I got this to record my digital piano, through line-in, and in that job it excels. I"m using a cheap Y-cord bought here in Amazon, two 1/4 inch TRS plugs into a single stereo 1/8 TRS -- which is what plugs into this Tascam unit. A secondary use may be recording live events, but that is still in the future. Something I did test out is attaching it to my PC with USB and with drivers downloaded from Tascam, use this unit as a microphone to record directly into Audacity. Construction: Flimsy plastic. Button feel is just OK. Backlight seems good. To my eyes the display is easy to read. If you USB-power it the backlight can stay on indefinitely. On internal power I set the light to 30 seconds. I wouldn't go about dropping any precision piece of equipment, but this does seem extra fragile. I got a cheap hard-ish case for it here in Amazon. The SD card slot is covered, but the micro-USB connector isn't -- make sure to keep it clear of trash, ash, pocket-lint, random bits of organic green material, etc. This really isn't a true hardened field recorder, it's more of an indoor piece of kit. Operation: Takes a bit getting used to, but if you pay attention and can read and experiment you won't have an issue. If you've ran a tape machine *and* an iPod you'll have no problems. One thing to point out, due to how many it seems to catch out -- to record you must push record TWICE. The FIRST push turns the REC light to flashing, and wakes up the meters. Set your levels. Then hit it again. the SECOND push actually starts the recording. Once you've installed the drivers (from tascam's website) then you can not only connect this to your PC / Mac to transfer your files, you can use it as a USB mike directly to your software. I use Audacity. In USB mike mode, the levels are set at the software, not at the mike. With my setup, a level of +0.03 was clipping with my mouth about 2 feet from the mikes. The hotter you make it the more it'll p-pop. Keep it 3 or so feet away and it becomes more civilized. In my limited testing the mikes seem fairly cardioid, quiet, with good rejection of ambient noise around you. Sound: As mentioned at the beginning, I got this primarily for line-recordings. With the cheap y-cord from the piano's outs to this thing's line-in, the sound is clear, with good imaging. No noise of any kind - no hiss, no RF buzz, just absolute stone silence until I make the piano speak. Once you've set levels correctly, you can wail away with no concerns. My teacher is impressed with it, he's one of those old-timey open-reel peeps with 3 or 4 mikes to record his piano.. well, he did his thing on this setup, and we were both gobsmacked by how good it sounds. Haven't had a chance to try live music yet, but in testing, vocals via USB to Audacity on a PC were great - just be careful with the levels. It'll pop like crazy when you start getting to the -6 range of the meter. More distance helps. I found the internal mikes quiet, very focused stereo sound in XY mode while still rejecting the noise of the fridge 15 ft away off-axis and only caught my voice. I have not tried the A/B mode yet. In short, this is a solid 4 stars. If it were made in Japan, out of aluminum instead of plastic, it would be 5 stars. It would also be a lot more $. But honestly, for this price and the versatility, this thing's hard to beat. Just baby it... it really does not feel like it's up to harsh outdoor use. But then again... who reading this would drop a thousand-dollar AKG condenser? Who would drop a camera? i've fumbled gear before, much to my horror.. but that's on me, not on the gear! Yes, sturdier gear is always welcome, but this thing is one hundred seventeen dollars. And for those who are constantly harping on about the "noise" and "RF Buzz" -- either your cables are broken or you didn't plug it in all the way in, or you have a defective unit. This thing is stone quiet with its own mikes, or through line in. And I'm using a cheap 10 dollar China-made "shielded" y-cord to do this with!
