Marantz

The Marantz PMD660 hand-held digital recorder joins convenient solid-state Compact Flash digital recording with Marantz build quality, for rugged and reliable performance in the field. Record dozens of hours of MP3 audio on a single Compact Flash card (or as high-quality uncompressed WAV files) and easily transfer to your computer via USB. You can even edit in the unit itself – use simple cut-and-paste editing, or take advantage of non-linear, non-destructive playlist editing with up to 99 virtual tracks that let you compare edits, set up multiple sound bites or provide interview segments of varying durations. With Marantz at the table, there's never been a better time to put the power of reliable solid-state recording to work for you.

The Marantz PMD660 can record uncompressed WAV files at 44.1 or 48 kHz, and MP3 files in mono (at 64 kbps) or in stereo (at 128 kbps). Using a 1 GB Compact Flash card (not included – it comes with a 64 MB card to get you started, formatted and installed) the PMD660 records more than one hour of stereo and three hours mono of uncompressed audio, or more than 17 hours of stereo MP3 and nearly 36 hours of monaural MP3 audio.

Editing capabilities include two modes: Copy Segment, which uses cut-and-paste-style editing to create a sound file, which can be up/downloaded via the PMD660's USB port; and Virtual Track mode, which allows the user to make an internal edit list enabling nonlinear playback of file segments, without using card memory to create a new file.

Two onboard condenser mics with Automatic Level Control let you make stereo recordings on the spot. In addition, the PMD660 has two XLR mic inputs with 48-volt phantom power and stereo line I/O. Powering is via common, inexpensive AA batteries - up to four hours of operation on four batteries; and the unit also includes an AC adaptor for flexible use in and out of the studio.

The optional RC600 wired remote control attaches to a microphone and supplies Record/Pause control, track marking and peak metering from the microphone position.