Marantz PMD660 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder

This is a timeless classic after just a few years on the market. I waited 40 years for this recorder to come out, having suffered through "portable" $3K reel-to-reel recorders and then insufferably unreliable cassette recorders since the early Seventies. The 660 takes some getting used to and time to build your confidence in its use. Before Marantz was purchased by a private equity company, you could call Marantz directly and talk to tech support. I have four 660's now and wouldn't trade them for anything. Bulletproof reliable, super long record times (70 plus hours on a 4GB CF card), lightweight, and cheap (new, less than $500. eBay, about half). Once you program this recorder and make a few notes to remind yourself of the order in which you press buttons (I'm over 60), this is a breeze. I use Martel's all-in-one transcribing program with the 660 and it's a marriage made in heaven. Try 2 Shure boundary mikes with phantom power for awesome conference recording. Set it for line in to record from mixers. This is a true plug and play, or should I say "record and play" recorder. No drawbacks, no complaints, no disappointments. Try it, you'll like it.