When we started our field recording sessions for the Yorkshire Garland Project in about 2006 we were recommended Edirol 9s so we purchased 3 at about £300 apiece and they have served us well. A wide variety of settings/levels for wav and MP3, easy to use with a little trial with handbook, Battery/mains, built in mike and mike port for more directional use. Small & compact. Usual ports to transfer to other media.