more "advanced".
Thanks !!!
Other than a typo its no different than any other concert mod. My brain, although I've looked over this many times, has processed it as ACM even though there has never been an A there. Funny thing how the mind or my mind at least works. For my sake I say its an Awesome Concert Mod maybe Aaron's Concert Mod :-\
The reason I asked is that Doug does sometimes offer mods before he posts them on his site, as he did back in March 2009 when he started offering warm mod 661s but they were not listed. In the past, Doug's concert mods were usually offered first, and later he would list a more extensive set of modifications that would earn the title "Advanced" so I wondered if this was the case with yours.
Thanks !!
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I'm seriously considering getting a PMD661, but there is one concern I have. If I understand correctly, this unit does NOT have a limiter circuit. Am I correct? Do you suppose they could add it in a firmware update?
Thanks,
Tom
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I'm seriously considering getting a PMD661, but there is one concern I have. If I understand correctly, this unit does NOT have a limiter circuit. Am I correct? Do you suppose they could add it in a firmware update?
Thanks,
Tom
Limiters are not something that can be added with firmware, unfortunately. If you get a concert or warm mod by Oade, I can't imagine a situation where you could overload the internal preamps with the -18db attenuator setting on the 661.
Digital limiters will not prevent overloading, just digital brickwalling. If you expect transients that exceed the dynamic range of the preamps, then you would be better using an outboard preamp that has analog limiters, of which optical are the best.
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Through out a bunch of surfing around I saw there were some issues with Kingston cards and I have an 8 GB class 6. Can anyone report if they've had success with them or are they still problematic?
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I've waded through a lot of pages in these threads looking for info on sdhc cards. Anyone care to enlighten me on any non-compatible brands/sizes of cards? Any problems reported in that department? Thanks.
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I've waded through a lot of pages in these threads looking for info on sdhc cards. Anyone care to enlighten me on any non-compatible brands/sizes of cards? Any problems reported in that department? Thanks.
I have always used Lexar cards (class 4) in both my PMD661, and my PMD670, per recommendation from D&M pro several years ago. I have never had any issues with any Lexar card. I know Lexar and Sandisk are more expensive than other brands, but not by much.
It has always amazed me that people will select a cheap brand card that are not recommended by the MFG, and yet think it's still ok to use anyway. Then when it fails somehow, threads like these are filled with chatter trying to decipher the problem. It's the card.
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I've waded through a lot of pages in these threads looking for info on sdhc cards. Anyone care to enlighten me on any non-compatible brands/sizes of cards? Any problems reported in that department? Thanks.
These were recommended so I picked up a few of the 16GB PNY Optima SDHC class 4 cards and haven't had any issues with them. You will need a card reader that can handle SDHC cards, older ones did not.
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-Optima-Class-Memory-P-SDHC16G4-EF/dp/B001518O24/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1283721481&sr=1-1
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Brick walling advice anyone???
Well I ran my oade warm mod 661 friday night for the forth time. The first three times I ran it I ran my CCM41's > V2 > 661 with no problems for the most part. Friday night for My Morning Jacket I decided to run my 184's neumann mics straight into it. I was setup directly in front of the board in a large arena ...pretty close to the stage 40 feet or so. I had the -18 mic attenuator on and had the gain set between 4 and 5 on the unit. The show was really loud but nothing to crazy..... I noticed my levels looked pretty good all night usually peaking around 10-6. When I got home and looked at my files in wavelab I was shocked.....the whole thing is brick walled ( at least most of it..not the quiet songs of coarse) . WTF..? I know the 184's have a slightly higher output compared to my CCM41's but .... any ideas??? I sent a email to Doug but no replies yet.
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Brick walling advice anyone???
Well I ran my oade warm mod 661 friday night for the forth time. The first three times I ran it I ran my CCM41's > V2 > 661 with no problems for the most part. Friday night for My Morning Jacket I decided to run my 184's neumann mics straight into it. I was setup directly in front of the board in a large arena ...pretty close to the stage 40 feet or so. I had the -18 mic attenuator on and had the gain set between 4 and 5 on the unit. The show was really loud but nothing to crazy..... I noticed my levels looked pretty good all night usually peaking around 10-6. When I got home and looked at my files in wavelab I was shocked.....the whole thing is brick walled ( at least most of it..not the quiet songs of coarse) . WTF..? I know the 184's have a slightly higher output compared to my CCM41's but .... any ideas??? I sent a email to Doug but no replies yet.
Brent, Can you post a screen shot of the wave? Does is audibly distort?
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(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1146/5142126022_d3e9bd2ef2.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stober/5142126022/)
screenshot or brickwalling (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stober/5142126022/) by bstober (http://www.flickr.com/people/stober/), on Flickr
yes there's distortion in the low end for sure...
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Brent, That is strange looking for sure. You need to send that pic over to Doug and let him see it. The mod descriptions on Oade's site indicate the headroom is extended with the concert and warm mods, so I can't imagine how this could have happened with the -18db attenuator engaged also. Did you go back to the XLR preset and double check the -18db setting was still set afterwards?
The reason I ask is when I first got mine, I thoought I had the settings a certain way, but I actually failed to store the preset selections correctly, and only realized it later on when I checked it again.
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Yeah I checked the preset when I got home to make sure it was still set at -18 and to see if it was still on the preset I selected and it was. I'll report back when Doug emails me back...just sent a second one with the screen shot included. When you listen to it it just sounds like the pres are overloading . Weird looking wave file for sure. I taped the opening band which wasn't as loud with the -12 on and it's looks and sounds the same way.
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Through out a bunch of surfing around I saw there were some issues with Kingston cards and I have an 8 GB class 6. Can anyone report if they've had success with them or are they still problematic?
I had one of those and it just kept giving me errors.
The most annoying errors. Switched back to Sandisc class 2 with no problems. Hope that helps!
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Brick walling advice anyone???
Well I ran my oade warm mod 661 friday night for the forth time. The first three times I ran it I ran my CCM41's > V2 > 661 with no problems for the most part. Friday night for My Morning Jacket I decided to run my 184's neumann mics straight into it. I was setup directly in front of the board in a large arena ...pretty close to the stage 40 feet or so. I had the -18 mic attenuator on and had the gain set between 4 and 5 on the unit. The show was really loud but nothing to crazy..... I noticed my levels looked pretty good all night usually peaking around 10-6. When I got home and looked at my files in wavelab I was shocked.....the whole thing is brick walled ( at least most of it..not the quiet songs of coarse) . WTF..? I know the 184's have a slightly higher output compared to my CCM41's but .... any ideas??? I sent a email to Doug but no replies yet.
this is common if you have the gain set lower then 5, the PMD661 seems to really shine b/t 6 an 7 on the gain.
I have had the same results that you got with loud sources and having the gain at 4.
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I am now building VR boxs that step down a 9v DVD battery to a 5v output. I ran my PMD661 with Phantom on for over 10 hours on a 5400 mAh DVD battery. Currently I have one of my prototypes for sale in the YS. http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=140772.0
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_6879.jpg)
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I am now building VR boxs that step down a 9v DVD battery to a 5v output. I ran my PMD661 with Phantom on for over 10 hours on a 5400 mAh DVD battery. Currently I have one of my prototypes for sale in the YS. http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=140772.0
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_6879.jpg)
I want of these, however I am going to have to wait until after the Holidays.
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does anyone know what the max input when running Line-In? I'm curious about both the XLR line-ins and the 1/8" line-in2 jack.
Instead of my usual CK930 > PMD-661 combo, for the upcoming Worcester Phish shows, I'm going to borrow a Sonosax SX-M2, and then run line-in on the Sonosax.
The max output from the XLR outputs of the Sonosax is +20dBu.
The output on the 1/8" output on the Sonosax is 6dB lower, for a max of +14dBu.
The official specs for the PMD-661 say that the input sensitivity is 0dBu for the XLR's line, and 500mV(rms) for the 1/8" line-in2 (equal to -3.8dBu). But I don't think those are the max levels. Does anyone know what the actual max input levels are when running line-in?
The Marantz tech support told me that the max input levels are not published and therefore, they don't know. I asked them to check with the engineers because someone at Marantz has to know, right? They told me that it might take more than a week to hear back from the engineers, and the Phish shows are next week. So I need to know before then.
Also, when running line-in, do I need to worry about keeping the level knob above 4-5? When running mic in, the internal pre-amp will overload (even though the digital levels are less than 0dBFS) if the knob is below 4-5. Is this also an issue when running Line-In? Or am I OK to run below there, because the internal mic pre-amp is being bypassed?
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ok, so I've got just about all of my questions answered. big thanks to Doug Oade for the quick email replies. He's much more helpful than the Marantz tech support.
My first set of questions to Doug was what the max input level was for the line-in inputs, and whether or not I needed to worry about keeping the PMD-661 level knob above 4 when running Line-in...
I've never measured the input overload point of the 661 XLR line in but it calculates to about +15dBU. The Concert MOD does not alter this. The record level control is a good indicator of mic preamp clipping, it tends to be around 4 for all decks when the record level control does not affect the input gain. If you go 1/8" in then you'll have more headroom, I favor this input for that reason. I hope this helps....Doug
I then asked him a little bit more about the XLR line-in vs. the 1/8" line-in2 jack
In general, I prefer the XLR connections because it is a more robust connection, it locks, and in general is a more reliable connection compared to an 1/8" connector. but you say that I'll have more headroom with the 1/8" line-in? Is that because the 1/8" input can actually handle a louder input? or just because the 1/8" output on the Sonosax is 6dB lower, so I'd therefore have 6dB more headroom?
Also, I thought your concert mod only affected the XLR inputs, and not the 1/8" line-in, is that correct? If so, if I used the 1/8" line-in, it was essentially be the same as running a stock deck with the 1/8" line-in. That isn't the end of the world, but if it's possible to run the signal through the upgraded signal path, I would think that that is preferable, yes?
and here was Doug's last response:
you are correct, the 1/8" is not upgraded while the XLR is. However, it's the device that applies gain that most significantly affects signal quality so it's going to be less dramatic a difference than if you are using the 661 for gain. Yes, the minijack and XLR will overload at about the same level. The limitation is the internal voltages for the audio circuit, not the analog parts. Since you were concerned about overload, I suggested the use of the minijack input. Based on calculations, you won't be able to overload it and an overload is very easy to hear ! As long as you know you won't overload the 661 xlr input, they would be the best choice...Doug
to sum up:
- the XLR line-in has a max input of approx. +15dBu
- the 1/8" line-in2 overloads at about the same level as the XLR line-in
- the 1/8" line-in2 is not upgraded with the Oade Concert mod (though we knew this already)
- the oade mods don't have as much of a sonic impact when running line-in, relative to running mic-in (again, I think we knew that)
- Because the XLR line-ins can handle approx. +15dBu, it should be no problem to run XLR's from a Sonosax SX-M2, though I'd have more headroom if I ran 1/8" out from the Sonosax to the 1/8" line-in2 input on the PMD-661, because the 1/8" output on the Sonosax is 6dB lower.
While it would be nice to have a little more headroom, I much prefer balanced XLR inputs over 1/8" jacks. XLR is just more secure, it locks, and is a more reliable connection. I'll probably use the XLR outs the first night, and unless I run into major issues, do the same thing the 2nd night.
as always, any other thoughts, comments, or input is welcome.
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as always, any other thoughts, comments, or input is welcome.
Well done, thanks for getting and sharing this useful info. It's good to know just how unlikely you are to overload the 661 with either the XLR or 1/8" line inputs.
Anyone have any guesses as to when the 661's successor will come out? I don't know how long the 660 was out before the 661 replaced it or how long a generation will typically last, but I think the 661 has now been out maybe 1 1/2 years so I'm hoping it'll be in the next year or so. I really like the 661 but a 662 that's smaller and has better battery life and a lower noise, etc., would be pretty great.
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Anyone have any guesses as to when the 661's successor will come out? I don't know how long the 660 was out before the 661 replaced it or how long a generation will typically last, but I think the 661 has now been out maybe 1 1/2 years so I'm hoping it'll be in the next year or so. I really like the 661 but a 662 that's smaller and has better battery life and a lower noise, etc., would be pretty great.
No idea but the PMD660 is still available, the PMD661 didn't technically replace it, they coexist.
For a smaller unit Marantz offers the PMD620 though. http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=4313&CatID=19&SubCatID=188
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ok, so I've got just about all of my questions answered. big thanks to Doug Oade for the quick email replies. He's much more helpful than the Marantz tech support.
as always, any other thoughts, comments, or input is welcome.
Thanks for sharing the info from Doug.
Was the unity gain settings/levels for the PMD661 suggested? I haven't seen actual unity gain info listed for the PMD661 anywhere. This would be good reference info if anyone knows.
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ok, so I've got just about all of my questions answered. big thanks to Doug Oade for the quick email replies. He's much more helpful than the Marantz tech support.
as always, any other thoughts, comments, or input is welcome.
Thanks for sharing the info from Doug.
Was the unity gain settings/levels for the PMD661 suggested? I haven't seen actual unity gain info listed for the PMD661 anywhere. This would be good reference info if anyone knows.
no, I didn't ask about unity gain and Doug didn't say anything about it (I basically posted everything from our email exchange).
I have now done a short little home test with the beyerdynamic CK930 > Sonosax SX-M2 > PMD-661 in front of my stereo.
obviously, it's not quite a "real world" test, because the sound from my stereo was no where near concert SPL's. (even if my stereo could reproduce sound that loud, which it can't, I couldn't play it that loud with my 10 month old baby sleeping upstairs).
anyway, I ran XLR line-in to the PMD-661, and I had the PMD-661 on the -18 dB gain setting.
