Marantz 661 User Manual

Marantz 661 – User Guide

This unit records on SD cards and records audio into .wav files. You will need to provide an SD card
for recording (nothing larger than a 16GB card is recommended), four AA batteries and headphones
with a ¼ to mini headphone adapter.

SETTING UP:

-The deck takes 4 x AA batteries or plug in the AC adaptor into the ‘DC in’ plug on the right side of the
unit. The batteries go into the compartment on the back of the unit. The SD card slot is also on this
side of the unit.

-Plug the microphone into the L (left) mic in XLR jack on the bottom of the unit (it has MONO
marked on the side of the input). Make sure the MIC/LINE switch is set to MIC.

-Plug your headphones into the Phones jack on the top left of the unit. There is a HP/SPK volume
dial on the front of the unit beside the Phones jack. This allows you to control the volume of your
headphones or the speakers on the unit. You will need a mini to ¼ inch adaptor for your headphones
(like this one). Please keep in mind it only controls how loud the sound is in your ears, it does not
affect the recording level. If you do not have headphones plugged in to the unit, make sure the level
for the speakers is turned down before you start to record.

-The Power button is on the right side of the unit. (Beside the Key Lock)

-The display will turn on and “Marantz Professional” will display briefly. If the card is empty and you
have not yet started to record then the display will show the available recording space depending on
the size of the SD card, “Total Remain: 12:58:05”. The smaller 000 display is for the track number.
Mic should also be displayed (this indicates use of an external microphone).

-The battery display should read full. If the battery shows only half full, you have 5 to 10 minutes of
recording time left. If the display is flashing you have 1 to 3 minutes left. If the battery display is
completely empty then the batteries are dead or not installed properly. If you have no other AA
batteries then switch to the AC adaptor. The display will show a small electrical plug indicating you
are plugged in to an outlet.

TO BEGIN RECORDING:

-Press the recording button ‘REC’ to begin recording. A red circle will light up on the button. The
display will show a circle and REC indicating the machine is recording. Press the ‘Rec Pause’
button. This will pause the recording.

- The new Track number will be displayed “1001”. Each time you stop and start recording again the
machine creates a new track “1002”, ‘1003’ and so on. Take note when an interviewee says something
that you know you want to use, what track it is recorded on and what time it was at. This makes
finding the quotes easier when you return to class.

-The Track Time will be displayed. This shows you how long this particular track recording is. When
you hit STOP the display will switch and show you how many tracks have been recorded and the Total
Remain time for recording.

-Set the sound levels for your interview using the REC Level dial on the right corner of the unit.
Have your interviewee speak into the microphone and adjust the dials so the levels are peaking
between -10 and -6db. Do not go over 0db.

-Once the levels are set, press the ‘REC’ switch again. This releases the Pause on the machine and
begins recording. Once you are finished recording push Stop.

TO PLAY BACK:

-

To playback simply use the ‘Track Jump’ buttons  or to select the track number you wish to

play. Press the ‘Play/Pause’ /ll button to start playback

- The display will show what track you are playing and the recorded time for that track. If you want to
play back the sound through the external speakers instead of the headphones, unplug the headphone
jack and the sound will come out of the speakers.

-Pick your clips and make a list of what track they are on and at what time on that track the clip starts
and ends. Write down the first few words and last few words to help you find the correct clip later.

TO DELETE A TRACK:

- Press the ‘LIST’ button and select the track number you wish to delete. Press the ‘ENTER’ button
(also Play/Pause). Select ‘DELETE’ from the list on the display and press ‘ENTER’. From the prompt
‘File Delete?’, choose YES.

- Push the ‘EXIT’ button when you have finished deleting tracks.

WARNING: MAKE SURE YOU DELETE THE CORRECT TRACK! THERE IS NO WAY OF

RETRIEVING IT!

TO FORMAT THE SD CARD

- Press the ‘MENU’ button and use the d own arrow (Pitch -) to scroll down to #4 Utility. Press the
‘ENTER’ button. Use the down arrow to #7 Card. Press ‘ENTER’ to select. At the prompt ‘CARD
FORMAT?’, use the  arrow button to choose ‘Yes’. Hit the ‘ENTER’ button. ‘EXECUTING’ will
appear. The display will return to the main screen and the Total Remain time should read 12:58:05.

WARNING: THIS WILL ERASE ALL MATERIAL ON THE SD CARD! Make sure the material on the
SD card won’t be needed, there is no way of retrieving the files after formatting.

TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS:

1.) If the machine is f rozen and won’t turn off, remov e the batteries from the back casing a nd let it sit for a

few minutes. Then gently place the batteries back in to the compartmen t.

2.) If you are getting feedback check that your headphones are plugge d i n properly. If you aren’t using

headphones, make sure the headphone volume is turned down to 0 when recording. If that doesn’t
work, check the Mic/Line switch beside the XLR jacks for the mic. The switch should be set in the
middle position (or OF F P48).

3.) If you aren’t displa ying any incoming sound on the vu meter che ck that your mic is plugged into the

LEFT XLR jack (marked MONO) and that y our VU level meter is turned up. If that doesn’t work, make
sure that the displ ay on the recorder is reading MIC. I f it is displaying a different setting (ie. LINE or
INT MIC) you can go through the men u options and select ‘MIC’.

Marantz 661 – MkIII (new model)

The recording level (Rec Level) dial is on the right side.
Make sure the two white lines (representing the le f t and
right channels) sta y together while adjusting the levels.

The phantom power switch (On/Off/Line) is on the top
beside the headphone jack. It should always be set to off.

Troubleshooting:

The main display on the front is the same.
Menu: accesses the menu functions for the device, including

formatting an SD card and setting recording functi ons
Display: push to see what the current device settings a re, battery

power and recording time.
Play/Pause/Enter: plays and pauses the recording and is also the

‘Enter’ button when in the menu.
Record: Press when you’re ready to record. I s lit up red while

recording, flashing red if paused.
VU meter: to monitor the strength of the incom ing audio in decibels.

● Make sure your SD card is in the machine before powering on. If you insert your card after powering on

it won’t recognize it. Turn the machine off, put your SD card in and turn it on again.

● I have programmed the recorders to default to a created preset. It appears it isn’t saving to the firmware

on all the new machines as it did to the old ones. The easiest way to check is to look at the display. You
should see mic in the top right corne r. If you hit the ‘Display’ button it will show you all the current
settings for the recorder. If you don’t se e ‘Mic’ follow the steps below.

Setting the internal controls:

1) To reload the preset, the button under ‘Menu’ (to the left of the ‘Function’ button). Use the arrow key s

around the Play/Pause/Enter button to scroll through the choices. Make sure ‘Presets’ is selected (it’ll
be highlighted white) and press Enter button. The presets will be li sted by number. Make sure ‘Preset1’
is selected and press enter.

2) If the preset doesn’t load and ‘Mic’ isn’t displayed, then you can edit the preset yourself. Go through the steps above,

but choose ‘Edit’ instead of ‘Select’ from the preset menu.

Scroll through the settings and change the choices to the ones listed is the pictures below (using the arrow keys beside

the enter button to find the correct settings).

Once you’ve changed the settings, push the button under EXIT (to

the left of the ‘Function’ button).

You will be prompted to STORE the settings. Choose ‘Yes’ and hit

‘Enter’.

Once you’ve created the preset, go through the first set of set under “Setting
the internal controls” above and load the preset.

Now you’re ready to go! If you tap the ‘Display’ button it will scroll through

your current setting so you can double check them.