SD card for Marantz PMD-661

[Erockin]

Can anyone recommend a good SD card for a Marantz PMD-661. I have been having nothing but trouble with the 16gig Delkin Pro class 6 cards I've bought so far. Just lost 2 nights of my bands recordings when the card decided to unformat itself this afternoon. Been getting constant card errors from the recorder when I try to record at high bit/sample rates. 16/44.1 has worked OK but I still get errors sometimes.

I'd like to be able to record digitally off my 01v96 mixer at 24/48k as this was why I spent the extra money on the Marantz recorder with the SPDIF input. Used a card from one of the band members camera a few times and it worked well. I think his was a Belkin(not Delkin)?

Definately need a large capacity card that can have 2-3 nights of shows as I usually don't have time to move the recordings onto my computer between every show.

Thanks!
Eric

[John Willett]

For quality and reliability - Nothing else but SanDisk.


Posted via the Gearslutz iPhone app

[Bixby]

Agreed, Sandisk has always worked for me.

However, I'd recommend using smaller cards and more of them. If one big one goes wonky, you lose everything. If one small one goes, you've only lost one set or whatever.

It's never happened to me, but silly not to work this way.

[Brackish]

Sandisk 8GB, Class 6, no problems at 24 bit/48.

[Erockin]

I'll try out Sandisk. I see they make a class 10 card. Is it worth it?

Thanks for the suggestion of smaller cards, you make a very good point.

Also what are the lifespans of these cards? How many times can I record/erase/reformat them before they should be replaced?

[jozzafunk]

Photofast, Lexar, Sandisk - all use top grade nano memory cells - Photofast are best priced.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Erockin

I'll try out Sandisk. I see they make a class 10 card. Is it worth it?

If the Class 6 works fine for 24/48, as I told you, why spend more.

[Erockin]

Originally Posted by Brackish

If the Class 6 works fine for 24/48, as I told you, why spend more.

Well, I appreciate your advice, but the current card I have is also class 6(from an apparently lesser manufacturer) and it didn't work so I'm a bit nervous about making another bad purchase. You also didn't state if you were using your cards with the same recorder and its always nice to get more than one opinion.

[Tronette]

Have tried two 661's with two of these cards and they seem to be incompatible - very slow access and intermittent buffer under-runs, especially at high resolution. Anybody else had this problem.

BTW, many other cheaper SD cards performed without this problem.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Tronette

Have tried two 661's with two of these cards and they seem to be incompatible - very slow access and intermittent buffer under-runs, especially at high resolution. Anybody else had this problem.

BTW, many other cheaper SD cards performed without this problem.

Were they genuine?

The top quality cards get faked.

Sent from my iPhone using Gearslutz

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Erockin

the current card I have is also class 6(from an apparently lesser manufacturer) and it didn't work so I'm a bit nervous about making another bad purchase. You also didn't state if you were using your cards with the same recorder

Yes, I'm using the card in that exact same recorder.

And you can't compare one brand's Class 6 to another's Class 6.
They're all different. I know this because I've compared the
Sandisk Class 6 to another major brand's Class 6 in a different
device and "the other brand" gave troubles (i.e. couldn't keep
up with the needed throughput) where the Sandisk did not
have that problem. And they were both labeled "Class 6".

As I said before, I only used the Sandisk 8GB Class 6 at 24/48
so I can't vouch for any other higher rates.
One thing I will say is that the Sandisk 16GB Class 10 does
give a noticeably higher sustained thoughput than the Sandisk 6
(based on testing in a different device) so if you want peace
of mind, go with the 10. In other words, the Sandisk "10" rating
is not a gimmick. It really does offer superior performance - if you
need it.

[antilog]

Can anyone comment on what card they are using to record at 24bit 96kHz?

[sonare]

If you visit SD Speed Class - SD Association you will learn alot about different card classes. And one thing is if the cards are genuine and undamaged all class 6 cards will perform at a minimum throughput rate.

It seems to me that we are shooting in the dark, however, until someone gives reliable bandwidth needed for each channel of 24/96.

Rich

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by antilog

Can anyone comment on what card they are using to record at 24bit 96kHz?

SanDisk


Posted via the Gearslutz iPhone app

[nkf]

Originally Posted by antilog

Can anyone comment on what card they are using to record at 24bit 96kHz?

Panasonic SDHC 8GB Class 10 in my PMD661 records 24/96 without problems.

[Firedog46]

I too was having problems finding cards that worked at higher frequencies.
I emailed Marantz and this was their response:


We strongly recommend using Lexar brand SD/SDHC class 6 cards with the PMD661. End users have also had good results using PNY and SanDisk class 6 cards. Also, be sure that you have the latest firmware update installed in your PMD661 (v1.17). If you don’t have it, you can download it here: D&M Pro - PMD661 Professional Portable Field Recorder

Feel free to contact technical support at (630) 741-0330, option 1, if you have any further questions.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
D&M Professional
1100 Maplewood Drive
Itasca, IL 60143

[antilog]

So I noticed that I hastily / mistakenly used a Class 4 card instead of my class 10 cards. This made me separate out those cards and mark them properly!

[md888]

I've used this recorder with a bunch of different brand/class cards in the past few months and have had errors with almost all of them. Strange as it sounds since they're usually best, avoid SanDisk and Lexar - especially the highest classes. I spoke to D&M tech support this afternoon, and they think SanDisk/Lexar have changed something internal in their most recent models that causes serious compatibility issues with the PMD661.

Same tech support guy also said Sony and PNY have tested the best, but this is different from what they told me 2 months ago - I would say call Marantz tech support for the latest scoop before you buy any cards.

The whole situation is pretty disappointing - the recorder's advertised as being SD/SDHC compatible, but has huge problems with the most widely available SD brands. Beware!

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Tronette

Have tried two 661's with two of these cards and they seem to be incompatible - very slow access and intermittent buffer under-runs, especially at high resolution. Anybody else had this problem.s

You asked about a problem with this card:

"Sandisk 16GB ultra class 4"

I have used this exact card a couple times without issue but I just pulled in a long file [2 or 3 hours] recorded on this card (at 24 bit 48K) and nothing so far has been able to read it. There were a number of shorter files on the card which came out okay. Not sure at this time if the file is corrupt or what. Planning to check to see if the 661 is able to play back the file. If so, I may have to do an analog capture as a last resort.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Brackish

You asked about a problem with this card:

"Sandisk 16GB ultra class 4"

I have used this exact card a couple times without issue but I just pulled in a long file [2 or 3 hours] recorded on this card (at 24 bit 48K) and nothing so far has been able to read it.

Just a follow-up ...

I was able to get the file to play in the 661 so I will do an analog capture (using the 661's Line-Out RCAs) as a workaround.

Will be going back to Class 6 cards with this machine.