I ran the Sonosax in the high gain range (at a concert, I'm sure I'd be running it in the low gain range).
I generated a pure sine wave and saved the WAV file and played that back through my stereo on repeat. That way, my source would be a constant level and I could easily play around with the level knobs on the Sonosax and the PMD-661.
The Sonosax outputs a max of +20dBu (over the balanced outputs). The "over" lights on the Sonosax come on 6dB before the pre-amp overloads, so it outputs +14dBu when the "over" lights come on.
I gave the Sonosax enough gain such that the over lights were just barely on the whole time, so the outputs were in the +14 to +15 dBu range.
I then set then set the PMD-661 to peak around -2 or -3dB, and the knob was set around 6 at this point.
So, based on my test, I'm confident that the Sonosax SX-M2 > PMD-661 combo will work just fine. If I just leave the PMD-661 knob around 6, and then set my levels using the knobs the Sonosax, I should peak around -2dBFS on the PMD-661 at just about the same time as the "clip" lights come on on the Sonosax. At this point, I know that I'll be close to 0dBFS, but I won't be digitally clipping. I'll know that the Sonosax isn't being overloaded, because I still have 6dB of headroom there. and I know that the Marantz will be able to handle the signal just fine with no distortion at all. Also, I get to use the XLR line-in, which I'm much more comfortable with compared to using the 1/8" line-in2 jack (just because I like XLR's better).
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No idea but the PMD660 is still available, the PMD661 didn't technically replace it, they coexist.
True, I noticed that the 660 is still listed on the Marantz website also, but I assume that it's due to there still being a lot of unsold 660s out there rather than the 660 being an active product that is still being made now (I'd be really surprised if Marantz is still manufacturing both the 660 and 661).
For a smaller unit Marantz offers the PMD620 though. http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=4313&CatID=19&SubCatID=188
Yep, but it doesn't have XLR inputs w/phantom though (e.g. not an "all-in-one").
Can't wait for the next generation to come out (or for Sony to make a comparable device to the 661)...
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No idea but the PMD660 is still available, the PMD661 didn't technically replace it, they coexist.
True, I noticed that the 660 is still listed on the Marantz website also, but I assume that it's due to there still being a lot of unsold 660s out there rather than the 660 being an active product that is still being made now (I'd be really surprised if Marantz is still manufacturing both the 660 and 661).
That makes sense, who would really buy a PMD660 when you could get the PMD661 for roughly $50 more. So in that regard it is not surprising that almost 2 years later they still have those PMD660's. At some point they should just cut their losses on them, seems very silly to continue to offering 660's today without a drastic price reduction on them.
I remember reading some Marantz sales hype back when the PMD661 was initially released stating that they didn't intend for it to replace the PMD660. Afraid of the Osbourne Effect is more appropriate though.
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Thanks for sharing the info from Doug.
Was the unity gain settings/levels for the PMD661 suggested? I haven't seen actual unity gain info listed for the PMD661 anywhere. This would be good reference info if anyone knows.
I can't find proof of it by searching, but I'm sure someone once posted that Doug Oade told them that the unity gain setting on the PMD661 is 7. I made a point of making a note of it on my pdf of the 661 manual when I read that.
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Thanks for sharing the info from Doug.
Was the unity gain settings/levels for the PMD661 suggested? I haven't seen actual unity gain info listed for the PMD661 anywhere. This would be good reference info if anyone knows.
I can't find proof of it by searching, but I'm sure someone once posted that Doug Oade told them that the unity gain setting on the PMD661 is 7. I made a point of making a note of it on my pdf of the 661 manual when I read that.
I read that post also. I have also read a thread that the pmd 661 ad really shines between 6 and 7. My experience w/my apogee mmp has been around 6 - 6.25 and I have had really good results so far.
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that was me. Doug told me unity was at 7.
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here's another wrinkle in the line-in question. Marantz Tech support finally got back to me about max input levels for the line-in's...
Hi Jason,
We were able to get a response to your inquiry. Please see the max line input levels for the PMD661 below.
Balanced (XLR) Line In:
1.65 Vrms
6.57dBu
Unbalanced (Line 2) In:
1.98 Vrms
8.15dBu
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
D&M Professional
1100 Maplewood Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
this info from Marantz is obviously a lot different from the approx +15dBu that Doug told me. Frankly, I don't know what to make of Marantz's reply. I just ran the Sonosax > PMD-661 oade concert mod (XLR line-in) for the past two nights of Phish. I had the PMD-661 level knob at 7. the Sonosax outputs a max of +20dBu, though I didn't come close to that, because the clip light on the Sonosax never came on (it comes on at +14dBu). Even so, with the amount of gain I had on the Sonosax, I know that the output level must have been higher than +6.57dBu. but the recordings came out beautifully, no distortion at all. So I don't know where Marantz got those numbers, but I don't believe them.
any other thoughts?
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here's another wrinkle in the line-in question. Marantz Tech support finally got back to me about max input levels for the line-in's...
Hi Jason,
We were able to get a response to your inquiry. Please see the max line input levels for the PMD661 below.
Balanced (XLR) Line In:
1.65 Vrms
6.57dBu
Unbalanced (Line 2) In:
1.98 Vrms
8.15dBu
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
D&M Professional
1100 Maplewood Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
this info from Marantz is obviously a lot different from the approx +15dBu that Doug told me. Frankly, I don't know what to make of Marantz's reply. I just ran the Sonosax > PMD-661 oade concert mod (XLR line-in) for the past two nights of Phish. I had the PMD-661 level knob at 7. the Sonosax outputs a max of +20dBu, though I didn't come close to that, because the clip light on the Sonosax never came on (it comes on at +14dBu). Even so, with the amount of gain I had on the Sonosax, I know that the output level must have been higher than +6.57dBu. but the recordings came out beautifully, no distortion at all. So I don't know where Marantz got those numbers, but I don't believe them.
any other thoughts?
Doug told me the concert and warm mod increased the headroom on the XLR for both mic and line in. Wonder if that is the difference.
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What did the fish say when it hit the wall? --> [Dam ! ! !]
Well I flew the BSC1's tonight and experienced the brick walling that other people have encountered and my recording is completely shot.
Q: Can anyone running BSC1's with the 661 recommend where to set the [Mic Atten.] and approx record level for a show running around 110db?
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Well I flew the BSC1's tonight and experienced the brick walling that other people have encountered and my recording is completely shot.
Q: Can anyone running BSC1's with the 661 recommend where to set the [Mic Atten.] and approx record level for a show running around 110db?
You probably should set the attenuation at -18 for all reasonably loud shows unless you find you can't get adequate levels that way.
Whatever mics you are running and whatever attenuation setting you choose, if you have to turn the 661's record level below a certain point to keep the meters from going over 0 dB, you are going to get brick walling. Someone previously posted that point is 4/10 on the record level, although it seems to be about 4.5 on my Oade Ambient Modded 661. There is a point like this on most recorders we use, but it often is lower than 40% of the level control (The M10 is perhaps the best, having to go below 1/10 to get the meters under 0 dB to cause brick walling).
If you have the record level at 4.5/10 or above to be conservative and the meters are staying under 0 dB I'm pretty sure you won't get brick walling. I would always start with the -18 dB attenuation (which actually is not attenuating but is not boosting the signal) if the show will be fairly loud and only consider raising it only if you are getting inadequate levels. If the mics are so sensitive that you need to turn the 661's levels below the point at which it will brick wall (with the attenuation at -18 db) to keep the meters under 0 dB, you will need to use external attenuators.
I'm not at all technically minded, but I think you can test the point at which the machine will brickwall by setting the input to 4/10 and talking very loudly into your mics. If you can get the levels to go over 0 dB, then the recorder won't brickwall at 4/10. If the levels peak at say -6 dB no matter how loud you talk into them, then it is possible to get brick walling at the 4/10 setting. Doing this on my Oade modded 661, it looks like I can get brick walling at 4/10, but not at 4.5/10 or above.
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Thanks Jr., I'll test it out at those settings.
Never got hit with brick walling before but read that others had. The meters never went over zero db but there was no headroom range in them, record level was set at 4 as usual. This was the maiden show for the BSC1's, guess they are quite a bit hotter than the Shure I usually run for mid-side recordings. The show was quite a bit louder than normal too, it even sounded distorted to my ears while there.
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When you brick wall, your levels don't go over 0 dB. They peak at some point well below that, such as -6 dB. It sounds like you did run into brick walling.
Maybe 4/10 isn't the magic number on your machine-test it out if you can. It is 4.5/10 on my Oade mod.
If you set the attenuation at -18 and can keep the levels under 0 dB with the record level at 4.5/10 or above you probably won't get brick walling. From your experience it looks like 4/10 may not be safe for you. If the levels are still over 0 dB at 4.5/10 you may need to add 10 dB attenuators to the chain (or move farther from the source).
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here's another wrinkle in the line-in question. Marantz Tech support finally got back to me about max input levels for the line-in's...
Hi Jason,
We were able to get a response to your inquiry. Please see the max line input levels for the PMD661 below.
Balanced (XLR) Line In:
1.65 Vrms
6.57dBu
Unbalanced (Line 2) In:
1.98 Vrms
8.15dBu
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
D&M Professional
1100 Maplewood Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
this info from Marantz is obviously a lot different from the approx +15dBu that Doug told me. Frankly, I don't know what to make of Marantz's reply. I just ran the Sonosax > PMD-661 oade concert mod (XLR line-in) for the past two nights of Phish. I had the PMD-661 level knob at 7. the Sonosax outputs a max of +20dBu, though I didn't come close to that, because the clip light on the Sonosax never came on (it comes on at +14dBu). Even so, with the amount of gain I had on the Sonosax, I know that the output level must have been higher than +6.57dBu. but the recordings came out beautifully, no distortion at all. So I don't know where Marantz got those numbers, but I don't believe them.
any other thoughts?
Doug told me the concert and warm mod increased the headroom on the XLR for both mic and line in. Wonder if that is the difference.
that's interesting, because Doug told me that the concert mod does not change the max input level, although if requested, he could adjust the deck to reduce the amount of gain the deck adds.
-
here's another wrinkle in the line-in question. Marantz Tech support finally got back to me about max input levels for the line-in's...
Hi Jason,
We were able to get a response to your inquiry. Please see the max line input levels for the PMD661 below.
Balanced (XLR) Line In:
1.65 Vrms
6.57dBu
Unbalanced (Line 2) In:
1.98 Vrms
8.15dBu
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
D&M Professional
1100 Maplewood Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
this info from Marantz is obviously a lot different from the approx +15dBu that Doug told me. Frankly, I don't know what to make of Marantz's reply. I just ran the Sonosax > PMD-661 oade concert mod (XLR line-in) for the past two nights of Phish. I had the PMD-661 level knob at 7. the Sonosax outputs a max of +20dBu, though I didn't come close to that, because the clip light on the Sonosax never came on (it comes on at +14dBu). Even so, with the amount of gain I had on the Sonosax, I know that the output level must have been higher than +6.57dBu. but the recordings came out beautifully, no distortion at all. So I don't know where Marantz got those numbers, but I don't believe them.
any other thoughts?
Doug told me the concert and warm mod increased the headroom on the XLR for both mic and line in. Wonder if that is the difference.
that's interesting, because Doug told me that the concert mod does not change the max input level, although if requested, he could adjust the deck to reduce the amount of gain the deck adds.
You are right, thinking back, he told me that the headroom increase was for mic in, and for XLR line in, headroom based on the +4db line standard would more than be enough to handle even the hottest preamps and SBD feeds, which has proven to be true in muy experience.
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^^^^BSC1's are HOT. Maybe in-line attenuators are needed for BSC1>661??
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Lots of good info
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So has anyone popped open their Oade Brothers modded 661 to see what parts theyre replacing and with what? Sorry if this has been covered before, but this thread is massive! Im interested in doing the mods myself but would like to see what theyre using and where.
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So has anyone popped open their Oade Brothers modded 661 to see what parts theyre replacing and with what? Sorry if this has been covered before, but this thread is massive! Im interested in doing the mods myself but would like to see what theyre using and where.
"Ah, Ancient Chinese Secret..." I'm guessing surface mount OP Amps and capacitors are changed.
I'm happy with my stock unit, but it seems there are more folks running Oade mods here in Taperssection Forums.
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So has anyone popped open their Oade Brothers modded 661 to see what parts theyre replacing and with what? Sorry if this has been covered before, but this thread is massive! Im interested in doing the mods myself but would like to see what theyre using and where.
"Ah, Ancient Chinese Secret..." I'm guessing surface mount OP Amps and capacitors are changed.
I'm happy with my stock unit, but it seems there are more folks running Oade mods here in Taperssection Forums.
Well yea, that much im guessing too. In fact, thats what they state they change out. All of which I can easily switch out myself. Im just surprised no one on the net that I have seen so far is an "audiophile" enough to question "hey! what the heck ARE you Oade Brothers putting in my recorder?!". I have been unable to find any pictures of an open unit with the mods done. Thats probably the FIRST thing I would have done upon receiving the unit back from them! lol But maybe thats just me.
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Looks like a new firmware was released last month, and is supposed to increase compatibility with SD cards. It's a whole number upgrade up to v2.03, but the only thing they state they changed is "Expanded SD card compatibility"
Here is a user review of the new FW:
http://dompruitt.com/2011/07/05/err-card-2-fixed-on-marantz-pmd661-with-a203-firmware/
I'll probably install it tonight and report back.
