Marantz PMD 706 is now shipping at last. The new ultra low budget recorder of choice?

I

IronFilm

Veteran
I just got emailed a notification that finally this is in Stock at B&H:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...06_6_channel_dslr_record er_recording/BI/E15

This might *maybe* just perhaps replace the Tascam DR70D as the best recorder at this price point for film shoots, as they are both priced the same at a teeny bit under US$300.*

Who is going to be brave an order one first? :-D

(not me, I already have an F4! But I might start recommending this to people starting out, once I've seen some reviews)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNXvJd9p3Xc

 
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I looked at this unit as a possible option to the more expensive Zoom F4.

Unfortunately, it won't record multichannel .wav files. Instead, it records multiple stereo files.
 
I'm looking at this, the F8, and the MixPre 6. Can you tell me why the stereo files are an issue for you?
 
I bought the Marantz pmd661. It broke three times. On set, of course. The first time the AD luckily had a Zoom in his trunk. I was new and had no backup. Second time, I had a back up. Third time, I just gave up on it. The sound was great and all, easy to use, blah blah. But I won't buy Marantz again. It's crap to have the whole crew wait while you try to get it to work, and then have to use a backup you haven't used in months. Life is too short.
 
scottfs said:
I bought the Marantz pmd661. It broke three times. ... Life is too short.
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WEll as my old forman used to say "opinions are like a$$holes, everyone has one.". Generally with equipment YMMV. So not discounting the posters experience, I my self have issues with certain brands based on bad experience, but it's one persons experience. It is also completely un justified to make global claims with such a small sample size. A couple of hundred thousand in use and one guy can't make it work so the entire company is garbage? Sorry.

First anyone using a handheld for production... Really? give me a break. They were not designed for that, and they are quite unsuited for it.

Marantz has not been the pinnacle of "professional" on a bunch of levels but I have had a 671 for over ten years doing field FX recordings and concert recordings. So anywhere from nice controlled environments to hanging off the back of a semi to get tire sounds, to stunt plane fly bys that send us all diving for cover and have never had a problem. These were actual union scale productions not no-budget films. Not that the work is much different but the $$ at stake are significantly bigger.

Zoom on the other hand I have had a lot of issues with, but I still don't call the company trash.

I sympathize with feeling like a shmuck because your gear has an issue. It happens to everyone. The solution is to have backups and test, test, test. And I fully support your choice to avoid a product line you have had an issue with. BUT when giving advice you need to go beyond your personal prejudices, realize that you are part of the equation and that just because You don't work well with X's product doesn't mean it's bad just that it doesn't work for you. So say that you have had X bad experience is fine, to call a company junk because you have had those experiences is generally wrong. If you called customer support and they told you to kiss off then you may have a point. But your description doesn't in any way exclude user error. When I say I never had a problem I'm not counting times where say my batteries failed. NiMh kind of crap out with out warning, heads up. Or a CF card glitched, they have a limited life.

All of that aside ALL of these boxes these days are basically computers with audio input. So firmware is key to stability. This was an area Marantz deserved criticism a number of years back (like 15). From all accounts they have fixed most of those issues, but with any of these boxes expect to not get real stability till a few revisions in. Even SD has had to do firmware updates to fix problems. The folks aiming at professionals will generally have had better field testing before release and faster fixes after release. If you are an early adopter keep that in mind, and check for updates.
 
Oh, got side tracked. 6 channel recorder for $50 a track!

From what I read the Zoom F series is still a better choice for production and less controlled situations, but $50 a track!

From history I will guess that the "limiters" are pretty useless and the roll offs are too gentle, but even as a bit bucket $50 a track is pretty impressive.

If nothing else this could be a box scooped up by FX recordists.
Personally I would wait till some folks have road tested it a bit and a firmware update or two have come out to fix issues nobody has noticed yet. But I was still advising caution a year and a half into the F series.
 
ggrantly said:
If Jim thinks he needs it, that's good enough for me. Oh crap, I started that again.
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I assume this was a poke more than a serious post, but there is a point kind of.

