Marantz PMD 660: has it been "fixed?"

[Bob Kerner]

I just saw a glowing review of this recorder in a webinar about rish media boradcasting. A forum search here turned up very mixed reviews, many of which are a couple of years old.

Has this device been updated to fix the noisy pre-amp issue?

Was considering this as a double system device with a consumer camera (usually with a SD 302) and as a stand alone for shooting stills/interviewing people.

Thank you
Bob

[Rick Reineke]

"Has this device been updated to fix the noisy pre-amp issue?"
Not that I know of...
The 0dB XLR out of the 302 works with the 660's line-in without overdriving the 660's fixed frontend and sounds okay.
I've found internal mics to be useless. The external mic inputs are noisy with the 20dB pad engaged using a dynamic such as an RE-50, otherwise it's not bad.

[Bob Kerner]

Thank you for your help

[Michael Nistler]

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

I just saw a glowing review of this recorder in a webinar about rish media boradcasting. A forum search here turned up very mixed reviews, many of which are a couple of years old.

Has this device been updated to fix the noisy pre-amp issue?

Was considering this as a double system device with a consumer camera (usually with a SD 302) and as a stand alone for shooting stills/interviewing people.

Thank you
Bob

Hi Bob,

IMHO, the PMD660 should be a good match with a consumer camera for interview work. If you're really concerned about the noise level of the preamp, contact Doug Oade to have the Marantz upgraded (or buy on directly from him):

OADE BROTHERS AUDIO Field Recording Experts, Sony, Tascam, Marantz, Fostex, Compact Flash recorders

But for most everyday situations, the PMD660 is fine considering it's only a 16 bit recorder. Still, the dynamic range is okay except for high-quality music productions, etc.

The Tapers Section - The Tapers Forum

Regards, Michael

Good luck, Michael