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Looks like a new firmware was released last month, and is supposed to increase compatibility with SD cards. It's a whole number upgrade up to v2.03, but the only thing they state they changed is "Expanded SD card compatibility"
Here is a user review of the new FW:
http://dompruitt.com/2011/07/05/err-card-2-fixed-on-marantz-pmd661-with-a203-firmware/
I'll probably install it tonight and report back.
Thanks Ted - I'm not having any card problems and have 4 shows in the next two weeks. I'll wait to do the upgrade don't want to risk introducing a problem just before a run of shows.
Marantz Quote:
"This firmware update increased SD card compatibility with the PMD661. Most major brands of cards have been found to be compatible. Please note that we cannot guarantee functionality with any third party product. For further details please feel free to contact our technical support department at 630-741-0330 option 1 or techsupport@d-mpro.com."
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Please note that we cannot guarantee functionality with any third party product. LOL :spin: LOL
I've probably bought 5 SDHC cards for this thing, tested 2 SDHC cards that I've had for other toys and only 2 have worked fairly reliably which are an 8 GB PNY (same one you've mentioned before) and an old 16 GB Adata, although the Adata failed once during a test, so I am leery of it. I even bought a 32 GB version of the PNY that failed when testing.
But good news so far, I have that 32 GB PNY recording right now (at 24/96), and it has been chugging along for a couple hr right now, knock on wood. Previously, when a card fails, it would do so within the first hour. I'll let it go for overnight and report back. I may test it out a few times before I'm fully confident.
Looks like a new firmware was released last month, and is supposed to increase compatibility with SD cards. It's a whole number upgrade up to v2.03, but the only thing they state they changed is "Expanded SD card compatibility"
Here is a user review of the new FW:
http://dompruitt.com/2011/07/05/err-card-2-fixed-on-marantz-pmd661-with-a203-firmware/
I'll probably install it tonight and report back.
Thanks Ted - I'm not having any card problems and have 4 shows in the next two weeks. I'll wait to do the upgrade don't want to risk introducing a problem just before a run of shows.
Marantz Quote:
"This firmware update increased SD card compatibility with the PMD661. Most major brands of cards have been found to be compatible. Please note that we cannot guarantee functionality with any third party product. For further details please feel free to contact our technical support department at 630-741-0330 option 1 or techsupport@d-mpro.com."
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I wonder if Kingston cards will work in the 661 now? Just curious. I don't really need them to work in the 661 as I have several Sandisk cards that work perfectly well.
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Thanks for the heads up on the FW. I am hoping that all those Sandisk cards that my 661 rejected at Mtn. Jam will be useful! A 32gb option would be sweet too....
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My PNY Optima 32 GB recorded all night (I think I'm at around 12 h right now) with the Digital In.
*Edit to add* I stopped the recording at 14 h! Yay! Nice to have a 32 GB option. I'll repeat this test a few times and if there are any problems I'll report back.
This is the card I used:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178212
I have this 32 GB Kingston card that I can try out:
http://amzn.to/qpSnxH
It failed with the old firmware so I can see if the updated firmware fixes the problem. My next test will be to tape XLR-in with the PNY, and then I'll try my Kingston.
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Thanks. I'm curious to see if your Kingston venture is a success.
+T
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OK -- I'll try digital in first because I noticed that you're running a Mytek 192.
Actually, on a separate note, I was wondering what your experience with the Mytek was in the field. I've read somewhere here or on gearslutz that powering it with anything above 7V will result in wasted power, ie., it will be dissipated as heat. When I ran it, I powered it with 7.5V from my Tekkeon, but the low battery light kept flashing. Is this normal? Everything turned out OK to my ears, but it was disconcerting to see the warning light flash.
Thanks. I'm curious to see if your Kingston venture is a success.
+T
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OK -- I'll try digital in first because I noticed that you're running a Mytek 192.
Actually, on a separate note, I was wondering what your experience with the Mytek was in the field. I've read somewhere here or on gearslutz that powering it with anything above 7V will result in wasted power, ie., it will be dissipated as heat. When I ran it, I powered it with 7.5V from my Tekkeon, but the low battery light kept flashing. Is this normal? Everything turned out OK to my ears, but it was disconcerting to see the warning light flash.
Thanks. I'm curious to see if your Kingston venture is a success.
+T
The mytek low battery light flashes anytime that you're powering it with an external battery source. I've run it both with a Tekkeon and a wally world dvd battery. The recordings turn out fine, you just have to learn to tune out the "low battery" flashing light. ;)
I run the pmd 661 in different configurations depending upon where/what I'm taping.
1). standalone
2). line in V3
3). digi in
I dig it in every mode that I've run it in. I'd love to see marantz produce a 4 channel all in one recorder. ;D That might cure my itch for a sd744 or sd788.
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^^Hey Ted...... I believe Mytek recommends using the lowest voltage possible in order to maximize battery efficiency. But you can use any voltage that's between the printed specs. A 9v wally world DVD battery works great!
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Cool thanks guys. That's helpful to know. It's just that flashing Lo Battery light makes me nervous.....
^^Hey Ted...... I believe Mytek recommends using the lowest voltage possible in order to maximize battery efficiency. But you can use any voltage that's between the printed specs. A 9v wally world DVD battery works great!
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I accidentally dislodged the power cord when I was moving some stuff around, so there was a hard stop at 7 h on the Kingston 32 GB card, going dig in from the Mytek at 24/96.
That's about 6 h better than before ;D
Thanks Marantz for finally dealing with this issue! The usefulness of the 661 has just increased about 10x for me now that I can use my 32 GB cards.
I'll test XLR in now (P48 on).
OK -- I'll try digital in first because I noticed that you're running a Mytek 192.
Actually, on a separate note, I was wondering what your experience with the Mytek was in the field. I've read somewhere here or on gearslutz that powering it with anything above 7V will result in wasted power, ie., it will be dissipated as heat. When I ran it, I powered it with 7.5V from my Tekkeon, but the low battery light kept flashing. Is this normal? Everything turned out OK to my ears, but it was disconcerting to see the warning light flash.
Thanks. I'm curious to see if your Kingston venture is a success.
+T
The mytek low battery light flashes anytime that you're powering it with an external battery source. I've run it both with a Tekkeon and a wally world dvd battery. The recordings turn out fine, you just have to learn to tune out the "low battery" flashing light. ;)
I run the pmd 661 in different configurations depending upon where/what I'm taping.
1). standalone
2). line in V3
3). digi in
I dig it in every mode that I've run it in. I'd love to see marantz produce a 4 channel all in one recorder. ;D That might cure my itch for a sd744 or sd788.
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Cool thanks guys. That's helpful to know. It's just that flashing Lo Battery light makes me nervous.....
^^Hey Ted...... I believe Mytek recommends using the lowest voltage possible in order to maximize battery efficiency. But you can use any voltage that's between the printed specs. A 9v wally world DVD battery works great!
Like dactylus said........... the low battery light ALWAYS blinks when an external battery is used. As you probably know too, the Power switch is also disabled when an external battery is used. Nothing to worry about.
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I'd love to see marantz produce a 4 channel all in one recorder. ;D That might cure my itch for a sd744 or sd788.
Yeah baby!
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I'm happy to report that the new firmware (v2.03A) apparently fixes the fussiness with SDHC cards.
My 661 is the Oade SuperMod'ed version. I ran two tests with each card:
1) Digital-in at 24/96
2) XLR-in, P48 on, 24/96
I used the 32 GB PNY Optima and 32 GB Kingston, both class 4 cards (linked in a post above). As mentioned previously, both these cards failed using the old firmware. With the new firmware, in all 4 tests, the 661 recorded > 7h with no hiccups. I stopped the tests intentionally (and once unintentionally) after a suitable amount of time had been recorded.
Thanks to Marantz for finally dealing with this issue. To me, this was the achilles heel of the recorder. I loved everything about it, but I couldn't find anything besides my single PNY 8 GB card that I felt confident to record on. The ability to reliably record onto a variety of SDHC cards increases its utility 10x for me.
I'll definitely report back if I encounter any problems, and likewise I hope others report their success/failure with this new firmware, but for now I'm cautiously optimistic that they've fixed the problem.
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Cool,
I also seem to be doing fine w/ Lexar 16gb professional card using the new firmware update. Any other reports?
Also...
Is there a need anymore for auto file splitting so as to not exceed a certain file size (like 2 gb)?. I use Peak Pro on a Mac, and it seems to handle files > 2 gb OK.
Is it better to do splits for stereo files @ 1 hr (assuming 24/96), to keep files right at 2 gb?
Thanks for any info!
:)
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I also just upgraded the FW. With the old FW, I was recording 24/96 last week onto a Panasonic Class 10 16GB card, got the Err9 message 5 min before house lights down, rebooted and started recording again. I was shocked to look into my sidepack 5 min into the show to see the deck completely shut off. I'm new to the 661 and I didn't know there were problems with large cards.
Am I better off getting a 8GB card since I don't need such a large capacity? I hope the new FW fixes things, as I hate blowing shows.
Bill
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I also just upgraded the FW. With the old FW, I was recording 24/96 last week onto a Panasonic Class 10 16GB card, got the Err9 message 5 min before house lights down, rebooted and started recording again. I was shocked to look into my sidepack 5 min into the show to see the deck completely shut off. I'm new to the 661 and I didn't know there were problems with large cards.
Am I better off getting a 8GB card since I don't need such a large capacity? I hope the new FW fixes things, as I hate blowing shows.
Bill
That sucks... FWIW, I've never had a problem using a 16GB Transcend SDHC card with my 661.
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I also just upgraded the FW. With the old FW, I was recording 24/96 last week onto a Panasonic Class 10 16GB card, got the Err9 message 5 min before house lights down, rebooted and started recording again. I was shocked to look into my sidepack 5 min into the show to see the deck completely shut off. I'm new to the 661 and I didn't know there were problems with large cards.
Am I better off getting a 8GB card since I don't need such a large capacity? I hope the new FW fixes things, as I hate blowing shows.
Bill
I would say that the problem is the "Class 10" speed of the card or extremely poor quality control in the manufacturing. I would stick with the recommended cards in the 661 threads and NOT go above Class 6 FWIW.
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I also just upgraded the FW. With the old FW, I was recording 24/96 last week onto a Panasonic Class 10 16GB card, got the Err9 message 5 min before house lights down, rebooted and started recording again. I was shocked to look into my sidepack 5 min into the show to see the deck completely shut off. I'm new to the 661 and I didn't know there were problems with large cards.
Am I better off getting a 8GB card since I don't need such a large capacity? I hope the new FW fixes things, as I hate blowing shows.
Bill
That sucks... FWIW, I've never had a problem using a 16GB Transcend SDHC card with my 661.
Same here, Im using a Class 10 Transcend 16GB SDHC card with no issues.
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I've been using a 16gb sandisk card for a year now, no problems. I don't run 24/96. usually 24/44 or 24/48. not sure if that would make a difference.
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First night running it last night and all went well. That "can not..." warning kept flashing, though. Very annoying. I googled ""Marantz PMD661 can not..." and found a thread here that reassured me that it was okay.
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Hey all,
We have a SuperMod'ed 661 that has been fantastic in every way.
I keep it in a Pelican case with the power supply and a card reader...
somehow the power cable tip got bent, and now the deck won't run on AC power unless the cable is held in place just so.
So, I am in search of a new power supply.
All my searches lead to a replacement for a 660 recorder. Are the 660 and 661 power supplies the same?
Anyone know where to buy a new one?
Thanks!
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The AC adapter is DA620PMD (pg 64 of the manual):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/618602-REG/Marantz_DA620PMD_DA620PMD_AC_Adapter_for.html
There are a couple of cheaper alternatives. It takes a "B" size Adapta plug, so you could cut off the damaged tip and solder on an adapta plug cable from Radio Shack.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3807941
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3780266
Also, the 661 will run off of USB power, so if you have a USB AC adapter and a cable that goes from a USB type A to a B size plug, you can power it. I have the following charger and cable. I just tested this set up and it works fine (powers on, and records):
http://www.amazon.com/Cirago-IPA2000-Charger-iPod-iPhone/dp/B005QUQPNK
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/psp-data-charger-cable-65
Note that the charger outputs 1A. There are similar chargers that outputs 500-750 mA which I am not sure will work. The stock AC adapter outputs 1.5 A, so you want something as close to that as possible.
Hey all,
We have a SuperMod'ed 661 that has been fantastic in every way.
I keep it in a Pelican case with the power supply and a card reader...
somehow the power cable tip got bent, and now the deck won't run on AC power unless the cable is held in place just so.
So, I am in search of a new power supply.
All my searches lead to a replacement for a 660 recorder. Are the 660 and 661 power supplies the same?
Anyone know where to buy a new one?
Thanks!
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That's all great info. Thank you very much.
I didn't know that the deck would run off of USB power.
I might go that route first.
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Here's a horror story for you that I hope will serve as a warning to all pmd-661 users. Last Mtn.Jam I fried my DC input by accidently sending it a higher voltage out of a tekkeon. I just got the nerve to take it in to a ceritfied repair centre and got an estimate of the damage/cost. I almost fell of my chair when they told me that including labour it was going to cost @ $750 to fix it. It seems that the whole PCB has to be replaced as a result! Suffice to say I have inherited a fancy doorstop. :'( :'( :'(
So, please watch yerselves and your voltages. I would hate this to happen to anyone else.
