Is the Marantz PMD740 just another cassette multitrack, or do Marantz, new to the 4-track field, have something new to offer behind the 'retro' facade? Dave Lockwood finds out.

Even in the highly competitive 4-track cassette market, the Marantz PMD740 is one model that is certain to get noticed. Four good old-fashioned, moving-coil VU meters dominate the design, giving a distinctly 'retro-tech' look. The curvaceous casing, flush-mounted transport controls, and an all-black colour scheme combine with the spacious control layout and subtle legending to give the unit a highly distinctive visual appeal.

DIRECT RECORDING

Like many of today's multitrackers, the Marantz has only two record busses, which double also as the stereo mix buss. There is no channel assignment, other than the Pan control selecting the left or right side of the buss, but the track Record select switches include a Direct option, where the track picks up the output of the correspondingly numbered channel. Otherwise, the left buss feeds the odd-numbered tracks, and the right the evens. This means that any channel can access any track by one route or the other.

Where it gets complicated, however, is when using the buss to record: you have to remember to pan everything but the wanted signal (including any Direct assigned signals, as these too feed the stereo buss), fully to the opposite side. Bearing in mind that on anything other than a straightforward Channel 1 to Track 1, Channel 2 to Track 2 setup there is no option other than to use the buss, you can find yourself doing rather a lot of this, particularly if you are using channels 5 and 6 to monitor a couple of MIDI sources.

Actual recording then requires only activation of a track-ready switch, followed by the transport Record switch. This automatically activates both Play and Pause, either of which can subsequently be used to start the tape moving — Pause on the PMD740 retracts the head-carrier, more like a normal Stop mode, the only difference being that Stop cancels recording.

When you actually start recording, the VU meters for the relevant tracks illuminate in red, leaving you in no doubt as to their status. If you had selected the wrong track by mistake, it would, by this time, already be too late — surely they should turn red on entering Ready mode, before recording?

Programmable auto drop-in is featured, giving another 'hands-free' option in addition to the footswitch drop-in facility. Whatever the method, dropping in on the PMD740 produces no undue low level clicks or thumps. Dropping out, however, must be timed carefully with the music, as the small gap between erase and rec/play heads always amounts to quite a significant amount of time on a cassette, perhaps as much as half a second if you're using the lower speed option. Auto-drop rehearsal is possible, allowing audible checking of in and out points, and these may also be examined on the counter by cycling it through current time, memory 1, memory 2, punch-in and punch-out.

NOISE REDUCTION

Whilst the PMD740 may be externally a bit 'retro', there are innovative things going on inside; all multitrack cassette machines are dependent on noise-reduction systems to overcome their inherent limitations of narrow track width and slow linear tape speed. The traditional view is that dbx offers the greatest degree of noise-reduction, but at the expense of some side effects, whereas Dolby systems, such as Dolby C, are rather kinder to signals, with the trade-off of a little more noise.

The Marantz, however, uses an intriguing and, as far as I am aware, unique, combination of dbx and Dolby HX Pro. HX Pro is not another noise reduction system — the HX stands for Headroom-eXtension, and the system works by varying the amount of 'bias' signal according to the high frequency content of the audio. Bias is an inaudible high-frequency signal applied to aid in the recording process — the more bias applied, the lower the distortion, but the greater the tendency to saturate, or overload, at high audio frequencies. HX Pro constantly monitors the signal and maintains an optimum bias to maximise clean reproduction of HF. Being bias-related, it is a record-only process to get the signal cleanly onto tape, unlike noise reduction systems, such as dbx, which must have both an encode stage, and a subsequent decode stage on replay.

The dbx noise reduction system applies both compression and pre-emphasis (treble boost) in recording, and decodes this with exact mirror-image expansion and de-emphasis (treble cut), on replay. The theory is that the signal is recovered exactly as it went in, whilst any noise introduced by the recording process itself (in between encode and decode), will be subject only to the decode side — ie. it will just be expanded and de-emphasised, reducing it to insignificant levels.

