Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

Recorder overall is wonderful. Great screen, like the mushy buttons, but.. build quality stinks; battery case is flimsy and loose once closed; the back of this recorder should have a metal case and a better fit and finish deserving of the Marantz name; and the tripod holder/beltclip is awful; recorder doesn't lock in; the only way to secure the recorder is to tighten the tripod screw, and doing so drives the screw right into contact with the back of the recorder; there is no protection from thread scratching; the belt clip portion is too short.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I work at a church and use the recorder to record the sermon so we can put them online. I appreciate the variety of recording settings available and the fact that I can have the file recorded and saved in the proper format at a manageable size. I was also very impressed with how easy it has been to transfer the files to my computer via USB - just drag and drop!

I find the settings menu a little difficult to navigate, but other than that have no complaints!

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I have only owned this product for a couple of weeks, but I already enjoy it's benefits. I have owned a Marantz PMD660 for 5 years now, and although I love everything about it, The size has been a bit of an issue. I travel a lot as a freelance audio engineer and the 660 was the smallest most reliable digital recorder I could find. That was until the introduction of the 620. All the same features are represented on the 620 except for the XLR mic inputs. In my situation, I have a mixing console that I would use to feed my Marantz, so the microphone XLR inputs not being there, is not a big concern. It would be different if the XLR on the 660 was switchable for line or mic level, but it is not. So the 620's mini mic input will probably never be utilized for me. So I will always use line input and with that I get all the features of the 660 in a much smaller package.

The only reason I have given this product 4 out of 5 stars is the fact that there are no XLR inputs and less recording format options as some other digital recorders. As for price, size and reliability, you can not beat the PMD620!

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

This recorder is very simple in it's menus, hookups and control. It offers uncompressed WAV files, or simple MP3 files. It's my backup, my primary and my transcriber all in one. The files need no unusual software unless you need to convert uncompressed to MP3. It's super light-weight and attaches easily to my run and gun bag. The quality of the audio is superb.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

great sound recorder. replay is fantastic

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

This recorder has screwed up more files than I can say plus it works very unreliably. I have recorded live concerts (or so I thought) only to get home and find that while the files have normal looking file sizes, the files are BLANK and do not play anything. I have seen others having the same problems. The battery goes down very quickly, and SOMETIMES when you hit REC you hear loud feedback as it doesn't always turn the speaker off when recording. Sometimes the speaker is already turned off by me manually but it still screams. Not a quick step to turn it off either - cannot be done on the fly) And the thing is you never know when it will happen - very embarrassing when you hit record in a live situation and it wails loudly...The menus are not very intuitive and you have to make sure you remember to change the battery type each time you switch from rechargeable to alkaline (why doesn't it know like every other device??) Also does not have 96 khz res choice. When it works, the sound is good. I like it's feel and do not mind the build quality. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes and it's light. I have heard that Marantz says it has problems with Tanscend and Kingston cards and they recommend only Lexar and San Disk. I have found this to be the case also. BUT I will never trust it and am buying something more reliable.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

Great recorder, great sound, fairly versatile in set-up. But don't even think about buying it unless you buy an SD card reader at the same time. When you mount the unit on your desktop via USB, it may take 15 - 20 minutes just to properly mount, before you can transfer the audio files.
For example, I just plugged it in to my Mac (OS 10.5.7) and opened the drive window. I single-clicked on the first file.....
then I opened my browser, went to BHphoto.com and shopped for an SD card reader, found one, ordered it, printed the receipt, and drank a coke...
Then I went back to the desktop to find that the card was still "fetching..." data and was not yet ready to transfer the file.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

Extremely handy and reliable so far (1 month of use). This recorder can tap into soundboards, use an external mic, or record from its own built in stereo speakers. Also, user can manually set levels OR use the auto gain control as well.

This is my first Marantz product, and I am pleased.