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Doorstop?
Can't you still run it on rechargables & ac?
QWhat voltage did you send to it?
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Doorstopper is harsh I guess, but for f$&k sake! D'oh!
AC adapter won't work because the dc input is shot. The unit will recognize a plug (when batts inside), but no power is sent to unit. Still works on AA's for sure, @8hrs with fancy lithiums, but there is the issue that I can't update my firmware, and also that I am unsure how much other damage has been done.
IIRC, I sent it 9v for only a few seconds...
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That's horrible. But you have to think that you sending it almost twice what it specifies could lead to that.
Samethings were happening with the Tascam dr680.
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I have seen AC power supplies on Ebay for under $20 and one Marantz makes for under $30. I would be cautious about using the USB for powering the deck. I have heard other horror stories outside this forum about people frying or damaging the deck. Another point.....unless your running an all day festival why even bother or take the risk? NiMH cells (decent ones) power the deck for 5hrs anyway. That should be more than long enough for an evening of taping. If not, purchase two sets of AA's cells to recharge. Its certainly lighter than carrying another power brick with you.
I JUST got my PDM661 back from Superscope due to a failed firmware upgrade that locked the sucker up. Lucky I didn't fry the EPROM chip as the tech had feared but just was able to reset the deck himself (secrete how he did this) and flashed the firmware to V2.03. Now the deck records flawlessly in all 24bit formats using PNY 16GB, Class 4 SD cards. Just my .02........take what you need and pass the rest on ;)
Hey all,
We have a SuperMod'ed 661 that has been fantastic in every way.
I keep it in a Pelican case with the power supply and a card reader...
somehow the power cable tip got bent, and now the deck won't run on AC power unless the cable is held in place just so.
So, I am in search of a new power supply.
All my searches lead to a replacement for a 660 recorder. Are the 660 and 661 power supplies the same?
Anyone know where to buy a new one?
Thanks!
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Jamos, what power supply do you normally use? Is it just the AC adapter that comes with the unit?
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Jamos, what power supply do you normally use? Is it just the AC adapter that comes with the unit?
I had been using the stock AC adapter...
just like the replacement one linked to above.
Still haven't done anything about this yet though...guess I can't stomach paying $60 for a power adapter.
Anyone have a stock one they'd like to sell?
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is A2.03 the most recent firmware for the pmd661?
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is A2.03 the most recent firmware for the pmd661?
Yes, I believe so unless they made another release in the last month or two.
They changed their website, downloading new firmware now requires you to log in.
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Anyone else have a problem with using the key lock on the PMD661? I know last year I got an error message after recording the first set just fine then I started rolling on the 2nd set and got this error message. DATBRAD was at the show and said not to use the key lock since it confuses the SD card. I can't recall the card I was using that night but all 3 of my Sd cards (an 8gb, 16gb & 32gb) are all class 10 and fast speed. I ran it by Doug Oade and he said he had heard of this but said my SD cards would not be causing it if they are high speed and Class 10 cards.
I currently use the 32gb PNY card and have no issues but haven't tried using the key lock until testing it the other night at home and several times. I didn't get an error message on any attempt to lock the unit
Let me know if you've run into this and what you think the problem "could" be.
Thanks
Tom
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Tom, I was talking about the lock on the card, not the "hold" button on the recorder. I had the problem twice and both times I had locked the card, forgot to unlock it before hitting record, and after I got the msg on the unit about the card lock, I powered down the unit, popped out the card, moved the switch, put the card back in, fired the deck back up, and got the error msg you are seeing. Only after pulling the batteries and leaving the unit off for a few min, then putting the batts back did it seem to clear up. Hope this helps.
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IMO, class 10 cards are overkill for audio and can cause problems. Good for video though. Just my experiences. YMMV.
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So I recently picked up a used pmd661 and if there's any issues with this one, I can exchange for a different one.
Really liking the unit except today when I took out the card and put it in the computer, it wanted to format it and couldn't find the files on the card. I formatted the card as fat and fat32 on the computer and put it back in the recorder but the recorder wanted to format it again.
I have tried the following SD cards with the same results, no audio on the card after its mounted on the computer.
- 2 x kingston SDHC 16gig class 4
- transcend sdhc 32gig class 6
- 2 x adata 16gig class 6
The recorder records and plays back the files without any issue but its just when mounting the drive that its empty.
The computers I am using are ubuntu 10.10, fedora 16, mac OS 10.5.8. All the cards have been formatted as FAT and work on other devices without fail.
Has anyone experienced this issue before? I read that kingston cards could be an issue but it it appears either all my cards have issues or its a problem with this recorder. Does anyone have any advice?
thanks!
Edit: as much as I don't want to call this resolved, it looks like the only solution I have. Look for the post below to find out the cause and resolution.
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So I recently picked up a used pmd661 and if there's any issues with this one, I can exchange for a different one.
Really liking the unit except today when I took out the card and put it in the computer, it wanted to format it and couldn't find the files on the card. I formatted the card as fat and fat32 on the computer and put it back in the recorder but the recorder wanted to format it again.
I have tried the following SD cards with the same results, no audio on the card after its mounted on the computer.
- 2 x kingston SDHC 16gig class 4
- transcend sdhc 32gig class 6
- 2 x adata 16gig class 6
The recorder records and plays back the files without any issue but its just when mounting the drive that its empty.
The computers I am using are ubuntu 10.10, fedora 16, mac OS 10.5.8. All the cards have been formatted as FAT and work on other devices without fail.
Has anyone experienced this issue before? I read that kingston cards could be an issue but it it appears either all my cards have issues or its a problem with this recorder. Does anyone have any advice?
thanks!
I'm on OS X 10.6.8, format the card in the 661 and don't have any issues with computer wanting to format the card or not recognizing files. No problems with putting the card back in 661 after the computer either. I used to run Tiger and didn't have any problems with that OS but never ran Leopard.
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On my Mac, I can never see the audio files. I always have to mount it on my PC, then move the audio files to the root, and then it can be seen by my Mac. My Mac is 10.6.8.
So I recently picked up a used pmd661 and if there's any issues with this one, I can exchange for a different one.
Really liking the unit except today when I took out the card and put it in the computer, it wanted to format it and couldn't find the files on the card. I formatted the card as fat and fat32 on the computer and put it back in the recorder but the recorder wanted to format it again.
I have tried the following SD cards with the same results, no audio on the card after its mounted on the computer.
- 2 x kingston SDHC 16gig class 4
- transcend sdhc 32gig class 6
- 2 x adata 16gig class 6
The recorder records and plays back the files without any issue but its just when mounting the drive that its empty.
The computers I am using are ubuntu 10.10, fedora 16, mac OS 10.5.8. All the cards have been formatted as FAT and work on other devices without fail.
Has anyone experienced this issue before? I read that kingston cards could be an issue but it it appears either all my cards have issues or its a problem with this recorder. Does anyone have any advice?
thanks!
I'm on OS X 10.6.8, format the card in the 661 and don't have any issues with computer wanting to format the card or not recognizing files. No problems with putting the card back in 661 after the computer either. I used to run Tiger and didn't have any problems with that OS but never ran Leopard.
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Tom, I was talking about the lock on the card, not the "hold" button on the recorder. I had the problem twice and both times I had locked the card, forgot to unlock it before hitting record, and after I got the msg on the unit about the card lock, I powered down the unit, popped out the card, moved the switch, put the card back in, fired the deck back up, and got the error msg you are seeing. Only after pulling the batteries and leaving the unit off for a few min, then putting the batts back did it seem to clear up. Hope this helps.
Hey Brad, not sure what you mean by "card lock" or "hold button". The right side of the 661 above the power on switch is the "key lock" which is supposed to keep you or anyone from accidentally hitting stop while recording, I thought that was the function of the key lock. The SD card has a door on the left side you close, but I didn't know the key lock would lock the card. I'm not sure why it happened at the Umphrey's show in Richmond which is when we were both there. I have tested it several times at home with a class 10 card and I can't get it to give an error message now. I'm resorting now to taping a cap over the stop and record buttons so it can't be accidentally shut off
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So this is what I have determined to be the issues: the pmd661 is very picky about its format and appears to require you to format the card in the device.
when formatting on linux:
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdb: 15.9 GB, 15931539456 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1936 cylinders, total 31116288 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000c35e1
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 63 31101839 15550888+ b W95 FAT32
When formatting on the pmd661:
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdb: 15.9 GB, 15931539456 bytes
230 heads, 21 sectors/track, 6442 cylinders, total 31116288 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 8192 31116287 15554048 b W95 FAT32
You will notice quite a few differences between these two. I tried formatting the card with the match heads, sector, start and end but it didn't make a difference.
I then tried formatting the card on the 661, setting up my windows xp machine that's been unused for awhile and connecting the card. Once the card was connected, the directory appeared and there was a file clip i recorded. Once I moved the clip to the root of the directory, i connected it to the linux pcs and found the audio clip!! I tried this out because of what tedyun has to do so he can find the file.
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Rockinman59,
I pretty sure he was referring to the lock on the actual SD card. If you look closely on the left side of the card, you will see a tiny thing that you can slide either up or down. On my cards, the down position means locked. When the locked position is engaged, you won't be able to write, modify, or delete data from the card--its strictly read only. You may remember this from floppy disk days.
The 661 does have a partial keypad and full keypad lock that you can engage by sliding the switch above the power up.
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Rockinman59,
I pretty sure he was referring to the lock on the actual SD card. If you look closely on the left side of the card, you will see a tiny thing that you can slide either up or down. On my cards, the down position means locked. When the locked position is engaged, you won't be able to write, modify, or delete data from the card--its strictly read only. You may remember this from floppy disk days.
The 661 does have a partial keypad and full keypad lock that you can engage by sliding the switch above the power up.
Thanks for the info Sean. The problem I had was when I turned the 661 back on to start recording the 2nd set of the show. The same card was used for the 1st set and I didn't touch the card nor lock it. I did use the key lock on the recorder for the 1st set and that was fine, but when I tried it after hitting record on the 2nd set, it gave me this error message (can't recall if it was a Digital in error or an sd card error) and I can't recall which card I used since I have 3 different sized ones (8,16 & 32gb),
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hello friends.
The theme of the Marantz PMD 661 is a bit beyond your battery performance, its special modifications to improve the pre-amps, etc..
I think as powerful recorder should meet certain standards that make it more versatile and convenient for field use.
I wrote some time ago to suggest that Marantz re-design the PMD 661 so that it can accommodate configurations of land with suitable bags, and the remote is not very helpful when working with sound and wanting to be in full swing review parameters and check tracks.
I took the liberty to suggest, humbly, an idea of how rude I think it should be the Marantz PMD 661Aubag.
with the smaller screen, it saves energy, more space you can add an extra slot for backup battery, etc.
I attached some photos retouched rudely to get an idea.
Let the order, a critical mass to give the change the LDCs, there are 2 models, the traditional and PMD for sound bags
I think that would be welcomed in the community of field recorders.
I hope you understand my English robot Tarzan
A hug from Chile
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hello friends.
The theme of the Marantz PMD 661 is a bit beyond your battery performance, its special modifications to improve the pre-amps, etc..
I think as powerful recorder should meet certain standards that make it more versatile and convenient for field use.
I wrote some time ago to suggest that Marantz re-design the PMD 661 so that it can accommodate configurations of land with suitable bags, and the remote is not very helpful when working with sound and wanting to be in full swing review parameters and check tracks.
I took the liberty to suggest, humbly, an idea of how rude I think it should be the Marantz PMD 661Aubag.
with the smaller screen, it saves energy, more space you can add an extra slot for backup battery, etc.
I attached some photos retouched rudely to get an idea.
Let the order, a critical mass to give the change the LDCs, there are 2 models, the traditional and soundbags
I think that would be welcomed in the community of field recorders.
A hug from Chile
I hope you understand my robot Tarzan English
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where's the xlr inputs? to the right of your draft? This would be practical if you had a bag with an opening going out or right angle cables but wouldn't work well for straight cables.
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hello rastasean
the truth is that the XLR will find where they are in the current model as well come out the sides. The idea is to intervene only how information is displayed and the main controls, currently occupy the petrol in a bag PMD, the mic-line are very good for the mixer, but management controls the entry of headphones and gain management are poorly positioned monitor. All this I see the issue of working with the bag on the ground and under conditions which make it difficult to check out the recorder information, stop and start another track, the gain of monitoring headphones, etc.. Another alternative is that there is a more comprehensive remote control to avoid changing the design.
the idea is that total control is visible on the audio bag
Greetings from Chile
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Rod, maybe in a successor, though it's not realistic that they'll change the layout/form factor of the 661, as it is basically an evolution from the 660 with 620 influences.
Marantz Professional does, however, currently offer the PMD671 which is more along the lines of what you're looking for...
(http://usa.d-mpro.com/Assets/images/products/PMD671/L_PMD671.jpg)
(http://usa.d-mpro.com/Assets/Images/Products/PMD671/L_3_PMD671.jpg)
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Hello DigiGal.
My English is very poor...
Thank you very much for your time.
The truth is that I used the PMD 671 and find it brittle, and devoid of large autonomy, many things stuffed into a package that does not seem to clear his goal, at the time was a good choice, but my experience turned into something more elaborate and simple.
I understand that it is unlikely to work on modifying the PMD661, but I also sent the idea of having a full remote control, you clear the screen to save power. This would allow the handling of the PMD661 in bags, or connected to other devices.
