Review Marantz Professional PMD661 Digital Recorder with XLR
Professional solid state recorder with XLR mic/line contections. SD recorder support to 2TB size cards
Video Rating: 4 / 5
This video gives you my thoughts about the portable recorder Marantz PMD 661 in use. I’ve recorded with different setups, such as the pmd 661 with the Rode nt2a, the sennheiser md21 and the internal microphones.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Comments
@oragiecom Hi oragie…
Do you have some experience with this recorder…??? I am looking to buy it or the tascam DR 100…. I am a radio reporter, mostly spoken stuff, occasionally a little music/theaer… mix my own stuff, use an old Sennheiser mic—– I really need good sound, my editors are picky…. rightfully. I currently use an old MD player from panasonic. Would appreciate a brief report.
Awesome recorder.
I was skeptical of a portable recorder actually getting the quality I needed, but this recorder is truly amazing. Just make sure you get a proper, external microphone (such as Sennheiser). The on-board mics are pretty good but not the best.
Ok! It doesn’t compete with my old Sony TC-D5ProII (0,2 secs) hehe! But it’s good enough.
Someone told me that having the 661 in standby-mode (rec-pause) works fine and that it doesn’t take much power. In that case you can be quicker.
Does anyone know if the remote control from older PMD:s work with the 661?
Aha, great!
If you want more presets just use different SD cards. Each card can store its own set of three presets that can be loaded. So you might use a large card for high quality recordings and the included 1 GB card for voice/mp3 recording – each with the according settings stored on the card.
The mic preamp is pretty low noise/good quality, probably a lot better than the 660. It takes about 2.5 seconds to boot the PMD 661 up until it is ready to record so in most situations this should not be an issue.
maybe the cons, since there’s no outer case like for the PMD 660, it gets dirty easily especially shooting on the beach. That’s just my prediction, even though I only have the 660 not the 661. I’m hoping they will make the outer case like the one for 660.
Hey, thanks for the tip!
I didnt think about that but on the other hand that I dont like carrying around so much stuff.
I am getting older every day
But its probably the best solution.
I really like the 661 so far although I haven’t spent too much time with it.
The menu structure is simple.
The components have a good look and feel.
The XLR connectors were the main reason for my purchase.
This is my first “serious” field recoder so I am not able to compare it to other products.
Yes, no limiter is probably a tactical decision. However, there is always the option to invest in a portable mic preamp (incl. limiter). US company Sound Devices have some top notch stuff that I am thinking of myself. They cost almost as much as the 661 itself, but on the other hand you can use them together with any future audiorecorder.
If you find more pro/cons about the 661, plz post them here. I’m not an owner YET…
Yeah, but a brickwall limiter to be on the safe side from time to time would have been really useful, imho.
The 670/671 have a limiter and Marantz probably decided to leave that feature up to their higher priced models.
Maybe they can fix that with a future firmware update.
Other than that I really enjoy the unit.
Just got a rode-nt4 and they perform really well together.
True, but personally I can live with that. Limiters are often very unpredictable.
Another good thing: the 661 seems to have three steps of attenuation (0), -6, -12, -18 db.
Unfortunately it doesn’t have an in-built limiter.
I like the preset-soluyion. That is innovative, and needed. Next model make it six presents and it will be even better.
Peter, that was all the pros. How about the cons?
Any improvement in the mic amp department? Compared to the 660 I mean (which was pretty noisy).
How well does the 661 work in colder conditions?
How many seconds from OFF mode ’til RECORD? (Sometimes you gotta be fast.)
I’m not critisising, I’m actually curious.
If the mic preamp is powerful enough to fuel a Sennheiser MD421 (for real), if the record monitoring is loud enough and if the machine can stand a little cold, I’m buying one!
despite everything going digital nowadays i think there will come a day when people will tire of its fakeness and unnaturalness and return to the warmth and genuineness of old analogue equipment
live in Bolivia. i want to buy Marantz ..¿ Do you know where can I go?
Well done Peter – straightforward, even a rep can understand! Why am I peeping thro9ughthe keyhole in this video?
– Alan
Nice job Peter. Concise and to the point. Really hit the highlites.
Great video Pete! We are going to do something similar in Spanish for our markets. Thanks for the support.
I’m trying to guage the usefulness of the internal mics. There is noise in the sample in the video, but how much of that was in the ambience and how much of that was hiss added by the recorder?
Thanks
– Richard
lololol
there’s a more technical purpose for the XLR inputs not just for idiots to break or pull out the 8”
I would of hoped you’d know given your profession =^d
why do you sound like a computer!?
Awesome recorder. I try it. Great sound.
Great video review. Thank you.
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