BTW, it only offers a small stereo input plug, so you may need to pick up a few cables/adaptors to be able to record from normal devices.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I am a wedding videographer and used to use iRivers to record audio from the cermony and reception.
Well the iRivers don't work anymore with the latest version of Mac OS 10.5.6.
So I looked into these professional recorders.
The two that I narrowed it down to was the Edirol R-09 and Marantz

Going with the PMD 620 I am very satisfied with the following:
-Location of the MIC input, is on top not the side so it can be easily dropped into someone's pocket.
-Plastic case holder has a belt clip and screw thread on it.
-Pretty happy with tech phone support.
-Size is a bit bigger than a deck of playing cards

Dissatisfied with:
You definitely need a card reader. This has USB 1.0 transfer and even if a 2GB SD card is empty it takes the computer 5 minutes to scan it.
When I had the 8GB Ultra ll card in the recorder (empty) and plugged it into my MAC it never finished scanning it after 15 minutes.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I work in public radio and collect broadcast-quality audio. For a long time I was using the M-Audio Microtrack II which worked alright, but had some major set-backs (such as a rechargable battery that stopped holding a decent charge after less than a year of use, the inability to mark tracks in the middle of an interview, etc).

My boyfriend know about these gripes and more I had with the Microtrack and bought me the PMD620 as a gift. I spent the whole weekend reading the manual and testing it out and the verdict is...LOVE. It has so much more functionality than any other machine I've used.

You can create presets with deep specifics and access them very easily. You can mark tracks silently and there's a function to split tracks automatically at different time intervals. There's built in speakers, so you can play back audio without headphones. You can record in mp3 and wav at various levels of quality. It takes batteries and has a long power adaptor cord. It has auto levels, so if you're interviewing someone in a crowd or noisy environment, the machine can set the peak levels without you having to pause the action and fumble with the buttons.

In short, this little (pocket-sized) machine is super-powerful, functional and very easy to use.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I have tried many of the "professional" handheld recorders on the market in the past year and nothing compares to the PMD620.

My applications are diverse including dialog and music recording and the flexibility of the unit allows me to switch settings quickly via the user defined presets.

I disagree completely with the comments below about the construction, the ABS/Metal case is the most solid one on the market and the rubberized buttons and the best! The OLED screen with 4 screen choices make it the easiest to use and the Audio quality is also the best I tested in this price point.

I would recommend this recorder!

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

It is a nice equipment but has negative side.

High comsumption with batteries. I really recomended rechargable batteries with a high mHa I used 2900 mHa.

when I used internal microphone produce too much bass. and brake the voice principally with auto recording.

I own other portable recorders and I really prefer Zoom H2 in quality for using internal michrophone or zoom H4,second is cheaper but it doesn´t have editing for broadcasting as the PDM 620.

Is a plastic build case.

The menu settings are easy to used after disscuss with a other friend.
Small size letters for a people who need read with glasses.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

The latest firmware (as of Dec 2008) is v2.27 which I received from Marantz with a short update guide.There is no latency, the auto level control (ALC) works great, the data formats are all correct (as far as I can tell from use in Adobe Audition, Windows media player, Winamp, and various other wav, mp3 players and editing programs.The noise floor on this unit is very very good and the recording quality is pristine.I have made several recordings of just me and my Taylor guitar. The recordings were so convincing that my wife thought I was playing when I was I was simply playing back the music on my home system.The battery life claims of 4 hours are grossly conservative. I use 2200mAhr NiMH rechargeables (that are a year old btw). I get 6 hours from these batteries. I have 2600mAhr AA's on route. I suspect that one could get as much as 7 hours of recording on a good set of NiMH rechargeables .... that should put a smile on your face.I have recorded using both the external mic and my PA system line out with everything from the previously mentioned acoustic setting, to my entire band blaring at club levels. Everything came out sounding fantastic.Marantz support was great and responded to my request for a firmware update in a polite and quick manner. With my update Marantz stated the following: "Please note, we strongly recommend using Lexar and SanDisk SD and SDHCcards with the PMD620"I have a 4Gb SanDisk SDHC headed my way from [...]. We will see how it goes ;)The ability to mount the unit on a tripod (my camera tripod) is perfect. Other recorders require an additional purchase for this.I researched alot before making this purchase. I compared the Marantz to the Edriol 09HR, The M-Audio Microtrack II, and the Sony PCM-D50.The Edriol had lower audio quality to my ears, and persistant quality issues with the phone jack breaking.The M-Audio's use of a proprietary battery that must be sent back to the manufacturer to be replaced (think iPod esque) removed it from the running despite its good recording quality.The Sony simply got disqualified because of price. If money were not of any concern, it would have won. I would have missed the MP3 and mono capabilities of the Marantz anyway.I paid ~[$] USD for the Marantz. In this price category, it is the best unit presently being made.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

