see i agree w/ D...
i was talking to this MDer who is just starting out (At Allstate while doing TOO in Chicago)...the same question Bri has brought up here was his also...(well, he had many more questions than that, but that was one of his first)...=)
i say if you're gonna start "NOW"...get the JB3 for patching...
for the beginner, it's the way to go...most likely, he just wants the shows for himself, not to spread...
(hell, even if he wants to spread, i would think it's OK so long as you document source)...if people can spread MD shows, you can damn sure spread Nomad shows...just document it so people have a choice if they care...he's only patching, so the original source will be avail as well...
transfer -> HD is a copy/ paste...boom/ done...
Burn your CDRs/ FLAC/ SHN...whatever...
no messing with soundcards...a beginner might even have a tough time getting the system to be Bit perfect anyway, even after he spent MORE money on a Bit perfect card...
if you drop a sample or two here and there, i say so what?...
as long as you're not archiving, this is just fine...if you get an actual dropout/ artifact once every 3 shows or something, learn the effort that goes into fixing it...
he'll most likely need some cheap (Free) software anyway for re-sampling, so this would be great experience to fix some pops or clicks once in awhile...
once the unit becomes obselete for recording, or he outgrows it, he still has a huge HD/ MP3 player/ music jukebox for the car...
i say get the Nomad...=)