In the world of recording, I think it would welcome an innovation or improvement in this regard, and it does not hurt to ask ...
photo of the idea of total control
PD: how you do it for the photo to appear in the body of the message and not attached?
greetings from Chile
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Cool thanks guys. That's helpful to know. It's just that flashing Lo Battery light makes me nervous.....
^^Hey Ted...... I believe Mytek recommends using the lowest voltage possible in order to maximize battery efficiency. But you can use any voltage that's between the printed specs. A 9v wally world DVD battery works great!
Like dactylus said........... the low battery light ALWAYS blinks when an external battery is used. As you probably know too, the Power switch is also disabled when an external battery is used. Nothing to worry about.
I was just reading this, and I do not have the light flashing but I was running my Mytek at 12V. I did that, because at that voltage, there was not low battery light flashing. That said, it is good to know I can run at a lower level. I have used the Mytek about 5 times now and always at 12v, always without the low power light flashing. I don't see it getting particularly hot at all, but I assume I'd get a longer run time at a lower voltage. So at 12v the low battery light does not flash for me. Has anyone else tried this?
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I think it's fine to run anywhere between 6-12V. I had to send my Mytek in for a bad connection with the DC in. I spoke to them about the flashing battery at 6V and they confirmed that it operates fine despite the Lo Battery flashing. Michal said that it just needed to be recalibrated. I sent my Tekkeon battery along with the unit, and they were able to adjust it so that the "Lo Battery" wouldn't flash when it was being supplied with 6V.
Cool thanks guys. That's helpful to know. It's just that flashing Lo Battery light makes me nervous.....
^^Hey Ted...... I believe Mytek recommends using the lowest voltage possible in order to maximize battery efficiency. But you can use any voltage that's between the printed specs. A 9v wally world DVD battery works great!
Like dactylus said........... the low battery light ALWAYS blinks when an external battery is used. As you probably know too, the Power switch is also disabled when an external battery is used. Nothing to worry about.
I was just reading this, and I do not have the light flashing but I was running my Mytek at 12V. I did that, because at that voltage, there was not low battery light flashing. That said, it is good to know I can run at a lower level. I have used the Mytek about 5 times now and always at 12v, always without the low power light flashing. I don't see it getting particularly hot at all, but I assume I'd get a longer run time at a lower voltage. So at 12v the low battery light does not flash for me. Has anyone else tried this?
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This cable works with AES > S/PDIF compatibility of MixPre-D to PMD661 at 24/96.
I used Canare LV-61S flexible coax video cable for the AES to SPDIF cable, it converts the 110 ohm AES source into a 75 ohm load impedance with 237 ohms of resistance across pins 2 and 3 within the cables AES's XLR-F connector, the center conductor of coax to pin 2 and shield to pin 1. Terminated the other end of the coax with a 75 ohm RCA connector to match PMD661's S/PDIF input.
edit for update including pictures of my new build using Neutrik XCC connector.
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b419/DigiGal_taper/Cables/file-1.jpg) (http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b419/DigiGal_taper/Cables/file.jpg)
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Apologies if this has been asked before, but I'm the proud owner of a new Oade concert mod PMD-661 and a pair of Schoeps CCM 41V mics. I have no experience with either. :)
I'm looking to take this rig out for the first time in the next week or so and I was wondering which of the default external mic settings to change. I'm turned the speaker mute on; that was obvious.
Less obvious is the mic attenuation, which defaults to -18 dB. Since both the recorder and mics are new to me, I'm tempted to change this to 0 dB for my first recording. If there's a support band, I'll be able to experiment on them a little, but it's even better to get the experience of people with similar rigs beforehand, so do you guys typically run with the attenuation off (0 dB) or not?
A spoken word test at the kitchen table suggests that the input from the CCM 41Vs is very high, so I suspect I'll need that attenuation. I suppose there's probably a good reason Marantz chose -18 dB for the default.
Anyway, any advice in general on which defaults to change would be appreciated, and on this setting in particular.
Cheers,
Ian
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congrats on your new rig!
IIRC, unless your are recording acoustic stuff from a distance, or real quiet ambient stuff, stick to the -18db setting.
As far as settings go, the file split size is pretty important.
HAVE FUN AND SHARE YOUR PULLS WITH US!
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IIRC, unless your are recording acoustic stuff from a distance, or real quiet ambient stuff, stick to the -18db setting.
As far as settings go, the file split size is pretty important.
HAVE FUN AND SHARE YOUR PULLS WITH US!
Thanks for the advice and don't worry; I already share everything I record on DIME and, occasionally, The Traders' Den.
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I'm still waiting to hear back from Sound Devices regarding AES > S/PDIF compatibility of MixPre-D with PMD661.
In the meantime I conducted a test by borrowing an AES3 source. I successfully recorded from AES3 source > S/PDIF PMD661 at both 24/48 and 16/48. Unfortunately 24/48 was the highest available setting for the borrowed AES3 source. The PMD661 recorded files then loaded into my DAW without any problems or copy inhibit flags and I was able to process them and burn CD's of the files. This is encouraging.
For this test I used a simple AES to SPDIF cable that I made a while back using a quality 75 ohm coax video cable (Belden 1505A), converted the 110 ohm AES source into a 75 ohm load impedance by installing 237 ohms of resistance across pins 2 and 3 within the cables AES's XLR-F connector with the center conductor of coax to pin 2 and shield to pin 1. Terminated the other end of the coax with a 75 ohm RCA connector to match PMD661's S/PDIF input.
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b419/DigiGal_taper/Cables/0601d4fd.jpg)
Wow that is cool. every time i tried that with a short AES>Spidif out of my Minime i have a problem. it would lock then lose the D. IN...or keeps saying "can not"...so i bought one of those little small AES to spidif converter boxs...but if i could eliminate the box and just go directly it would be nice..
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^The "can not" message just means that the front level dial is being moved while using the digital input. Nothing to worry bout there... just secure the dial and you shouldn't get that message.
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Wow that is cool. every time i tried that with a short AES>Spidif out of my Minime i have a problem. it would lock then lose the D. IN...or keeps saying "can not"...so i bought one of those little small AES to spidif converter boxs...but if i could eliminate the box and just go directly it would be nice..
It will display [D. IN] if the sample rate of the recorder is not set the same as the source, the sample rate settings have to match.
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^The "can not" message just means that the front level dial is being moved while using the digital input. Nothing to worry bout there... just secure the dial and you shouldn't get that message.
Actually it was never moved. it was sitting flat and never touched and i was getting alot of "can nots" talked to Marantz tech and they said it was from the AES>Spidif with wrong ohms or something.
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Quick 661 question!
Does the latest firmware make it impossible to turn off the red recording light while recording?
Is this buried somewhere I can't find?
Thanks!
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^^^ Try "LED > Off" in the display menu. Not sure about the 661, but that works on the PMD620...
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Quick 661 question!
Does the latest firmware make it impossible to turn off the red recording light while recording?
Is this buried somewhere I can't find?
Thanks!
^^^ Try "LED > Off" in the display menu. Not sure about the 661, but that works on the PMD620...
Yes, confirmed...
Menu > 2 Display > 03 LED (ON/OFF)
Turns off both the LED meters and record button LED
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Okay, I can confirm the MixPre-D AES output connected to the PMD661 S/PDIF input is compatible up to 24/96. The MixPre-D is an ideal pairing with PMD 661 and the fabulous headphone amp in MixPre-D is a very welcome bonus. The MixPre-D provides direct headphone monitoring as well as return (record confidence) monitoring and playback monitoring of the PMD661 if not using 3 & 4 as additional inputs. The PMD661 alone has a very poor headphone amp.
Have no fears if you've been considering using a MixPre-D with the PMD661.
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Is there some sort of built in limiter on this deck, even with the high and low pass on off? thanks
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Next "world's most ridiculous error" in the picky Marantz 661:
Made a recording, played it back on the machine and it's fine, but it won't show up on the card when read by a card reader OR through the USB connection?
All I have is a blank card and an empty machine, according to every Mac operating system I have. The card SEEMS to have the recording on it, that is, it has the space missing, but it is a blank card. I can't find any files on it at all, even in the trash.
But when I push play on the deck, it plays the whole recording.
W T F?!
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jb63,
I posted in your other topic did you not see it?
read this: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139705.msg1953108#msg1953108
Do you have a windows computer? if so, try loading the card on there and see if you can find the recordings.
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I did read that, but frankly it did not solve my problem.
I don't have access to a windows computer, but I have access to a local library, so maybe I can try that.
Every card I format in the 661 is unreadable by the 620.
I may try formatting a card in the 620 and seeing if it works in the 661, but basically, if the 661 is going to be this picky, give me a blank card with an invisible file on it, it is useless.
Frustrating.
My last one was a tank that gave me no problems.
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It didn't really have a resolution other than to use a windows computer, I explained what the issue is and this also affects me too.
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Next "world's most ridiculous error" in the picky Marantz 661:
Made a recording, played it back on the machine and it's fine, but it won't show up on the card when read by a card reader OR through the USB connection?
All I have is a blank card and an empty machine, according to every Mac operating system I have. The card SEEMS to have the recording on it, that is, it has the space missing, but it is a blank card. I can't find any files on it at all, even in the trash.
But when I push play on the deck, it plays the whole recording.
W T F?!
Odd, I'm on a mac currently running OS X 10.8.6 Snow Leopard and have always formatted my cards in the 661. The 661's recordings are visible on the card when plugging the card into my macs built in card reader. I simply drag the recorded files from the card to the mac, eject the card and the card files are still recognized by the 661. Have you checked to make sure your card read is capable of reading SDHC cards, old ones are not.
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That's how it had always worked for me, but for some reason this one unit only wants to format windows cards.
Well, crap.
What firmware versions are you guys running?
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That's how it had always worked for me, but for some reason this one unit only wants to format windows cards.
Well, crap.
What firmware versions are you guys running?
A2.03 on PMD661 with OS X 10.8.6 Snow Leopard
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Hm.
I'm running A1.03, so maybe I will try the upgrade.
Thanks for all your input.
These forums are more valuable than a warranty.
Спасибо.
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Hm.
I'm running A1.03, so maybe I will try the upgrade.
Thanks for all your input.
These forums are more valuable than a warranty.
Спасибо.
A2.03 was released sometime in June 2011 and specifically addressed card issues that some users were experiencing.
Marantz Quote:
"This firmware update increased SD card compatibility with the PMD661. Most major brands of cards have been found to be compatible. Please note that we cannot guarantee functionality with any third party product. For further details please feel free to contact our technical support department at 630-741-0330 option 1 or techsupport@d-mpro.com."
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Unfortunately it did not solve my problem.
It seems I have a "PC only" machine.
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I think I will call Marantz as this is quite frustrating.
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I'll be happy to help marantz out with this, but I doubt they will care.
It will be just like trying to get my Mr-1 battery replaced!
;-)
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Mine cannot connect to Mac OSX as well. If you have access to a Windows PC, the fix is to mount the SD card (either by connecting the 661 via USB or using a card reader) then simply moving the WAV files to the top directory.
If you don't have access to a Windows PC, you can use Boot Camp on the Intel Macs to run Windows, or you can also buy Parallels. It is routinely bundled with some other programs for $50 at MacUpdate.
I'll be happy to help marantz out with this, but I doubt they will care.
It will be just like trying to get my Mr-1 battery replaced!
;-)
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I'm not home to try this, but another workaround may be to rename the folder on the SD card to something else. The default folder is something like ".fseven" and I think the "." in the name causes problems when being read in the Mac OS.
On page 59 of the 661 manual, they give instructions on how to create a new folder:
http://www.avisoft.com/PMD661.pdf
I'll be happy to help marantz out with this, but I doubt they will care.
It will be just like trying to get my Mr-1 battery replaced!
;-)
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I can verify that this method gets around the bug where the files on the SD card are not visible on Mac OS X
To reiterate, after formatting the SD card in the 661, create a new folder and select it to save the files there. This file will then be visible when you mount the SD card in Mac OS X.
I'm not home to try this, but another workaround may be to rename the folder on the SD card to something else. The default folder is something like ".fseven" and I think the "." in the name causes problems when being read in the Mac OS.
On page 59 of the 661 manual, they give instructions on how to create a new folder:
http://www.avisoft.com/PMD661.pdf
I'll be happy to help marantz out with this, but I doubt they will care.
It will be just like trying to get my Mr-1 battery replaced!
;-)
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Never had a problem where my Mac doesn't see 661 files.
FWIW: I always format my cards in the 661 and create a folder for each show I have lined up. With this method I record each show in it's respective folder, usually two files, one for each set.
I can verify that this method gets around the bug where the files on the SD card are not visible on Mac OS X
To reiterate, after formatting the SD card in the 661, create a new folder and select it to save the files there. This file will then be visible when you mount the SD card in Mac OS X.
I'm not home to try this, but another workaround may be to rename the folder on the SD card to something else. The default folder is something like ".fseven" and I think the "." in the name causes problems when being read in the Mac OS.
On page 59 of the 661 manual, they give instructions on how to create a new folder:
http://www.avisoft.com/PMD661.pdf
I'll be happy to help marantz out with this, but I doubt they will care.
It will be just like trying to get my Mr-1 battery replaced!
;-)
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Hi DigiGal,
I think that is the trick for why you haven't had a problem with the Mac while others (including myself) have. If you didn't create a folder for each recording, the 661 will record in the default folder, which is labeled ".fseventsd"
I think the "." in the name causes problems for the Mac OS file system.
