Marantz Podcast Gear

I don’t know if this solid state recorder from Marantz would be good for podcasting, as an external recorder or mobile recording device. I do know that just looking at the ugly ass yet rugged Marantz form factor makes me happy. I used their analog cassette decks at WREK and they always rocked. In fact, the models they had there allowed you to plug a phone handset in and use it as a mike input. I used that as my phone interview recording mechanism for a long time. I also used them as my local uplink station when I was doing phone remotes (long story, but it worked great.) If someone that listens to my podcast recently hit the lottery and is floating in cash, it is getting close to XMas …. I have no idea how much this costs but Marantz != cheap.

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dave

Dave Slusher is a blogger, podcaster, computer programmer, author, science fiction fan and father. Member of the Podcast Hall of Fame class of 2022.

9 thoughts on “Marantz Podcast Gear”

  1. A quick survey of prices from froogle.com reveals that you could conceivably get one of these for as little as $670 or so. I doubt that one of these is in my podcasting future.

  2. Guys, not that I have any problem with the alternate suggestions, but I’m not actually casting about for external recording solutions. You should read the original post more as a valentine to or daydream about the Marantz box. This in no small part because it looks like it is jammed into exactly the same form factor as the old cassette decks that were such ruggedly dependable workhorses for me, and on which I have logged a whole lot of interview time.

  3. Dave, I have used the Marantz PMD670 you mentioned for about the last month. The thing is awesome. At least in my case, no more Audacity / hard drive worries. I wanted something that would work at home and on the road – wasn’t quite sure where my podcasting adventures would take me. 🙂

  4. I use the CD version of the Marantz recorder, a CDR300, as my backup or sometimes when I’m recording remotes for IT Conversations. In the studio, my primary recorder is SoundForge running on Windows XP with a 24-bit digital interface, and my third recorder — yes, I’ve had to count on it on occassion — is a Sony VHS recorder. That’s right, VHS HiFi audio in six-hour mode is quite good and very inexpensive both for the gear and the media.

    Having used the CDR300 and many recorders for a long time, however, I would second SteveSgt’s recommendation for a Sony MD, particularly the new model that uses HiMD disks. I used three of these recorders at Bloggercon III, one in each room. Because they record 8 hours (!) on a single HiMD disk, I was able to start them in the morning and just pick them up at the end of the day. Also, Sony has excellent ACG, so I never had to set a level. The only disadvantages are (a) it’s a proprietary format, and (b) you can only get audio out in real-time. No fast ripping like you can with a CD.

    Regarding the new Edirol recorder, I played with one at the Audio Engineering Society conference a few weeks ago. It’s okay, but not as well made as the Marantz gear, which is designed for pros. I expect to see a HUGE number of solid-state and disk-based recorders to appear in the next 12 months, so this could be a good time to delay purchases.

  5. Doug, I have the full archives of the satellite era of Reality Break on hifi VHS. It’s relatively compact and every production studio I worked in had one, so it was great. As I dubbed my DAT to send to the uplink station, I’d just record with this as well. When I needed to do a rerun, I’d just redigitize from the VHS and edit the bumpers and/or underwriting messages. This was in the mid 90s when there wasn’t enough storage in the DAWs to keep soft copies around. It all worked very well.

  6. I agree with Doug, lots of good options are on the horizon. Podcaster’s should have some great choices this time next year. I’m just not the patient type. P.S. Doug thanks for the RE20 recommendation – I love it.

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