the 661 has ok pre-amps but not the quietest in this price range. If you st=
art with a zoom then just about anything else will be a big step up as they=
have some of the noisiest pre-amps. The 661 is an ok recorder for sure, bu=
t there are plenty of folks who'll say you get more for your money with oth=
er recorders (good in-built mics, better power usage etc etc).
--- In Tim Kahn <> wrote:
>
> 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 sup=
posedly uses quieter pre-amps than the stock unit. I have never tried a sto=
ck 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 occasion=
s it has worked as it should.
> In the two occasions that it failed, it was raining very hard and the rec=
order got wet. It seems water can get between the buttons on the front pane=
l and cause erratic behavior (like a particular button is being pressed ove=
r and over rapidly, for example). In both cases I placed the recorder in my=
food dehydrator, set on low, and left it to dry over night. Now it works p=
erfectly well again. I should add that in both cases the rain was extremely=
heavy and I was in the rain for extended periods of time and I'm really su=
rprised that there was not more damage.
> My main complaint with it is that there are not two separate knobs for ga=
in adjustment. For a stereo pair where you only need to change the gain for=
both at once its fine, but often I have two lav mics on people and it is a=
two hand job to change the gain on one channel and almost always you will =
change the gain on the other as well. If you happen to have especially larg=
e fingers it might even be more annoying.
> But really, for me it has been an excellent recorder standing up to my pa=
rticular abuses very well.
> Here is a recording I am particularly fond of: http://www.freesound.org/p=
eople/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 r=
ecorders. I have in the past owned the ZOOM H4n and Tascam DR100-mkII recor=
ders. Both have their strengths I suppose, but those strengths are not the =
durability of the switches and controls. The Tascam I had for approx. 6 mon=
ths, and it was suitable for some situations using onboard microphones, but=
the rotary wheel started to fail, and the power switch was always a little=
questionable from the very beginning. I returned it, unsatisfied.
> >
> > I am now considering purchase of the PMD661 Marantz recorder for field =
recording, (as well as other uses, ie. interview and live music recording) =
Does 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 an=
d helpful in my decision to purchase.
> >
> > i am on a limited budget, but am willing to spend what is needed to obt=
ain both high grade audio, and durable hardware.
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Scott
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
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