Marantz PMD661 Portable SD Recorder

I’ve used several “portable” and I’ll use that term loosely digital recorders which all share the same positive – no noise and high shock resistance while recording, along with huge record times on memory cards.

Update 9-12-2009 – I just returned from a cruise ship using the 661. I used a Canon hs-10 avchd camera for capturing the main stage video and the 661 to plug into the ship’s mixing board for audio. The ship’s audio engineer was excited to see the 661 and hapily pulled out an XLR patch cord set to give me the house mix line out, which was recorded in the same lossless format used by the camcorder audio making synchronization in adobe premiere pro a breeze. The final benefit was hearing the show audio as it left the mixing board to the amps instead of being picked up by the camera set on a tripod in the audience full of echo and laughter. The final production to blu-ray disc sounded like I was right on stage with the camera. The marantz ALC circuit performed better than expected and prevented digital clipping while maximizing dynamic range. End of edit.

Update 11-16-2009 – just a note the PMD661 has found a new use besides a great recorder. It features 2 stereo high quality monitor speakers and placed in record-pause mode makes a portable studio monitor for everything from 48V XLR phantom mics you forgot to switch the power to, to XLR line ins with ground loops, and even 3.5 mm stereo line ins from computers. The speakers mute automatically for internal mic usage to prevent feedback. Having this in the field to review or check audio connections has proven an added bonus when you can’t pack your favorite studio monitor speaker in your carry on case.

(end of updates review starts below)

When Marantz added a line level XLR input as opposed to just a mic level input in the 660 (prior model) I finally jumped at it. Since I work alot of mixing boards I have access to the final stereo mixdown at line level voltages. Whats the big deal? Recording at line level gives you 20dB more signal to noise – thats 100 times better for those of you who don’t speak dB – compared to mic level xlr inputs. If you look at your dvd player at home all the outputs are line level simply to get rid of noise. With such a fabulous recorder, why in the world would you want 100 times more noise in your recordings?

There are many other factors Marantz did that made the 661 the recorder to get – the display is bright and easy to read under all conditions, they used a 1/4″ headphone jack so your little 3.5mm headphones wouldn’t pull out at the worst moment (another pro move) – and they improved the case quality. There is also a digital input for people who are 100% digital already.

Given these features, the PMD-661 sits head and antlers above all the other compact recorders out there offering professional connectivity at an economical price. It’s also fully customizable – the bright display is dimmable through 8 steps for indoor club use at night, and it features dual rca line level outputs for analog playback. About the only thing I would like to have seen would be a worldclock input for synchronizing analog recordings to digital cameras, but the size of the bnc connector would have nixed that option in this handheld product.

Right now its brand new and running $600 – you can buy out of state to save tax but I haven’t seen any reputable sellers discounting it yet. Wait a month or two and it should drop. Being able to put a line level xlr recorder in my pocket was the selling point – everything else after that was pure gravy. Good job Marantz (from a former tascam fan!)
Rating: 5 / 5

I’ve owned this unit for a few weeks and I must say that Marantz really hit one out of the park with this one. I had previously owned a PMD660 and it was a nice enough unit, but I could never understand its wild popularity. It had a cheap feel to it and the sound was mediocre. The 661, on the other hand, is a tank. Think of the 660 as the rough draft for this finished product. Just about everything is done right this time and the sound through the improved preamps is significantly cleaner. I’ve read some comments that it may be a little large, especially considering how compact much of the competition is nowadays, but I think the size is perfect. You can easily hold it in one hand and the display is big, bright and easy to read at a glance.

The only improvement I can think of offhand, possibly in a 2nd generation unit (are you listening Marantz?) would be a color display. As easy as this one is to read it would be even easier if record mode glowed with a red “rec” and pause with a green “pause.”

Highly recommended.
Rating: 5 / 5

I use digital audio recorders for ethnographic fieldwork, usually in cities and urban settings. I’ve used the PMD660 in the past and I can say that the PMD661 is, without a doubt, a major improvement. It’s slightly smaller, weighs less, and the user interface is just better. Also, the upgrade to SD/SDHC is a major improvement over the old compact flash. The other reviews are much more thorough, so I won’t go into it here. Suffice to say that the PMD661 is great for ethnographers b/c of its versatility and potential to make high quality recordings.

One thing: you should probably plan on about three hours of battery time. Over five hours is pretty idealistic, and definitely not possible if you need phantom power.
Rating: 5 / 5