Like any noise reduction system, when there is high level signal present, it is relied upon to mask tape noise. Some people do not like dbx because it can occasionally be 'caught out' by a lack of masking frequencies in, say, a bass drum, leaving a halo of hiss around the sound. Personally I think these occasions are too few and far between to be worth worrying about when set against the benefits of the system.

More damaging, however, is the perception that dbx causes inevitable transient squash and dulling with certain signals — drum machines and dbx-equipped cassette multitrackers are the combination usually cited in evidence. In fact, the problem is invariably attributable to over-recording — the dbx system relies on recovering the same level it puts out, and driving the tape into overload ensures that this cannot happen. The expansion and de-emphasis can therefore no longer recover the original dynamics. Used correctly, within the linear region of the tape, dbx has far more benefits than vices in typical usage.

PERFORMANCE

There's no doubt about it, the Marantz PMD740 has got a lot going for it; good, solid, practical features of real operational value, such as the balanced XLR connectors, the insert points, the extensive EQ and the number of channels with decent facilities. The two independent headphone outputs are another major asset, allowing engineer and performer to monitor different sources, if necessary. Other excellent features, often omitted from cassette multitrackers, are four individual tape-track outputs, making remixing via a better desk possible. I was pleased also to see a pair of buss-in sockets, allowing another mixer — perhaps a sub-mixer for MIDI signals — to be parallelled with the Marantz on mixdown but not, of course, during recording, as the mix buss is used also for the tape send signals. Unusually, there is even a level control for the buss in.

After years of enjoying the benefits of ultrafast LED column metering, is a return to mechanical VUs just 'retro-tech' fashion, or is there anything to be said in their favour? Being subject to mechanical inertia, and therefore not fast enough to display transient peaks, VUs are designed to be 'averaging' level meters. In many ways this equates more closely to our ears' perception of loudness than a short-term peak-reading meter. With analogue tape, unlike any digital system, brief overloading on peaks produces no serious audible effects. Accurate dbx operation, however, requires that you work safely within the tape's linearity zone — without a peak-reading meter, you're really guessing your levels on transient signals. Unless accompanied by supplementary 'Peak' LEDs, I believe the return to mechanical VUs must therefore be seen as a poor operational choice for the dbx-equipped Marantz PMD740. Users will once again have to learn the difference between signals that can be trusted to read accurately, and those that can't.

I cannot really fault the PMD740 on audio performance; it is capable of recording to a standard that is at least the equal of any other 4-track cassette machine I have heard. A particularly low noise floor is provided by the dbx, and the reproduction of high frequencies is undoubtedly aided by the HX-Pro, for they are subjectively quite 'sweet' until significantly over-recorded. The slow meters, of course, do not help here — a triumph of style over practicality if ever there was one.

SYNCHRONISATION

The PMD740 has a pair of phono sockets dedicated to sync signal connection. When the Sync switch is activated, these go directly in and out of track 4, thus avoiding taking sync signals (which are renowned for causing highly damaging crosstalk), through the mixer section. A Sync level control allows trimming of the output to find the optimum point on replay.

Curiously, 'Sync Mode' on the Marantz does not follow the convention of disabling the noise reduction on track 4; apart from re-routing the signal, it seems only to introduce a low-pass filter to act on the input signal (ie, at the record stage only). Nevertheless, I had no sync problems whatsoever in testing with either SMPTE/EBU or MIDI-Clock FSK, so this is obviously an engineering decision rather than an oversight. If you do encounter sync problems, there is a rather ambiguous recommendation in the manual to completely turn off the dbx. This will, in - fact, make the machine unusably noisy for any serious audio work, and should probably suggest that you turn it off only whilst actually striping track 4 with code.