Problem solved! (Hopefully) ;D
Never had a problem where my Mac doesn't see 661 files.
FWIW: I always format my cards in the 661 and create a folder for each show I have lined up. With this method I record each show in it's respective folder, usually two files, one for each set.
I can verify that this method gets around the bug where the files on the SD card are not visible on Mac OS X
To reiterate, after formatting the SD card in the 661, create a new folder and select it to save the files there. This file will then be visible when you mount the SD card in Mac OS X.
I'm not home to try this, but another workaround may be to rename the folder on the SD card to something else. The default folder is something like ".fseven" and I think the "." in the name causes problems when being read in the Mac OS.
On page 59 of the 661 manual, they give instructions on how to create a new folder:
http://www.avisoft.com/PMD661.pdf
I'll be happy to help marantz out with this, but I doubt they will care.
It will be just like trying to get my Mr-1 battery replaced!
;-)
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I'll try this out on mine and see how linux plays with the SD card.
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A ha! It looks like putting "." at the beginning of a directory name hides it in Linux and Mac OS X. Because the 661 names the default directory ".fseventsd" the reason why you can't see the files when you mount it is because the directory is invisible.
So I guess it isn't really a bug. It's just not friendly to Unix based OS's
http://www.labtestproject.com/linuxcommand/make_hidden_directory_in_linux_fedora_with_mkdir_command
http://osxdaily.com/2010/05/10/create-a-hidden-folder-in-mac-os-x/
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Thanks, cats & kittens!
Again, solving problems better than actual tech-support!
I'm still thousands of miles away from my 661 but I will try all this when I get home.
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OK!
Problem solved! Thanks especially go to rastasean here, because in retrospect, all the stuff he was saying makes the behavior of the device make sense. (or sense, depending)
tedyun's explanation and the use of the manual, of course, is the fix. Once I was willing to make a new folder, new recordings automatically go to that.
better yet, I was able to take the 2 cards of "blank" recordings, put them in the machine, make a new folder and then MOVE MY RECORDED FILES from the ".trashes" folder to the new folder and save them.
So there you have it.
Now... Is the 8GB SDHC card the new DAT? How much for those DDS tapes vs the 8GB card today?
Can we just buy those cards like tapes and store them as masters?
I think the price is almost the same now!
Thanks to all!
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I'll try this out on mine and see how linux plays with the SD card.
Do the files not show up in Linux if you hit ctrl+h to show hidden files/folders?
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I'll try this out on mine and see how linux plays with the SD card.
Do the files not show up in Linux if you hit ctrl+h to show hidden files/folders?
Actually!! I took the card out of the 661 and put it in the computer and they showed up in the main directory, no hidden directory or anything. I'll see what happens when I format the card on the computer and recorder but this is definitely different behavior than before.
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Okay, here's how to see the PMD661 hidden files on the SDHC card in OS X Snow Leopard.
- Insert card into your computer or card reader hit (command) (o)
- highlight the card in the list the list that pops up
- with the card highlighted hit (command) (shift) (.>) and they will appear
- hitting (command) (shift) (.>) again will hide them again
You can toggle show/hide the hidden files back and forth in this manner.
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Also good to know.
So since creating a "new folder" on the 661, every new card I put in and format in the 661 has this folder in it and records the files right into it. Also, just outside that folder is my presets file, so it must actually make another folder to keep all that inside.
Still, problem solved!
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I'll try this out on mine and see how linux plays with the SD card.
Do the files not show up in Linux if you hit ctrl+h to show hidden files/folders?
Actually!! I took the card out of the 661 and put it in the computer and they showed up in the main directory, no hidden directory or anything. I'll see what happens when I format the card on the computer and recorder but this is definitely different behavior than before.
I'm curious to hear if ctrl+h solves the "missing" files issue in Linux assuming you can reproduce the problem...
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I'm curious to hear if ctrl+h solves the "missing" files issue in Linux assuming you can reproduce the problem...
Take a lot at this pastebin: http://pastiebin.com/?page=p&id=5011f6b80cd7b
The only issue appears when formatting the card on the computer and then trying to use it on the recorder.
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Edited previous post with new cable build...
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139705.msg1974066#msg1974066
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can anyone suggest what needs to be changed in order to make it OADE BROTHERS version ???
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can anyone suggest what needs to be changed in order to make it OADE BROTHERS version ???
http://www.oade.com/digital_recorders/hard_disc_recorders/PMD-661MODS.html
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I am trying to connect audio technica atr3350 lavalier to line-in2 input but getting low signal. Is there an adapter from 3.5mm to XLR? maybe that will improve, or I am doing something wrong.
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I am trying to connect audio technica atr3350 lavalier to line-in2 input but getting low signal. Is there an adapter from 3.5mm to XLR? maybe that will improve, or I am doing something wrong.
Well, you are connecting a mic level signal to a line level input. The mic level inputs on the PMD661 are on XLR connectors. Here (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/387850-REG/Rode_VXLR_VXLR_Mono_Mini_Jack.html) is an adapter with mono 3.5 mm female to XLR male.
(http://www.fullcompass.com/common/products/lg/14465.jpg)
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ooh I see... but people saying that it only can do stereo to mono, but not mono to mono.. :(
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can some one give a summary for the optimum sound settings for a beginner like me and others...
from others posts i found that the mic atten. should be set on -18db or -12db for condenser mics and dynamic -6 or 0 correct?
what if I'm recording from the line-in source atten. set to -18?
and how should i read meters, what should the levels be set to, is it 20db or 12db?
how about "ALC" or is it better to keep it on manual?
I saw somewhere that on Tasam DR 100 II there is no point record above 16bit is it will be just noise, does the same applies to Marantz recorder?
lcd screen meter and led meter at the bottom, provide the same readings?
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Recommend skipping the ALC, record using 24bit with levels peaking -12 to leave transient headroom -20 if you need more headroom, then raise your levels later as desired in post. I don't use line input but afaik the attenuation setting is for mic inputs only, so it wouldn't affect either line input. For mic(s) set attenuation to -18, raise it incrementally if your mic(s) don't give you enough level. If you are using a single mic for mono recording you can use [D.Mono mode:The left channel input is recorded in both Left and Right channels. The Right channel is attenuated by 20 dB] this gives you a safety track.
RTFM and experiment before the gig because as always ymmv.
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I saw somewhere that on Tasam DR 100 II there is no point record above 16bit is it will be just noise, does the same applies to Marantz recorder?
lcd screen meter and led meter at the bottom, provide the same readings?
I agree with Digi Gal on her answer. As for the comment about 16 bit, this is untrue for the Tascam DR100MKII and the Marantz as well as any deck arguably, as there are significant advantages to recording at 24 bit, and 24/48 will yield better results than 24/44.1 IMO. The files will be a bit bigger though.
Both meters are the same. You may turn off the bottom meters and/or you may want to have the deck running with a different screen showing, so you have multiple options for how you run the deck.
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thank you, good to know all those details...
and what people mean by saying having a "break wall" problem?
do you think it is necessary to set attenuation to -18 if recording with internal mics?
do you turn on "low cut" and "high cut" all the time?
and here is post on 24bit noise: http://kenrockwell.com/audio/tascam/dr-100mkii.htm >> read under: USAGE Sound quality.
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thank you, good to know all those details...
and what people mean by saying having a "break wall" problem?
do you think it is necessary to set attenuation to -18 if recording with internal mics?
do you turn on "low cut" and "high cut" all the time?
and here is post on 24bit noise: http://kenrockwell.com/audio/tascam/dr-100mkii.htm >> read under: USAGE Sound quality.
"Brick walling" occurs when the output of your microphones is too hot for the preamp you are using (either the deck's input or an outboard mic-line amp), which results in the preamp being overloaded. So the signal reaching the deck can be adjusted any way you want, but the signal is coming in distorted so it will remain distorted no matter how you adjust the recorder.
I doubt that you need the -18db on the internal mics, but I have never tried them.
I never use low cut or high cut. If I have a recording that is harsh or boomy, I can fix that after the fact. I'd rather try to get a true a signal as possible.
I really think Ken Rockwells review is irresponsible. There has been debate on whether there is any difference between 16 and 24 bits on small decks. Even among those that agree with Ken Rockwell, I think most or all agree that you can record at a lower level at 24 bit and raise that level in post with no loss of signal. This may not be true at 16 bit. I can say that I personally have found a big difference recording at 24 bit. The idea of it as a marketing gimmick when much of the recorder buying public does not even know what 16 or 24 bit signifies seems somewhat of a stretch to me You should try out recording at 16 bit and at 24 bit and form your own opinion. Properly "dithering" a recording from 24 bit to 16 bit is very easy as there are free programs that will properly do this on your computer. I record at 24/48. Recording at 24/96 or 24/192 kHz may be better still, but the difference is not audible and for the space required and file size involved, for me the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Hey, everybody needs to find what works best for them. I like to be open to new ideas and thoughts and then make my own opinions. The more you record and experiment, the more you will find your own style.
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Bumping this thread for a public service announcement:
I discovered (unfortunately by recording what turned out to be an unlistenable file of DBT at the National on Oct 26th) that there are SD cards now on the market that are physically larger than others. It's likely measured in microns, but the way you will know is when the card drags in the slot just a tiny bit when being ejected.
Let me back up....day of show I decided to go, and of course all my SD cards were full because of slackness, so I figured I would just grab one in the photo department at Target. My normal card is a Lexar Platinum II, but I saw a Lexar general purpose SDHC card on the peg for $10, and it was marked a class 4, which is more than fast enough for the 661, and it's my preferred brand, so I grabbed one.
I noticed it was a little tight when I put it in, but it formatted normally, and behaved normally at the show.
However, when I got back and transferred the file, it sounded like someone was holding a bowl of Rice Krispies in front of the mics. The music was all there, but also this light static sound layered over it.
Well, I did the standard home trouble shooting deal a few days later, hooking everything up and following the path down from the capsules to the recorder, and I eliminated everything, it was the 661.
I put in one of my Platinum II cards with time on the tail end, and let the rig tape ambient house shuffling, and on playback it was perfectly quiet, no static. So, then I put in the now suspect Lexar General Purpose card, tape more ambient sound, and I'm reaching for my spoon because the Rice Krispies were back.
That is when I noticed that the card did not want to eject smoothly, as I had to pull on it a little bit to free it from the slot. Just for confirmation, I repeated the test with another Platinum II card, quiet as can be.
So, the moral of the story is that if an SD card is tight in the slot of a PMD661, it will not make proper contact inside and will result in a nice fine layer of static all over anything recorded. I am always going to make sure with any future SD card purchases that I stick with the Lexar Platinum II brand of cards that has served me well for over 3 years, but also make sure it slides freely in the slot.
Hope this information saves someone down the road from the hassle and poor results that this issue caused me. 28 years of taping and I'm still learning things.......
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DATBRAD thanks for the info, sounds like a plug for the new "Card Check Compatibility" feature on the new PMD661 MKII
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DATBRAD thanks for the info, sounds like a plug for the new "Card Check Compatibility" feature on the new PMD661 MKII
True, but I don't need that feature, because if I find a new SD card has a tight fit in the 661's slot, to even the slightest degree, it will be deemed incompatable and it will be rejected without a second thought. Just my way of making sure I learn the lesson from a recording failure, ; ).
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Below is a copy/paste from what I posted in Team PMD661 yesterday. Seems like this section gets more attention now. On further reading, if this helps, I am using a SanDisk 8GB, class 4 SDHC card. After formatting in the 661, I used a Kodak R131 Reader for SD Cards. So, it doesn't say for SDHC cards... I am also running a Mac Mini OS X v.10.4.11, w/ a 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 processor.
Hi Folks ~ It's been awhile since I checked in here. I know it's been a bit since this topic has been posted in, but I am having trouble updating the firmware version on my pmd 661. A friend sent me a link to D&M Pro website where I registered and downloaded the f/w update for the 661. The update guide directions say to copy the "pmd661up.bin" to the root of a SD card. I am not sure what that means... What I did was copied that .bin to the MPLANG1 folder of a formatted SD card. I then inserted that card into my 661 w/ the a/c cord attached and powered the unit on. "update Axxx?" did not display like it was suppose to. When I checked the f/w version via the menu, it has A1.14. What am I doing wrong? Thanks
Harold
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Hi everyone,
It's been awhile since I visited or posted in this thread. That's because I've no problems at all with the PMD 661. Since I was leary of using the key lock due to a card error a couple of years ago (when I taped Umphrey's at The National with Brad), I use a little prevention to insure no one accidentally leans on my bag and shuts the recording down. I strung together a few small bottle caps and tape it over the stop, record and pause buttons. I have to do the same with the UA5 since someone did turn off my UA5 by leaning on my gearbag (also at an Umphrey's show lol).
Anyway, last night I had a rough time taping DMB in Baltimore but the tape came out just fine, HOWEVER the 24/48 wav file was split up into 2 files and I have the marker OFF. I used to have it set to switch to a new file at 2 hours but it is def set to OFF and I should get one long 3 hour file. The show length last night was 3:04. Has anybody had this happen? I copied and pasted the 2 together and no audio was missed so it's fine, but how could this happen? I used the same SD card I always do and have taped DMB 4 other times this month.
Thanks for any input.
Tom
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Hi everyone,
It's been awhile since I visited or posted in this thread. That's because I've no problems at all with the PMD 661. Since I was leary of using the key lock due to a card error a couple of years ago (when I taped Umphrey's at The National with Brad), I use a little prevention to insure no one accidentally leans on my bag and shuts the recording down. I strung together a few small bottle caps and tape it over the stop, record and pause buttons. I have to do the same with the UA5 since someone did turn off my UA5 by leaning on my gearbag (also at an Umphrey's show lol).
