I also have the 661 and I love it very much. I moved from the original H4. =
I purchased mine from Doug Oade (oade.com) with the "super mod" which suppo=
sedly uses quieter pre-amps than the stock unit. I have never tried a stock=
unit so I can't say for sure there is a difference. I have used the 661 in=
a lot of different applications and conditions and except for 2 occasions =
it has worked as it should.
In the two occasions that it failed, it was raining very hard and the recor=
der got wet. It seems water can get between the buttons on the front panel =
and cause erratic behavior (like a particular button is being pressed over =
and over rapidly, for example). In both cases I placed the recorder in my f=
ood dehydrator, set on low, and left it to dry over night. Now it works per=
fectly well again. I should add that in both cases the rain was extremely h=
eavy and I was in the rain for extended periods of time and I'm really surp=
rised that there was not more damage.
My main complaint with it is that there are not two separate knobs for gain=
adjustment. For a stereo pair where you only need to change the gain for b=
oth at once its fine, but often I have two lav mics on people and it is a t=
wo hand job to change the gain on one channel and almost always you will ch=
ange the gain on the other as well. If you happen to have especially large =
fingers it might even be more annoying.
But really, for me it has been an excellent recorder standing up to my part=
icular abuses very well.
Here is a recording I am particularly fond of: http://www.freesound.org/peo=
ple/Corsica_S/sounds/184797/
Tim
On Jun 1, 2013, at 10:17 PM, shooze53 wrote:
> Hello folks,
> I have a question regarding the quality and durability of the Marantz rec=
orders. I have in the past owned the ZOOM H4n and Tascam DR100-mkII recorde=
rs. Both have their strengths I suppose, but those strengths are not the du=
rability of the switches and controls. The Tascam I had for approx. 6 month=
s, and it was suitable for some situations using onboard microphones, but t=
he rotary wheel started to fail, and the power switch was always a little q=
uestionable from the very beginning. I returned it, unsatisfied.
>
> I am now considering purchase of the PMD661 Marantz recorder for field re=
cording, (as well as other uses, ie. interview and live music recording) Do=
es anyone have experience using the Marantz product? If so, any comments as=
to durability and ease of use, and sound quality would be very useful and =
helpful in my decision to purchase.
>
> i am on a limited budget, but am willing to spend what is needed to obtai=
n both high grade audio, and durable hardware.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Scott
>
>
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