Topic: PT: 3 - New Marantz PMD661

[DigiGal]

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 is an adapter with mono 3.5 mm female to XLR male.

[EugeneF]

ooh I see... but people saying that it only can do stereo to mono, but not mono to mono..

[EugeneF]

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?

[DigiGal]

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.

[dallman]

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.

[EugeneF]

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.

[dallman]

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.

[datbrad]

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.......

[DigiGal]

DATBRAD thanks for the info, sounds like a plug for the new "Card Check Compatibility" feature on the new PMD661 MKII

[datbrad]

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, ; ).

[taosmay]

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

[Rockinman59]

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

[dallman]

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.

[Rockinman59]

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

[rastasean]

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.