Anyway, last night I had a rough time taping DMB in Baltimore but the tape came out just fine, HOWEVER the 24/48 wav file was split up into 2 files and I have the marker OFF. I used to have it set to switch to a new file at 2 hours but it is def set to OFF and I should get one long 3 hour file. The show length last night was 3:04. Has anybody had this happen? I copied and pasted the 2 together and no audio was missed so it's fine, but how could this happen? I used the same SD card I always do and have taped DMB 4 other times this month.
Thanks for any input.
Tom
As on most decks there is a 2gb file limit. It is a windows limitation and has something to do with the FAT32 format process. I forget the small details, but this has been discussed in countless threads. As for covering your buttons with caps you may want to give the key lock another shot. I have never had an issue with it and have not heard of any issues with it. There are 2 different settings for locking the buttons, and that gives you more control, or less control over what is and is not locked.
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Thanks for the input dallman. The only thing is, this is the first time since I turned off the auto track that the file switched to a new one. In fact the file switched over at 1.94gb and the time was 2 hours and 48 seconds which is odd since it used to switch at exactly 2 hours when I had the auto track set to 2 HR.
I used the same sd card as I did the past 4 shows and formatted it in advance of last night. Is it the SD card doing it or something else? It was right in the middle of a song when it switched and there was no silence at all during the song. No one touched the 661 recorder or got near my bag which was closed.
I'm doing a mock recording at home now with the card formatted again to see what it does at 2 hours. It's just odd. Not sure what you mean by Windows limitation. I always open the file in Sound Forge and it's a full 3 + hours, however long the show was.
Tom
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The limit is by file size, not recording length of, say, two hours. It is possible two hours could equal two gigs depending on the file size, though. If what dallman and I are understanding correctly, this is not an issue with the PMD 661 or any other recorder. FAT16 has a file size limit of 16 GB and FAT32 is limited by 4 GB.
I'm doing a mock recording at home now with the card formatted again to see what it does at 2 hours. It's just odd. Not sure what you mean by Windows limitation. I always open the file in Sound Forge and it's a full 3 + hours, however long the show was.
Tom
Were you previously recording a 16/44.1 or 24/48? If it was the latter, you will reach the file size limit quicker since it is recording more data.
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I'm pretty sure the 661 has a 4 GB maximum file size. Should be ~ 4 hours at 24/48. I would have guessed that it was set at 24/96 (4 GB at a little over 2 hours), except that the file was only 1.94 GB. Pretty strange. Maybe try a different card?
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I'm pretty sure the 661 has a 4 GB maximum file size. Should be ~ 4 hours at 24/48. I would have guessed that it was set at 24/96 (4 GB at a little over 2 hours), except that the file was only 1.94 GB. Pretty strange. Maybe try a different card?
if it does have a 4GB file size limit, that is strange.
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I used the same 16gb Lexar SD card I've been using and it was formatted before I started last night. I taped part of the opener until someone plowed my mic stand down but it was still recording until I hit stop. Maybe it recorded 20 min of the set, that's about it. I was recording in 24/48 as I always do and wound up getting 1.97gb for the dmb set for the first 2 hours and 8 sec then another 1.02gb for the remaining 1 hour and 4 minutes. I hit record on the 661 today for over 2 hours in the Line mode just to see if it would switch to a new file again at 2 hours and it didn't. Not sure what caused it to switch, kinda weird. It was like it thought it was the Microtrack II that I used to use lol
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I have to say I having always had FAT 16 machines that started a new file at 2gb, I didnt realize the PMD 661 can go to 4gb but the manual says it can. I have mine set at 2gb, and so my answer is decidedly unhelpful. Without really knowing what happened, I am at a loss. Maybe the card. I assume it was formatted in the deck and not on a computer, which is Fat 16 not 32. Do you use your presets? Is it possible you had it set to a preset that still had the 2gb split? Or maybe when you got plowed whatever button manually splits the files got hit?
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Hey dallman,
My stand got plowed during the opener not the dmb set where the split occured after 1.97gb and I had plenty of 24/48 room left on the SD card. Is there a manual button on the 661 that could switch to a new file if it was hit? Also, I didn't change any presets and I'm not sure which preset changes the gb limit to switch over to a new file, I only know the Auto Track can be set to 2 hours (and other times) and it's always set to off.
I guess I'll see what happens this Friday in Brooklyn. I'll report back whether it happened again or not. Probably will tape the same opener The Lumineers again
Thanks for everyone's input
Tom
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I'm pretty sure the 661 has a 4 GB maximum file size. Should be ~ 4 hours at 24/48. I would have guessed that it was set at 24/96 (4 GB at a little over 2 hours), except that the file was only 1.94 GB. Pretty strange. Maybe try a different card?
if it does have a 4GB file size limit, that is strange.
Not so strange. Several other Marantz recorders also have 4 GB limits, as do the Sound Devices boxes and the FR2-LE. Probably not the only ones, either...
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cool
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"The maximum number of clusters that Windows can mount on a FAT32 volume is 4,177,918"
Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc938937.aspx
Do any recorders use NTFS volumes? I'm not aware of any in the prosumer class.
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Update on the issue with files splitting when I don't have Auto Track on the 661 unit. I taped DMB in Brooklyn last night with an empty & formatted 8gb SD card I've not used in a while, got only ONE file of 3.14gb for a 3:09 show time so everything's back to normal. Must have been a glitch in the 16gb card or something. I'll try that card tonight and see if I get one file again, then I'll know it was just a one time thing
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Anybody ever go with the 1/8 inch Line 2 input jack?
My question is...
When using the XLR inputs, the deck is set to -18db, so if using the Line 2, 1/8 in jacks, which does not have plug in power of any type, would you keep the deck at -18db and use a battery box, or would you set it to 0db and use a set of mics with 1/8 jacks straight in like church CAFS, or CA11, or CA14's or AT853's etc.?? (or -6db or -12db which are the other 2 settings possible)
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Anybody ever go with the 1/8 inch Line 2 input jack?
My question is...
When using the XLR inputs, the deck is set to -18db, so if using the Line 2, 1/8 in jacks, which does not have plug in power of any type, would you keep the deck at -18db and use a battery box, or would you set it to 0db and use a set of mics with 1/8 jacks straight in like church CAFS, or CA11, or CA14's or AT853's etc.?? (or -6db or -12db which are the other 2 settings possible)
I don't believe the 3.5 mm - 1/8" Line 2 input level changes by adjusting the input attenuation setting. The input attenuation is only for the XLR inputs. So for the 3.5 mm - 1/8" Line 2 input it doesn't matter where you set the attenuation and you'll need an external Pre to feed mics to it. I've only used Line 2 input a few times to record from my DAC or for situations when using the 661 as a backup recording where primary feed from my MixPre-D is going to a different recording device.
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Anybody ever go with the 1/8 inch Line 2 input jack?
My question is...
When using the XLR inputs, the deck is set to -18db, so if using the Line 2, 1/8 in jacks, which does not have plug in power of any type, would you keep the deck at -18db and use a battery box, or would you set it to 0db and use a set of mics with 1/8 jacks straight in like church CAFS, or CA11, or CA14's or AT853's etc.?? (or -6db or -12db which are the other 2 settings possible)
I don't believe the 3.5 mm - 1/8" Line 2 input level changes by adjusting the input attenuation setting. The input attenuation is only for the XLR inputs. So for the 3.5 mm - 1/8" Line 2 input it doesn't matter where you set the attenuation and you'll need an external Pre to feed mics to it. I've only used Line 2 input a few times to record from my DAC or for situations when using the 661 as a backup recording where primary feed from my MixPre-D is going to a different recording device.
Thanks! that makes sense.
One thing that threw me, is when you use the presets, it would be nice if picking an input would allow the rest of the preset choices for that particular preset to be determined by that input choice, but that is not the case. I have 3 presets named and set as: s/pdif, XLR in, and 1/8 in. I really like having those choices set and ready to go.
So of course I now wonder...if I were to convert 1/8 to XLR, would I need a preamp or battery box, or would the extra boost to attenuation be enough? (as a maze of converter cables runs through my mind...) ;D
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bump...If someone can suggest what I am doing wrong trying to update my f/w , I would really appreciate it. Thanks
Below is a copy/paste from what I posted in Team PMD661 yesterday. Seems like this section gets more attention now. On further reading, if this helps, I am using a SanDisk 8GB, class 4 SDHC card. After formatting in the 661, I used a Kodak R131 Reader for SD Cards. So, it doesn't say for SDHC cards... I am also running a Mac Mini OS X v.10.4.11, w/ a 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 processor.
Hi Folks ~ It's been awhile since I checked in here. I know it's been a bit since this topic has been posted in, but I am having trouble updating the firmware version on my pmd 661. A friend sent me a link to D&M Pro website where I registered and downloaded the f/w update for the 661. The update guide directions say to copy the "pmd661up.bin" to the root of a SD card. I am not sure what that means... What I did was copied that .bin to the MPLANG1 folder of a formatted SD card. I then inserted that card into my 661 w/ the a/c cord attached and powered the unit on. "update Axxx?" did not display like it was suppose to. When I checked the f/w version via the menu, it has A1.14. What am I doing wrong? Thanks
Harold
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Just noticed Marantz has a new but undated firmware version (v2.04) for PMD661 (linked here). (http://usa.d-mpro.com/us/denon/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AudioRecordingandPlayback&SubCatId=HandheldandPortableRecorders&ProductId=PMD661) I'm running the previous version (v2.03) which was dated 6/17/2011. Last time I remember checking was November 2012 and (v2.03) was still the most current.
Has anyone updated to (v2.04), any issues? I'm not having any issues myself so I'm hesitant to update.
PMD661 Firmware Details Version 2.04 Undated
Resolved issues below:
1. Fixed bug where the unit sometimes would not power on.
Previously fixed issues:
1. Expanded SD and SDHC card compatibility.
2. Fixed unit locking up when using pitch control on 24 bit 96 kHz files.
3. Resolved issue where setting EDL marks may corrupt the ‘Date Created’ in the file
properties.
4. Fixed formatting issue when the SD card is formatted in a different device.
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I downloaded the file out of curiosity, and both the firmware details and the firmware itself have a timestamp of 10th Oct 2012. So that seems to be the build date.
Maybe they are just backporting some bug fixes from the Mk2 which uses, it seems, firmware versions 3.xx.
Just a guess of course.
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I downloaded the file out of curiosity, and both the firmware details and the firmware itself have a timestamp of 10th Oct 2012. So that seems to be the build date.
Maybe they are just backporting some bug fixes from the Mk2 which uses, it seems, firmware versions 3.xx.
Just a guess of course.
Interesting, on October 26th I got this response from Marantz regarding firmware for PMD661, no mention at all of v2.04 and it wasn't posted in November when I last checked. Odd that it would have a date stamp of October 10th.
The PMD661MKII is a separate model from the PMD661. Version 2.03 is the latest firmware for the PMD661. There are no plans to release a new firmware version for the PMD661 that includes the new features present on the PMD661MKII.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
D&M Professional
1100 Maplewood Drive
Itasca, IL 60143
I'm hesitant to install a vX.04 firmware since I'm not having any problems and you brought up some v3.04 bugs in the MKII thread http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=158819.msg2024268#msg2024268
Has anyone installed v2.04 on a PMD661? Problems with it?
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I'm hesitant to install a vX.04 firmware since I'm not having any problems and you brought up some v3.04 bugs in the MKII thread http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=158819.msg2024268#msg2024268
Not really bugs, except maybe for the "sharp analog circuitry disconnection thing".
I hadn't read the manual thoroughly (my fault) and it clearly states that a seamless transition from one track to the next is not guaranteed. I assumed it because it's not that hard to do in software, having a small buffer which allows you to make a seamless transition. Seems they haven't done it. Anyway SDHC are peripherals with weird performance characteristics.
Regarding the "no audio", I didn't notice. It was recording a -20 dB signal to the right channel, which is indeed the correct way to do it (and a nice feature).
So, my apologies. I was wrong.
I'm copying this to the other thread in order to avoid spreading false rumors ;)
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I have been looking at this external battery for my PMD661. Has anybody tried it?
http://www.bixnet.com/bx550.html (http://www.bixnet.com/bx550.html)
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I have been looking at this external battery for my PMD661. Has anybody tried it?
http://www.bixnet.com/bx550.html (http://www.bixnet.com/bx550.html)
It should work well. I am using a MP3300 that I got for a PMD660 I have. I also will use one of the Universal Powerbank's usb port as well. It is easy to power.
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I would like to get an external powering solution for my PMD661. My criteria is:
1. Lasting 8 hours or so w/ phantom powering
2. Relatively small size for battery (small as possible)
3. Input to power deck through power plug, NOT USB
4. Relatively quick recharge
I have a batterygeek battery that I really like, but it is too big/too much voltage for the PMD661. I believe I need a 5v battery, correct?
thanks all!
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I've been using a Tekkeon for a couple of years... works great. Can't comment on any run times though.
Been thinking about switching over to an Eyama 8800mAh dual-usb battery that I picked up from Newegg.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1WK0HR9208 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1WK0HR9208)
I haven't tried it yet with the 661 though.
And yes.. 5V.
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I've been using a Tekkeon for a couple of years... works great. Can't comment on any run times though.
