Comments on: Marantz PMD661 digital recorder now shipping

By: Ghendrick

Ghendrick — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:49:32 +0000

I have owned a Sony PCM-D50 for a few years. I recently had a chance to use & compare it against a Marantz PMD661. I wanted to like the PMD661… I really tried to like it… But I just can't recommend it. While I like the fact that the Marantz has built in XLR connectors & phantom power… The 661 falls short in several key features for me: My main problem with this 661 is the headphone amp is NOT ADEQUATE to monitor & playback your recordings with enough volume to be useful. If you can't hear the background noise in the headphones you can't make decent recordings. My second complaint about the 661 is the fact it has NO limiter feature whatsoever. Furthermore the mic preamp seems to clip rather nastily. The 5 hour battery life is not great compared with the outstanding Sony PCM-D50" 25 hour run time. The microphones in the PMD661 are also inferior to the Sony PCM-50D.

Despite the fact that this PMD661 has XLR inputs… I much prefer the Sony PCM-D50 with an XLR adapter. (Such as those made by BeachTek) The PCM-D50 has a much better headphone amp, better mics built in, a very useful limiter and slightly better mic pre-amps in my opinion. The Sony is also about $200 LESS expensive and built like a tank.

By: Marantz PMD661 Newbie

Marantz PMD661 Newbie — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:15:41 +0000

Now shipping in the UK too. Just put an order in for mine from here http://www.aandcaudio.co.uk/marantz-pmd661-digital-audio-recorder-free-2gb-card-p112185 and came with a 2gb card free. Can’t complain! Neil S.

By: steve smart

steve smart — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:02:43 +0000

I just bought the new Marantz PMD661 at a place called Martel Electronics. They included 2 free mics with the order. check it out http://www.martelelectronics.com/Marantz-PMD661.html They had them in stock. Steve

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:36:23 +0000

On paper (which is never a good way to evaluate audio gear), the 661’s performance specs looks pretty similar (noisy) to the 660 — I hope the better mic pre’s mentioned in the video aren’t just lip service! If they’ve fixed the noise, this will be a great unit. I love the performance of Fostex’s FR-2LE but am put off by it’s size; if the new Marantz can match it, they’ll have a winner.