On 4/13/2012 11:12 AM, Ulf Wid=E9n wrote:
>
> Today I ordered a new Telinga Pro8 microphone with XLR and 48V Phantom Po=
wer
> and have decided to buy a Recorder with XLR. Are there anyone in this gro=
up
> who could recommend a good Recorder and I would like to have one with a
> really good pre-amp to reduce noise to a minimum. Also I prefer good
> ergonomic handling and not plastic and fragile. I=92m open for any sugges=
tion
> and I have looked at Zoom 4Hn, Fostex FR-2LE, Marantz PMD661/PMD671 to th=
e
> more expensive SoundDevices 702 and Nagra LB.
>
>
Hi and Welcome...
About a year ago, I went through the process of making the same choice
as you are looking at and I purchased the Marantz PMD-661...
I was using a Olympus LS-11 at the time and while the LS-11 is a good
little recorder best used in the field with a gun mike for portable
recording, I needed a recorder with XLR and commercial grade Line inputs
as I often use a microphone array of 4 to 6 microphones with SD 302
field mixers bussed together. The little LS-11 works admirably well for
this however the operating parameters of the LS-11 do not meet my needs
when used with the large mic array...
After much deliberation and research, I purchased a Zoom H4n and tried
it and sent it back. Zoom's claim for line inputs turned out to be the
mic inputs and they expect you to build a resistor swamping network for
the line level signals. That combined with noisy preamps was totally
unsuitable and I would recommend you not consider the Zoom H4n...
Next I ordered a Tascam DR680 which is a very nice recorder however the
operating system was unsuitable for my needs for long term recording
sessions and the DR-680 I was sent had operating system glitches. The
Tascam USA representative sent me several firmware upgrades to fix the
operating system, even replaced the recorder once and to no avail...
Biggest problem I had with the DR-680 was that it would repeatably
insert timing gaps in the recording all on its own for reasons no one
could figure out and I eventually returned it under the guarantee... I
don't know if Tascam ever found a solution. I give Tascam an A for
effort and I would consider this recorder again if Tascam has fixed the
operating system. I simply ran out of time and after 60 days, gave up on
the DR-680 in frustration while waiting for Tascam customer services
responses which were slow coming. Not entirely Tascam's fault, all
communbications had to go through a distributor's service department,
then to Tascam's USA customer support and they would send the problem to
Tascam factory engineering. Response each time took two to three weeks
and I found it simply too cumbersome and slow and taking too long when
one is set up in the field at a remote station.
Next I considered the Fostex and ruled it out based on a cumbersome
operating system and poor user friendliness and ergonomics as well as
battery issues based on compatibility and battery life.
I also looked at the Sound Devices 722 recorder but again, did not like
the operating system and disk drive concept, seems old fashion
technology for such a high priced recorder as much as I like the Sound
Devices preamp/field mixers of which I have three. This was a hard
recorder for me to pass on...
End result is I purchased a Marantz PMD-661 and have been using it for
about a year now and am very happy with it... It has the most ideal
operating system, is ruggedly and nicely made, very professional
quality, and has true line inputs which is what I use for almost all my
recording with the SD field Mixers. I can't ask for anything more in a
recorder. Its ability to break long recording sessions, (all night long
field recording) into multiple files of a size you set combined with a
'record on sound' feature plus a prerecord function that works
flawlessly to avoid long periods of boring background ambient noise. And
it has a timed recording feature that lets you set it up ahead of time
and it will start recording at a time you set...
Bottom line is I'm very glad I ended up with the Marantz PMD-661 and its
the recorder I would purchase again and am confident to recommend...
--
--
Mitch Hill
(Sent from HP DV6T)
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