Been thinking about switching over to an Eyama 8800mAh dual-usb battery that I picked up from Newegg.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1WK0HR9208 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1WK0HR9208)
I haven't tried it yet with the 661 though.
And yes.. 5V.
I gambled and tried this on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-2-USB-20000mAh-backup-power-bank-charger-external-rechargeable-battery-pack-/281085100603?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item4171fa423b (http://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-2-USB-20000mAh-backup-power-bank-charger-external-rechargeable-battery-pack-/281085100603?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item4171fa423b)
It looks remarkably similar to the above and while I bought the rated 20000mAH for about $27.00 a few months back, it is also available for a little less $$ at 10,000mAH. I could not tell you if the ratings are accurate, but I can tell you I am surprisingly happy as I used it to record 3 shows without recharging, running my Marantz pmd661 and a SD USB Pre 2, and still had 2 led's glowing. I've been running it for about 4 months now with no issues at all. It does take overnight to recharge and I have only used USB into my laptop for recharging, not one of my in wall USB 5v chargers which technically should be the same but may be faster. My gut tells me be wary of the reliability or at least the specs, but I again, I have been happily surprised.
Since the instructions are useless, I can say after plugging the deck into the battery, you just press the button, the led's glow and you are set for hours.
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Thanks all for the input.
I would like a battery that has a small round plug OUT and in (power port) on the 661. I would like to avoid the USB route in/out. Is there something like this out there? Or, is it possible to get a strong, low profile (right angle USB cable)?
Think a situation where it needs to be stuffed in a small bag w/ other gear. I am concerned about the USB plug holding well on both the battery and deck.
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GAKables in the Retail section can make you a USB > barrel-plug that fits the 661... with that cable or similar cable, you can run the 661 off of any USB battery.
I do not think that the 661 can be powered by battery via the mini-USB on the deck. No matter what type of external battery is used, ya gotta use the DC barrel-plug input on the deck I believe.
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GAKables in the Retail section can make you a USB > barrel-plug that fits the 661... with that cable or similar cable, you can run the 661 off of any USB battery.
I do not think that the 661 can be powered by battery via the mini-USB on the deck. No matter what type of external battery is used, ya gotta use the DC barrel-plug input on the deck I believe.
I bought a bunch of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290936991038?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:VRI&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2661 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/290936991038?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:VRI&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2661) I have some cables from Ted with the same fittings, and I like these cheap ones better because they are more suited to bending and flexing in my bag. I have never had one pull out. Since it is supplying power, I have no issues with the quality.
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I do not think that the 661 can be powered by battery via the mini-USB on the deck. No matter what type of external battery is used, ya gotta use the DC barrel-plug input on the deck I believe.
I agree with Guy, you will need the barrel-plug for power. If you are worried, secure it with some electrical tape. The fit is fairly snug though.
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Cool.
For the USB end (out of battery) of the cable, are there right angle versions available? Essentially, I would like the cable to be right angle at both ends (USB out and barrel in).
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Cool.
For the USB end (out of battery) of the cable, are there right angle versions available? Essentially, I would like the cable to be right angle at both ends (USB out and barrel in).
Yes, there are right angle USB connectors. I use one pictured below to power my 661 from tekkeon mp3450, the other output powers SD MixPre-D.
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b419/DigiGal_taper/Gear%20Bags/file.jpg)
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So this is perhaps an odd option...
The battery is the Tekkeon MP2250, meant for wireless routers or something, BUT it is 5v out AND comes the correct tip for the 661.
http://www.amazon.com/computers-accessories/dp/B002N7L606
The catch is that it doesn't come with a way to charge it, since it uses the router's charger. So you need this:
http://www.amazon.com/Cradlepoint-Adapter-CTR350-CTR500-PHS300/dp/B001ISK29W
The battery is slightly smaller than the 661. I use velcro to keep them together. I have no idea how long it will last, but probably around 20+ hours, for my work I usually turn it on at the start of the day and off at the end and the meter is always at 3 out of 4 lights. I have the 3450 as well, but I like this smaller one because I don't have to think about accidentally over-powering the 661.
Anyway, works great, I carry this combo into the wilderness a lot, shoved in my backpack.
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Lots of options. has anyone tried this one with the PMD661? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009USAJCC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ak9600-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B009USAJCC
It looks like it just has 5v, and 10,000 mAh rating. I think this would run the deck and phantom power mics for at least 8 hours.
Does anyone know if the button on top is a power switch, or just to light up the LEDs to check battery level? Is it the same from all batteries from this manufacturer?
This battery will be stuffed in a relatively small bag. I do not want a battery that can turn "off".
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^There are a couple of threads about the Anker batteries.. I've never used em, can't comment.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=25.0 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=25.0)
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I have a question and I hope someone has the answer. I have a 10,000 mAh ext battery (3 of them) that I tested and get about 11+ hours with phantom power on with my PMD661. I also plan to have a set of eneloop or energizer ultimate in the deck. If the external runs low will it autoswitch to the internal set and will there be a detectable click or anything like that. I am heading to NWSS next week and hate to lose something or switch stuff at night.
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I have six old Sony BP-GL65 batteries (with chargers) that still work great. I would love to find an adapter (v-mount) that would take the 14.4v (4.4ah) from the Sony battery and convert down to the 5v (1.4a) that the 661 needs. I've found several v-mounts that say they provide a 5v output but they only have a 2-pin Lemo connector. Anyone have any ideas of how to make this work?
I have three of the PMD 661's that I use for film and television work all over the country. It's not uncommon for me to run them 12 to 14 hours per day. Keeping up with rechargeable 2a's is driving me crazy! Using new 2a's is breaking the bank.
THanks for any advice you can give me!
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I have been using a Tekkeon MP3450 R3 for a few years now and never have had a problem and comes with the adaptor needed for the PMD661. They sell direct as well. One thing nice about this battery is that the MP3450 R3 automatically resets to the lowest setting after a device is connected, stating that "you will never overcharge your portable device". If you need extended battery time, they have a expansion battery: MP3450-10 R3 Extended Battery that works & comes with a Bracket to connect the two units. You may want to look at going with an all new battery and sell the Sony's? On a different note, these batteries had been a big help when the power was out last year during hurrican Sandy's aftermath. GL!
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I have six old Sony BP-GL65 batteries (with chargers) that still work great. I would love to find an adapter (v-mount) that would take the 14.4v (4.4ah) from the Sony battery and convert down to the 5v (1.4a) that the 661 needs. I've found several v-mounts that say they provide a 5v output but they only have a 2-pin Lemo connector. Anyone have any ideas of how to make this work?
THanks for any advice you can give me!
If you are set on using this type of v-mount then you could use a simple cable that goes from the 2-pin Lemo connector to a 1.7mm I.D. x 4.0 O.D. DC Power Plug. So you already have the batteries and chargers but not the DC-DC converter? You didn't link the one you mention and a quick search shows these are expensive, so . . .
There are other options such as the Tekkeon MP3450 already mentioned. I use a MP3450 myself (which has a built-in charge meter) to simultaniuosly power a MixPre-D and the PMD661 and don't worry about running out of battery power. I do have enelope low self discharge rechargeable "aa" batteries installed in both devices for a degree of redundancy. If the external battery should run too low then manually switching over to internal rechargeable's is seamless.
Just FYI; Marantz Professional doesn't officially endorse the use of external batteries on the PMD 661 so if you are not careful you could damage the recorder and warranty if you still have one wouldn't cover a repair.
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Just FYI; Marantz Professional doesn't officially endorse the use of external batteries on the PMD 661 so if you are not careful you could damage the recorder and warranty if you still have one wouldn't cover a repair.
MP3450 R3 automatically resets to the lowest setting after a device is connected, stating that "you will never overcharge your portable device".
This was a selling point to me for the use of this battery, as it has worked for my PMD661 as well as on my Roland R4 and a prior PMD670.
On a different note, DigiGal, are you using the usb to power the MixPre-D? and if so did you make a cable for it? I am using the SD Battery Cup to power the MixPre-D, due to having a few 12v Ni Batts from vid cams I have. It is bulky and I am sure it would be easier to run just everything from the Tekkeon. BTW...I also do the same thing in keeping my AA's in my gear, not as a redundant act but as a fail-safe...Murphy's law will bit eme in the ass otherwise!
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How many people run the pmd661 off the Tekkeons USB? so it would be tekkeon usb to the barrel/power connector on the 661.
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I run the power to my 661 using the DC Out of my Tekkeon. Powering the Sound Device MixPre-D requires an Hirose 4-pin connector. My question to Digi was specific to powering the MixPre-D.
Have never thought of or tried to power the 661 with the USB from a Tekkeon.
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Just FYI; Marantz Professional doesn't officially endorse the use of external batteries on the PMD 661 so if you are not careful you could damage the recorder and warranty if you still have one wouldn't cover a repair.
MP3450 R3 automatically resets to the lowest setting after a device is connected, stating that "you will never overcharge your portable device".
This was a selling point to me for the use of this battery, as it has worked for my PMD661 as well as on my Roland R4 and a prior PMD670.
On a different note, DigiGal, are you using the usb to power the MixPre-D? and if so did you make a cable for it? I am using the SD Battery Cup to power the MixPre-D, due to having a few 12v Ni Batts from vid cams I have. It is bulky and I am sure it would be easier to run just everything from the Tekkeon. BTW...I also do the same thing in keeping my AA's in my gear, not as a redundant act but as a fail-safe...Murphy's law will bit eme in the ass otherwise!
<404> Yes, I'm using the USB 5V output of the Tekkeon to power the PMD661. I made the cable myself from a right angle USB cable. I am also using a right angle Tekkeon to Hirose cable that I made myself for powering the MixPre-D. (setup pictured below) I to have an NP battery cup to Hirose, several good NP1SB batteries and two 4 bay NP chargers. My NP batteries hardly ever get used because the Tekkeon powers both devices for forever, I will sometimes carry one NP battery with me for an extra fail safe to overcome Murphy's law but it never gets used. The NP1's are heavy NiCAD technology and don't have charge indicators so I generally don't use them because the Tekkeon MP3450 is lighter and powers both units. If I were to order a new or second Tekkeon, I'd opt for the dip switch version for this config so I wouldn't have to manually set the voltage each time to power the MixPre-D.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139705.msg2045882#msg2045882
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b419/DigiGal_taper/Gear%20Bags/file.jpg)
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Just FYI; Marantz Professional doesn't officially endorse the use of external batteries on the PMD 661 so if you are not careful you could damage the recorder and warranty if you still have one wouldn't cover a repair.
MP3450 R3 automatically resets to the lowest setting after a device is connected, stating that "you will never overcharge your portable device".
This was a selling point to me for the use of this battery, as it has worked for my PMD661 as well as on my Roland R4 and a prior PMD670.
On a different note, DigiGal, are you using the usb to power the MixPre-D? and if so did you make a cable for it? I am using the SD Battery Cup to power the MixPre-D, due to having a few 12v Ni Batts from vid cams I have. It is bulky and I am sure it would be easier to run just everything from the Tekkeon. BTW...I also do the same thing in keeping my AA's in my gear, not as a redundant act but as a fail-safe...Murphy's law will bit eme in the ass otherwise!
<404> Yes, I'm using the USB 5V output of the Tekkeon to power the PMD661. I made the cable myself from a right angle USB cable. I am also using a right angle Tekkeon to Hirose cable that I made myself for powering the MixPre-D. (setup pictured below) I to have an NP battery cup to Hirose, several good NP1SB batteries and two 4 bay NP chargers. My NP batteries hardly ever get used because the Tekkeon powers both devices for forever, I will sometimes carry one NP battery with me for an extra fail safe to overcome Murphy's law but it never gets used. The NP1's are heavy NiCAD technology and don't have charge indicators so I generally don't use them because the Tekkeon MP3450 is lighter and powers both units. If I were to order a new or second Tekkeon, I'd opt for the dip switch version for this config so I wouldn't have to manually set the voltage each time to power the MixPre-D.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139705.msg2045882#msg2045882
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b419/DigiGal_taper/Gear%20Bags/file.jpg)
very cool setup Digigal.m ya Teds making me a usb>pmd661 cable so i can power my 661 off of one of my Tekkeons as well. I should have been doing that since the beginning, but hey,.
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Thanks for clarification Digigal!!! Much appreciated. That will be my next move to mod the power situation for my rig as soon as I get the op.
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DigiGal (or anyone who knows the answer): Are you using the Tekkeon to power the 661 (via 5v USB) and another device (at a different voltage) simultaneously? If so, that's way cool! I had no idea you could do that. thanks.
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I've done that. USB cable for the 661 and also powered a V3 via the regular DC out. Nice and compact.
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I've done that. USB cable for the 661 and also powered a V3 via the regular DC out. Nice and compact.
thanks. that is super cool! 8)
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I've read through the thread and am looking at possibly buying a 661, but I am confused by the manual's description of the mic/line/phantom switch on the underside of the recorder. It seems to be a 3 way switch - mic-in phantom on / mic-in phantom off / line-in. So does the phantom power only supply to mics when going mic-in? Or is phantom always on when going line-in? Also, does the mic attenuation option up to -18dB only apply when going mic-in, not line-in?
Max line-in input on XLR's could be +6.5dBu according to Marantz or +15dBu according to Doug Oade (!). Is this with the -18dB switch, or as questioned above, would it not affect the line-in XLR input?
One final question, what is the nominal / maximum input for mic-in XLR?
Thanks for any answers you can give.