Marantz Professional PMD-661Mkiii – Handheld Solid-State Recorder with File Encryption

Fantastic professional digital recorder. Our minute taker highly recommended it. Great brand.

I have used the PMD-661 MkI for over 5 years. It is a solid metal tank. The MkIII is a joke. Three reasons.1. The very first time I used it, at the end of the recording, the screen was on but everything was frozen. Yes, the hold switch was off. I tried every button and every switch but it was just frozen. I pulled the batteries out and my recording was completely lost. It was a mission critical recording and so I had a backup. This piece of junk went straight back to where it came from.2. With the hold switch engaged, the unit will still power off when the power switch is engaged! What were they thinking? When the hold switch is engaged, the two main buttons you would not want to work are stop and power. Complete fail.3. Like many manufacturers, Marantz has gone the way of cheapening their products so they can increase their profit. This thing is lightweight plastic. That's not what you want from a high end field recorder. It would probably break on the first drop. My MkI is all metal and has dents all over it. Still works great.I'm really disappointed in Marantz. Definitely avoid this product.

Really good. Simple and chunky controls, excellent sound quality. One star deducted for not being able to run the device from a powerbank.

The product is impressive. There are many great features that enhance the quality of your recordings. I am happy with this purchase.

As a court reporter, I have used Marantz for decades. Only brand to buy. It is a reliable recorder and the sound is like you were right there.

Recording is pristine and price is fabulous!!!!

They ruined it. I had an old one that worked great for over 7 years. This one, however, has a plastic case, feels like a toy, and the unit I got had crackly, distorted sound. Probably just a bad single unit, but the build of the thing is so cheesy, that I don't have confidence in getting a replacement. Returned it for a refund, and got a Tascam DR-100MKIII instead, which is great.

Crashing:• If the battery level gets too low on the Marantz MKIII, it crashes. When you reboot it, all of the record settings revert back to default. Sometimes, I’ll just get a buzz in the headphones.Battery usage:• This Marantz uses batteries much faster than the older models. Sometimes, it’s deceiving, because the battery level icon will change back and forth, from fully charged to half charged. I’m replacing batteries more often to avoid the crash that comes when the battery level is too low.Audio levels peaking/record level very low:• With this recorder, the “Mic Attenuated” settings have to be -18dB. If that level is any higher, the audio will over-modulate, even if I’m recording a person who speaks at a normal/quiet volume. To compensate for the low Mic Atten. level, I have to turn the “Record Level” (the knob on the side of the Marantz) all the way up. Even then, the audio is still too low, and I have to really boost the levels in when I'm mixing on my computer. As a result of the boosted levels, there’s too much presence in the recordings.