Uses: Live music recordings

Pros: easy to use portable, handheld field recorder with decent sound and build quality

Cons: If the batteries die while recording, you will lose all files on your memory card!

I like the size and functionality of the unit. It's easy to carry in a jacket or shirt pocket to quickly capture some decent sounding live recordings. However, the battery/file loss issue has me regretting buying the unit. I have lost some amazing music on several occasions by not monitoring the battery levels.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I read a lot of good reviews on the Marantz PMD-620 and decided to buy it for my fieldwork research to record both voice interviews and musical performances.The main reason I decided to purchase the Marantz PMD-620 was primarily because reviews on the internet claimed it was built well and rugged. I need rugged reliable equipment. Unfortunately, it proved to be neither rugged nor reliable.My first impression when I picked up the 620 was one of disappointment -- the body's plastic construction felt cheap and thin and the switches and pushbuttons felt weak and not did not provide a positive tactile feel. For the price, the unit should have a metal body. The battery door and the SD card door both feel quite fragile and feel like they could break at any time when changing batteries, especially if the temperature was below zero.Why do manufacturers develop good products, then cheap-out on the construction and instead of spending [$]on a metal hatch or door, they spend [$]and make a bad plastic one.But the read disappointment came when the unit stopped working after only 3 days of use. I had to ship it to the USA because it does not have an international warranty and Marantz China refused to honour the warranty.The sound quality is good and the unit's menu interface is easy to use. But overall, Marantz really ought to rethink their design and build quality- it shouldn't be THAT hard to build a good player

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

I use this product for recording bird calls.

I find its size ideal for trekking around in the bush and it is simple to operate.

The manual is a bit vague and the Engrish is quite amusing.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

Very nice quality. I give it 5 stars if you are willing to spend 15 minutes learning how to use it.

Comments about Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:

Small, portable, lightweight, excellent sound quality, and minimal. The PMD620 is an excellent machine, able to record in MP3 and WAV. Although mostly plastic, it does not feel flimsy and has metal in all the crucial places. Recording using the Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic produces excellent recordings with very minimal hiss until the recording level is pushed excessively. One-touch recording is a good feature, although pushing 'pause' first allows you to adjust levels first before recording is initiated. This option is beneficial in that it is often easy to forget to push 'rec' the second time to actually begin recording (as is true for many other flash recorders), and one-touch recording enables you to never miss a moment. Handling noise is an issue when using the built-in microphones, the biggest problem being toggling between the menus while recording (ie. track time and recording levels, both cannot be viewed at the same time). But, using an external mic eliminates these issues. Oh ya, and there's no sweet protective sleeve. There is one issue with the monitoring latency, in that there is a slight delay in the headphones. But, fortunately Marantz has addressed this issue and updated the firmware, available here: [@] Problem solved!As a photojournalist, gear and weight issues, and durability of equipment is priority. The PMD620 exels in all of these areas. The file quality is superb, and the recorder's functions aren't too badly buried in menus. Easy to navigate through the menus and its functions using the x-y-axis pad (for lack of better description).