deejayen

Thanks very much for the suggestions, and for the helpful link. It's always difficult trying to choose audio gear without hearing it! I don't think I'd ever want more than two tracks. It's for "live" recording my guitar and a drum machine, and I'm mixing the two together before the recorder, so I really only need a stereo recorder. I've tried a Zoom H4n, but it seems relatively noisy, and sound quality isn't as good as my more expensive audio interface. I've since read that the H4n doesn't always handle level signals very well, especially +4dB line levels, which will require an attenuator. I'll need to experiment a bit more with the Zoom, but I'm really looking for something which sounds really nice while allowing me to record away from a computer. I'm not really aware of current options, other than from web surfing. Would one of the mid-range recorders listed above (such as the PCM-D100 or Nagra SD) sound great, or do you have to look at something much more expensive, such as a Nagra Seven?

I'm thinking about buying a portable recorder for recording line level signals. I'm thinking along the lines of:- Sony PCM-D100 Nagra SD Sound Devices MixPre-3 I've read a few reviews, but they dwell on the mics and preamps, and overall functionality as field recorders. My use will be a bit different, so I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge of how they'd compare. The Sony has the DSD mode, but I'm not sure how advantageous that is if I need to then convert the recordings to PCM 16-bit 44.1KHz files to burn to a CD. The Nagra has optional mics, so I wouldn't be paying for something I wouldn't use, but the specs don't look so good (as far as I can understand them). However, I've seen mention that it is a good sounding recorder, but that might be down to the quality of its interchangeable microphones. The Sound Devices again concentrates on the pre-amps, but seems to have quite good specs for the converters etc. Also, are there any other recorders worth considering? I've got a nice sounding audio interface for when I'm recording to a computer, so I'm looking for something which will give really high quality results when I don't want to use a computer.