Feature:
Because it can use standard AA batteries, I never get stuck out in the field without power. I can always grab a set at any grocery store if all of my rechargeables run dry.
The limiters are ok. The menu system is easy, once you get used to it.
Quality:
I've probably recorded at least a thousand solid hours of audio on the thing and given it a good beating. It's about the size of phone book, so lugging it around is annoying. I wish it had a metal housing. Some of the knobs are a little wobbly. However, the only real wear and tear I've seen has been wierdness with the headphone jack. I'd give it another year of abuse before I need to use an external preamp to monitor reliably or crack the thing open to re-solder the jack.
Value:
It certainly far outclasses any M-audio, murantz or Edirol recorder.
I'd buy it again, but the new Tascam recorder is smaller, has more features and costs $200 less. Then again, the Tascam has a slightly higher noise floor and I don't know if it's built as reliably as the Fostex.
Desirability:
It's a tank. Pretty doesn't get the job done though. It works well. That's all that counts.
Sound:
I bought it because I was sick of dat. I was worth every penny.
The preamps and line-ins are the quietest of any field recorder under 2 grand. If I need to record quieter matieral, such as room tones or something subtle like a pocketwatch, I use an external preamp with a lower noise floor. But for most recording situations, I just plug right into the recorder and go.
I only wish the line-in jack had a lower noise floor. It's quieter than the mic-in, but not as quiet as the average Sound Devices pre-amp, so upgrading to a quieter external pre-amp won't get you more than another -15 db of range.
Ease of Use:
I only need to flip two switches: power and record. When I'm done, I can just yank the flashcard and plug it into a reader and bam, done.
The preamps are easy to adjust. All of the important settings are available through simple toggle switches on the top.
Support:
I once tried to update the firmware as directed i the manual and online support. It didn't work. The recorder just locked up until I restarted it. However, I never really needed to upgrade the firmware in the first place. That was a year ago and it's never faltered, so who cares.
When I first bought it, I had problems with the PCMIA harddrive failing whenever I tried to record at 24/96. A lot of people seem to have run into that issue. The PCMIA drive simply doesn't write fast enough to keep up with the data rate of the audio. That's a flaw with PCMIA drives though. Recording at 24/48 worked every time. 6 months ago, I purchased a more current 2GB type-2 flash card. It can record at any sample rate/bit depth I want without any trouble. The write speed is about 2-3 times that of a PCMIA drive. The lack of moving parts extends the battery life by almost 50%. I still keep the PCMIA drive plugged in for longer sessions.
Overall:
It's an excellent field recorder. I've owned it for a year and a half and have never been happier with any piece of audio hardware. I'd like another one so I can record in surround.
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