Re: External preamp for Marantz PMD 661?

["scottbfraser" scottbfraser]

Raimund wrote:

< Bruce,
An external preamp would surely not impeove anything in your specific setup. 
The noise floor of the Marantz PMD 661 preamps is already well below the 
inherent noise of the Sennheiser K6/ME6x microphones (see 
http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm). >

While the noise floor is established by the noisiest element, in this case the 
mics, & thus can't be improved, he would get more overall gain, which I believe 
is what he's seeking. While one can always add gain in post, there's something 
to be said for staying away from the bottom few bits in an inexpensive ADC & 
getting the majority of the signal to hit the upper 40 - 50 dB of the available 
dynamic range. 

Scott Fraser