I totally disagree. That is not competitive at all. I don't care what the pre's sound like. This is a beta product with a very small user base from a company that hasnt been around that long making decks. the fact is that even in the markets it sells well in, it is still being out sold by its competitor. there is no way to get around that!
I certainly would not call it a "Beta product". I admit that when it was first launched the firmware did need a bit of work, but that has all been sorted a while ago with lot's of input from experienced broadcast/film sound recordists.
AETA have been around for several years and are highly regarded.
OK - they are not as well known as their competitors, but the 4MinX is certainly not that expensive.
The 6-track version is £2,999 in the UK and the 8-track version is £3,168.
This compares to £5,725 for the Nagra VI and around £5,000 for the SD 788T.
Like the 788T, the 4MinX can accept AES42 digital microphones - it also has an option of "Soundfield" microphone monitoring (the Nagra VI has this as well).
So, seeing as it is 30% to 40% cheaper than the Nagra VI and 788T, I cannot accept that it is "not competitive". Really.