Shoot Review — Marantz Professional CDR300

Professional CD recorder captures great audio.

The front panel of the Marantz CDR300 CD recorder features bothbalanced and 1/4in. inputs with fairly noiseless mic pre-amps andseparate volume controls.

As times get tighter economically, small video businesses arelooking for diverse income sources. For-hire audio services are helpingto fill the gap for many smaller video businesses. Typical tasks ofsuch services are capturing audio for training and sales and recordingpristine audio during film or video shoots. Wouldn't it be nice if youcould just hook up a good-quality microphone and a CD player —and then record a narration direct to CD?

For years film crews have used small, studio-quality cassette andreel recorders to record audio as a backup or original source and forambient audio capture. Now video professionals can perform the samejob, only with digital quality and the robustness of compact discs.

The Marantz CDR300 is the first portable audio recorder that easilyrecords in realtime directly to blank CD-R and CD-RW disks. Not only isthe audio quality better — for as little as a quarter apiece, CDsare now cheaper than cassettes. And let's face it, CDs are the de factostandard for most things audio.

I found the standalone CDR300 to be more than ready to go into thefield, weighing about 7lbs. It is also the only professional-level CDrecorder with an optional lead-acid battery (with recharger, $199),which allows the small unit to operate for about four hours of standarduse. Popular bag maker PortaBrace makes a great case that fits theCDR300, too.

With the Marantz CDR300, it's as simple as hooking up a professionalmic, setting levels, hitting record, and then “Finalizing”the CD. You'll wind up with a finished disc that plays in virtually anyCD player. And if you want to play it back right away, this unit soundsgreat despite having only one small speaker.

At first I wondered about the usefulness of a CD recorder besidesthe standard CD-R recorder in my computer. But now I wonder how I gotalong without it. The advantages of separate solo audio capture anddirect-to-CD recording cannot be overstated. Instead of using the micsof a DV camera — which invariably deliver so-so results — Iused studio mics and the CD recorder for greater fidelity. Theimportance of a clapper (a visual/audio event designed to aid insynching the video to the audio) or a visible timecode number becameevident when I married video footage to the “enhanced”audio from a CDR300-recorded CD in postproduction.

A CD recorder that works like a tape deck is very handy indeed. Thisproduct has lots of nice, unexpectedly useful features. For example,the built-in speaker with bass, midrange, and treble controls is veryconvenient for playing back CDs in the field. At about $600 street, theCDR300 carries a somewhat considerable cost. But considering what itdoes, it's relatively inexpensive. Pristine audio is crucial —and almost anything cassette tape can do, CDs can do better.

When it comes to audio mixers and recorders, one can never haveenough ins and outs. Luckily the CDR300 provides just enough in aportable unit. The front panel features both balanced inputs (sometimescalled a “cannon” or “three-prong” plug) and1/4in. (high-impedance) inputs. These inputs also have good, fairlynoiseless mic pre-amps. Each has volume control, and they can behandled individually or together. The rear of the unit has stereo RCAoutputs. It would be nice to have balanced outs, too.

You can record the combination of the left and right signals as amono feed or record each separately in stereo. You can send the Mix Outto another audio recorder and the Line Out to your mixer/P.A. Need totake those old albums and cassettes and convert them to CDs? There'salso an Aux In so you can record from a cassette, turntable, or otherA/V source. Recording levels can be adjusted manually or automatically.Perhaps most importantly there is a digital (SPDIF) in and out so youcan keep your signal path as pure as possible.

I used the CDR300 evaluation unit for capturing audio on a recentvideo shoot and in the studio both for music and audio for video. I rantwo Shure SM58 mics directly to the unit and will use this ambientaudio when I mix in 5.1 surround sound. Additionally, in the edit suiteI recorded original music beds from SmartSound's SonicFire Pro and alsoplayed back music from library CDs for background narration music. Forrecording your own music, it's a musician's dream.

One of the nice features of the CDR300 is the record-by-minutefeature, with each track of the CD equal to one minute. This is veryhandy in recording long periods of dialog as well as meetings,seminars, etc. Another nice feature is that you can program the EQdesired for each of the inputs, and you also have a master three-bandEQ to affect the overall sound.

There's no doubt that I loved the ease of use of the CDR300. MarantzProfessional truly has made recording a CD as easy as recording atraditional cassette tape. Play, Pause, Stop, Record, Fast Forward andRewind all work as expected. The control panel is conveniently locatedon top. Choose the record mode, turn on and off 48V phantom power, andstore your various EQ settings. The included IR remote control hasalmost every function. You can use the Text feature to title songs aswell as the CD itself.

A professional-level CD recorder might not be the first on your listof equipment to purchase, but once you've used it you'll wonder how youever made do without. The Marantz CDR300 can certainly pay for itselfeventually. Add billable audio services by taking on projects liketape-to-CD conversions, recording audio training seminars, creating CDdemos for musicians or voiceover talent, or use it to back up audio andcapture ambient audio on a shoot. The CDR300 offers many professionalaudio recording functions worthy of your consideration.

Tom Patrick McAuliffe spent way too much money on new toys thispast Christmas. Reach him at reelcom1@comcast.net.

Company: Marantz Professional Itasca, Ill.; (630)741-0330
www.marantzpro.com

Product: CDR300 CD Recorder

Assets: Portable (weighs about 7lbs.); built-in microphoneand speaker; manual or automatic level control for recording;programmable mic/line EQ; balanced and 1/4in. inputs, stereo RCAoutputs.

Caveats: EQ and Limiter a little weak; needs a carryingcase.

Demographic: Video professionals looking to startfield-recording direct to CD.

Price: $899.99

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