People have different workflows/ needs and that is perfectly valid. The other thread went down the rabbit hole trying to convince him he didn't really need poly wave files. I personally don't think it's an issue but it's his workflow and if nothing else it's what he thinks he needs.

The only time I have an issue is when folks claim something is deficient in some general way because it doesn't work the way they want to work. It's fine to point out your issue and why it doesn't work for you, after all there are probably others that have similar needs/wants.

Which is where it rolls back around to "that's good enough for me".
If that means Jim knows what he wants, don't bug him. That is fine. But if it means "if Jim has an issue we should all follow his lead", then not so much.

This list has a fair number of very inexperienced users read it and they sometimes take things literally as "rules".

In this particular case Jim has a problem with, or just doesn't want to bother with syncing multiple stereo files. It is not an issue 99% of people will have so it's a very specific issue he has. If for some reason you have a similar need/ aversion then this is relevant, if you are everyone else it's not. It's not a "non-issue" just not one very many people will have.
 
A poke it was. The real point is to not let your karma run over your dogma. I don't know Jim, but he has been a valuable contributor here and deserves respect even if he chooses a different path than the folks that were shouting him down. I have been skewered on a few occasions at DVXuser and for sure, I have less experience in video production here than many as I started from zero about 10 ago. But I didn't just fall off the turnip truck either after founding three corporations and managing some pretty large and complex projects before that. So probably I know more about starting and running a business or project than most, but the point is, even the janitor might have a different take than my own dogma and have a positive contribution to a problem.

I was really pleased to see you say this; "In this particular case Jim has a problem with, or just doesn't want to bother with syncing multiple stereo files. It is not an issue 99% of people will have so it's a very specific issue he has. If for some reason you have a similar need/ aversion then this is relevant, if you are everyone else it's not. It's not a "non-issue" just not one very many people will have".

Best Regards and Respect to All
Grant
 
FYI, the Zoom F8n is now in stock at B&H.

I ordered the Tascam DR-701D as it offers the most connectivity features useful to me including BNC and HDMI timecode input, mixed stereo line out, 1/4-20 camera/tripod mount, decent audio specs.
 
Noiz2 said:
Oh, got side tracked. 6 channel recorder for $50 a track!

From what I read the Zoom F series is still a better choice for production and less controlled situations, but $50 a track!
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It is crazy cheap! Although now that the Zoom F4 has seen such a large price drop I'd always be recommending the F4 over the PMD706 even though it does cost a little more.

scottfs said:
I bought the Marantz pmd661. It broke three times. On set, of course. The first time the AD luckily had a Zoom in his trunk. I was new and had no backup. Second time, I had a back up. Third time, I just gave up on it. The sound was great and all, easy to use, blah blah. But I won't buy Marantz again. It's crap to have the whole crew wait while you try to get it to work, and then have to use a backup you haven't used in months. Life is too short.
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This is not helpful at all without specifics of what failed when and how.

Tom Roper said:
FYI, the Zoom F8n is now in stock at B&H.

I ordered the Tascam DR-701D as it offers the most connectivity features useful to me including BNC and HDMI timecode input, mixed stereo line out, 1/4-20 camera/tripod mount, decent audio specs.
Click to expand...

Why the Tascam over the Zoom F4? I feel the DR701D was a good value product at the moment in time it was released, but that all ended shortly after once the Zoom F4 hit the market. Especially now it is only a hundred bucks more, unless you really really really need that HDMI input.
 
IronFilm said:
Why the Tascam over the Zoom F4? I feel the DR701D was a good value product at the moment in time it was released, but that all ended shortly after once the Zoom F4 hit the market. Especially now it is only a hundred bucks more, unless you really really really need that HDMI input.
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Gh5 uses HDMI for timecode synch. Gh5s and F55 can also use BNC which is good but DR701D covers both. F4 would have been a nice choice but $100 more and no HDMI.
 
$100 extra is nothing for the extra features of the F4
And for HDMI you'd have to be tied down to the camera, awful, I'd rather not do that!
 
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