Added a few notes to my earlier MP3 player post. It looks like I can choose to forget decent MP3 recording for now and just get the NEX ia for $120 when it comes out, or spend $130 for the RipFlash TRIO which should do decent recording (8-192Kbps) w/ mic and line ins, but is limited to 128MB of memory (90min of recording @ 192Kbps). I’ll probably go for the former, as the latter is still missing some basic features I want for recording.
Here’s what I want in a reasonably priced consumer MP3 recording unit:
- adjustable mic/line level input (and level meters)
- ability to monitor recording
- high quality, high bit-rate MP3 encoding (compressed lossless would be a plus)
- compact flash support
- smaller than MD player
- standard usb mass storage device interface (not as important w/ a separate reader, but still, makes drivers much less of a hassle)