Marantz Professional Brings Latest Direct to Compact Flash Digital Recording Technology to Portable Media Expo & Podcasting Conference

ITASCA, IL, November 10, 2005 — As part of its ongoing expansion and commitment to addressing new markets, Marantz Professional (Booth #310), a division of D&M Professional, is exhibiting at this year’s Portable Media Expo & Podcasting Conference with its full line of digital recording solutions. The company’s decision to exhibit is a direct result of the explosive sales growth Marantz Professional has witnessed in their solid state digital recorders product line.

“Over the last two years, sales of our digital recorders have increased nearly 300 percent,” said Peter Papageorge, Director of Sales and Marketing for D&M Professional. “And while we can’t attribute that rise entirely to growth of podcasting and other forms of consumer-generated media, we definitely see this as an important new market that deserves our attention.”

Already a leading choice for podcasters, Marantz Professional is highlighting five key products on display: the portable PMD670 Solid State Recorder with one-touch digital recording to Compact Flash cards; “hand-held” PMD660 Compact Digital Recorder; PMD671 High-Resolution Compact Flash Recorder; CDR420 CD/MP3 Recorder; and PMD570 Professional Solid State Recorder.

“The Marantz 670 is the state of the art in direct to compact flash recording. I highly recommend it,” Dan Klass, host of the Bitterest Pill podcast, and co-author of the book Podcast Solutions.

The PMD670 Solid State Recorder features a tabletop/portable recorder design with the ability to record in MP3, MP2, WAV and BWF formats. The PMD670's high sonic quality makes it ideal as a primary studio recorder, while its portability and dependable construction mean it's also well suited for fieldwork. Other features include: easy one-touch digital recording up to 8 hours on a inexpensive Compact Flash card; over 40 Assignable Quality Settings; 16-48 kHz Sample Rate Selections; 32-348 Bit Rate Selections; no moving parts so the unit is completely shock proof; an intuitive EDL marking system for creating new files on-the-fly during the recording process and easy file selection during playback; and a built-in speaker. Additionally the PMD670 features a computer I/O connection, so files can be transferred to a PC in one prompt movement without any real time delays.

“The sound quality of the PMD670 is incomparable. The fact that you can to connect two mics and that it is easy to use and great in the field, make it the best option for my podcast,” said Michael Butler, host of the Rock and Roll Geek Show and Director of Artist Relations at the Podsafe Music Network.

The PMD660 Compact Digital Recorder is a rugged, “handheld” unit with easy one-touch digital recording using cost-effective Compact Flash media cards. Featuring solid-state design, the PMD660 can record uncompressed WAV files can at 44.1 or 48 kHz, and high quality MP3 files can be recorded in mono (at 64 kbps) or in stereo (at 128 kbps). Using a standard 1 GB Compact Flash card, the PMD660 can record over 1 hour stereo and 3 hours mono of uncompressed audio, over 17 hours of stereo MP3 and almost 36 hours of monaural MP3 audio. The PMD660 has 2 built-in stereo condenser microphones with Automatic Level Control, 2 XLR microphone connections with 48 volt phantom power, stereo line I/O and can operate for up to 4 hours on 4 standard AA batteries.

A revolutionary optional RC600 wired remote control (also available for the PMD570 and PMD671) that attaches to any microphone is available to supply Record/Pause control, track marking and peak metering from the microphone position, allowing a field reporter to concentrate on their work rather than the operation of the PMD660. In addition, the PMD660 is Marantz Professional’s most portable, fully functional, affordable professional solid-state PMD field recorder to date.

The PMD671 High Resolution Compact Flash Recorder has no moving parts, and offers multiple recording modes, long record times (up to 36 hours of stereo recording on a 1 GB Compact Flash card), and up to six hours of battery time with standard AA alkaline batteries. The unit is capable of 24-bit, 96 kHz PCM high-resolution recording for unrivaled audio quality; a 1 GB Compact Flash card can provide up to 30 minutes of record time at high resolutions. The PMD671 also offers a long list of professional features such as Virtual Third Head (VTH) confidence monitoring, Time-Shift Playback, which allows the user to back up and listen to passages while continuing to record an event, XLR microphone inputs with phantom power, built-in condenser microphone, RCA line inputs, USB 2.0 connectivity for ultra-fast audio transfer to a PC, and an optional wired remote.

The CDR420 CD/MP3 Recorder is a complete tabletop digital recording solution suitable for virtually any application. The CDR420 features easy one-touch digital recording in MP3 or WAV formats, and eliminates the need for a computer, CD recording or post-production. With an internal storage capacity to archive up to 1,400 hours of recordings, the CDR420 can burn up to 45 hours of audio on a single MP3-CD or on multiple traditional CDs. Its portability makes the CDR420 perfect for recording meetings, professional sessions and other events where a traditional recording device will not suffice. In addition, the CDR420 is USB 2.0 capable.

The single-rackspace PMD570 Solid State Recorder unit records in mono or stereo directly to Compact Flash cards in MP3, MP2, WAV and Broadcast WAV formats. With over 40 quality settings, the PMD570 supports sample rates from 16 to 48 kHz, and bit rates from 32 to
384 kbps, as well as full-quality 16-bit PCM resolution. The PMD570 has the ability to create a new file (track increment) while recording and files can be created in intervals of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes as well as 1-, 2-, 6-, 8-, 12- and 24-hour intervals for long-term, unattended audio recording. A comprehensive input and output complement on the PMD570 includes balanced XLR line inputs with trim, unbalanced RCA line in and out, and stereo S/PDIF input and output on coaxial RCA jacks. Remote control is provided via full two-way RS-232C interfacing; users can set up, change and replace all preset settings using a PC. In addition the PMD570 also features USB computer connectivity for easy linking and file transfer to a PC or Mac®. Audio files can be instantly dragged and dropped to the computer, eliminating wasted time doing transfers.

The complete line of Marantz Professional digital recording solutions is on display during the 2005 Portable Media Expo & Podcasting Conference, November 11-12, 2005, at the Ontario Convention Center, Ontario, California.

About Marantz Professional
A division of D&M Professional, which is also the parent company of Denon Professional and Denon DJ, Marantz Professional manufactures and distributes a reliable line of professional audio and video equipment for the broadcast, commercial, corporate, education, government, audio/visual, education, houses of worship, security and related industries.

Visit Marantz Professional at www.d-mpro.com.

About D&M Holdings Inc.
D&M Holdings Inc. (TSE II: 6735) is based in Tokyo and owns the Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Laboratory, Boston Acoustics, Snell, D&M Professional, ReplayTV®, Rio® and Escient® brands. Denon, Marantz, McIntosh and D&M Professional are global industry leaders in the specialist home theater, audio/video consumer electronics or professional audio markets, with a strong and long-standing heritage of manufacturing and marketing high-performance audio and video components. Boston Acoustics, with its signature Boston Sound™, is a leader in premium loudspeakers for home and audio markets. Snell is a super premium speaker brand. The ReplayTV, Rio and Escient brands represent award-winning technologies in digital home entertainment. Additional information is available at www.dm-holdings.com.

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