CONCLUSION

Other questions remain; why does a heavy, mains-only powered unit have strap-buttons? Why employ a format that doesn't allow the monitor pots to be used as a second auxiliary? Above all, why are there no Peak LEDs to help out the VUs? Nevertheless, overall the Marantz PMD740 scores far more plus points than negatives. There is one overriding drawback that it cannot escape from, however, and that is the current UK price, which is rather high. In mitigation, the fact that you can't actually get some of the features in any other model at present will stop the potential purchaser simply going elsewhere without considering what he is prepared to give up. It's a tough choice, but make it an informed one; make sure you actually try one out before you decide, so you know what you might be missing.

Further Information

Marantz PMD740 £799 inc VAT.

John Hornby Skewes & Co Ltd, (Contact Details).

The PMD740 has six INPUT CHANNELS. Four of these are 'high-spec' inputs with balanced XLRs and insert points. Unlike some designs, however, here the other channels can still operate down to mic level, lacking only the XLRs and the mid-band of the EQ.

1. THE GAIN control has plenty of range with both dynamic mics (balancing obviously helps here), and low-level (-20dB), line signals.

2. THE EQ offers fixed-frequency (plus or minus 12dB), top and bottom controls, at the standard 100Hz and 10kHz points. This is augmented, however, by a wide-ranging 'sweep' mid section, which may be set to operate anywhere between 160Hz and 7.5kHz, allowing you to get at most of the important frequencies for creative or corrective EQing. Having a choice of Q gives you an important degree of additional flexibility, for, in general, a low Q figure will always sound less coloured when boosting, whereas much higher Qs can be tolerated without side-effects when cut is applied. (See sidebar)

3. A slightly disappointing single AUXILIARY SEND, wired post-fade, and therefore dedicated to effects usage — when you pull a fader down in the mix, the feed to the effect is correspondingly reduced, maintaining the balance between the two. Access to the auxiliary buss extends across all six input channels, however, and there is both a master send control and a dedicated stereo effect return, with level control.

4. CHANNEL PAN when mixing; also used for buss selection during recording.

5. SIX CHANNEL FADERS and a ganged stereo Master fader help to give the PMD740 a 'proper mixer' look. The 60mm travel, and reasonably consistent resistance to movement of the faders are about par for the course, but this area of the design is let down by the fader tops which, in my view, are insufficiently concave for reliable 'one-finger-per-fader' mixing. Marantz are not alone in this, but it still defies belief (mine at least), that something so elementary can fail this most basic test of its functionality.

6. THE MONITOR MIXER, for listening to a mono mix of previously recorded tracks whilst overdubbing. This section becomes redundant on mixdown — some units place the monitor pots within the channels where, given source switching, they can be utilised as additional sends on mixdown. On the other hand, the Marantz and similar designs undoubtedly achieve greater clarity of operation by not doing so.

7. SLIDER for the Pitch control (+/-10% speed variation). On the review model, this has a less than positive detent, making it not just awkward to centre, but potentially vulnerable to accidental movement — dangerous when there is also no visual confirmation of deviation from speed.

8. THE CASSETTE WELL is accessed via a simple flip-up cover, but it is neither removable nor hinged sufficiently to get it right out of the way for easy cleaning access. THE TAPE TRANSPORT performs well; tape-handling seems quite gentle in comparison with some units, and the audio is solid on entering Play from any mode, with none of the instantaneous flutter on pick-up that indicates that the tape tension across the head is undergoing rapid change.

9. A number of useful automated transport functions are provided. Two memory points may be entered, although strangely, only Memory 1 and Counter Zero can be located-to - Memory 2 is solely for providing an auto-return facility; when the tape reaches Memory 2 it will automatically rewind to Memory 1. Autoplay may be accessed either as a 'one-off' by pressing Play after 'Locate to Memory 1', or 'Locate to counter zero', or as a constant mode by selecting the Auto function. You can combine the latter with auto-return to create a very useful cycle facility for rehearsing a part.

10. THE 2-SPEED TRANSPORT is driven from controls that look as if they have been ergonomically designed to fall under the hand in precisely the right way (unless you are left-handed or, like me, just habitually operate transports with your left hand).