See how this recorder stacks up in our portable recorder comparison chart.

The field of affordable digital field recorders is getting crowded. But back when it wasn't, the Marantz PMD660 was one of the leaders. The company's new PMD620 promises to deliver pro features at an affordable price. Does it? Read on.

Here's Looking at You

Roughly the size and heft of a deck of cards, the PMD620 fits nicely in your palm. Three large round buttons in the center serve as record controls: Stop, Rec Pause, and Rec. Recording starts with a single press, handy for interviews and field work. To set levels, first press Rec Pause and use the +/– buttons mounted on the right side.

A four-way rocker ring with a center button handles transport, playback volume, and cursor chores. The Display/Menu/Store button is similarly multitasked: a quick press toggles between three screens on the tiny but readable display; hold the button for two seconds to enter the menu and then press it again to store your changes. Confusing? Not after you've used it awhile.

The power switch is a slider on the right side; it only takes a couple of seconds to power up and you're ready to record. The left side has three 1/8-inch jacks for line in, line out, and an optional remote.

With its crisp OLED display and reporter-friendly features, the palm-size Marantz PMD620 cuts a new niche in the flash recorder market. (Click to enlarge.)

Heavy metal screens at the top of the case protect two omnidirectional condenser mics, which are angled 110° apart. At the bottom you'll find the USB port and the slot for an SD card. Both of these, as well as the socket for the power adapter, are "protected" by very flimsy plastic doors. After only three weeks of use, one of the doors on my review unit no longer closes. You'll probably want to access the card often, too, because the built-in USB port is USB 2.0 "full speed" (i.e., slow) rather than "hi-speed" (fast).

Speaking of power, the PMD620 runs on two AA batteries. Battery life is quite good — Marantz claims around five hours and I can't argue. A lump-in-the-line AC adapter is included. You also get an audio Y-cable, a USB cable, a wrist strap, a camera tripod bracket, and a 512MB SD card. The PDM620 accepts SDHC (high capacity) cards as well, reportedly up to two terabytes (2,048GB!) in size, so if those ever arrive, you'll be ready.

Presenting the Fabulous Presets

One thing that sets the PMD620 apart from the pack is how you set recording options. Instead of dialing up parameters for file type and resolution, you select one of three presets. Each preset contains a full set of parameters — everything from input through record format and sample rate, mic attenuation, "plug-in power" for external microphones, low cut filter … 24 options in all; including such universal choices as file sorting scheme, date format, LED brightness, and Machine ID.

This means you can quickly jump between radically different working states. For instance, I set up one preset for recording MP3 files at a session using the internal microphones, no limiting, no low-cut filter, and with the level LED set to light at –6dB. I also created one for live recording at 16/44.1, and another for lo-res MP3 monaural voice recording using an external mic. The presets are stored on the PMD620 itself, but you can also save them to SD card and transfer them to another unit, which could be helpful for organizations with multiple recordists.

If it were possible to select presets via hardware I might be more excited about the preset feature. But you must enter the menu to choose a preset, and then confirm your choice with a second button press. That slows things down a bit.