I'm completely new into the fieldrecording area, but it is a really fascinating topic to me with a lot of "engineering potential" :o)

After I tried to get a market overview, and realized that there are a lot of different Field-Recorder device classes each with uncountable products, I started with defining my personal Use-Cases for a Field-Recorder. After thinking a while, I came up with this list :

My personal Use-Cases for a Field-Recorder :

- I want to record good quality stereo ambient sounds.

- I want to record mono sources, instruments or noises, for postprocessing on my samplers.

- I want to record guitar-amps.

- I want to record studio sessions.

- I want lightweight equipment that I can take whereever I want, and that is instantly usable.

After matching my Use-Cases with the device-classes I decided that a compact recorder with build in microphones is the best solution to cover my current needs. I read a lot of equipment-tests for this device class, search a while, and found a used Sony PCM D-50 with a defective Headphone output. I assumed that this could be repaired so I give it a try (... that was harder than estimated ... read the repair story here --> coming soon). The D-50 is known for it's superb recordings ... not as good as its successor the iconic PCM D-100 ... but a good compromise that fits much better into my initial budget :o)