Compared to the HHB Portadisc, the Marantz PMD660
has several advantages as a field recorder:
-- much lower price ($500 vs $1350)
-- less than half the size and weight
-- much more efficient use of battery power
-- records in uncompressed WAV format rather than
compressed ATRAC
The PMD660's biggest drawback is its mediocre
preamp performance. The preamp adds a noticeable
amount of noise as you turn the gain up. Unfortunately,
there are plenty of times when increasing gain is
necessary in the field! You can compensate by
using a mic with a high output, and by using a
parabola, but the fact remains that the PMD660
doesn't record nearly as cleanly as the Portadisc.
Doug Oade (www.oade.com) modifies the preamp of the
PMD660 to address these limitations. I have not
personally used one, but those who have report that
the Oade-modified machine is much improved.
The HHB Portadisc has a superb preamp. It's the equal
of any field recorder, including the much admired
Sound Devices 722. Its chief drawback is the
use of Sony's original ATRAC minidisc. Even with
the inherent limits of ATRAC, the Portadisc makes
great recordings. And you can't beat a $2 minidisc
for archiving your recordings.
--oryoki
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