I just bought one of these to replace my 9-year old sony MZ-R50, and wow. Bought it to use with some external mics, but I'm also very impressed with the quality of the internal mics on this thing. I've used it to record lectures, a live show in a bar, and several instances of acoustic musicians playing unamplified (the reason I bought it). It sounds pretty good:
Too-late-at-night jam with
three mandolins and
two guitars and a mandolin. Mics in the wide pattern, recorder seated on a table in between the three of us, maybe 3 feet from each player. I think it may have clipped, but I was playing so couldn't adjust the levels mid-tune.
Rehearsal with
Mandocello, mandolin, and octave mandolin. Mics in the wide pattern, about 10 feet away from the players. Good room; I think I got the placement right on this one, too.
A friend's bluegrass band
playing in bar over a crappy sound system (the buzz you hear is from the beer cooler). It's not a bad recording, it's bad live sound.
Internal mics in X/Y pattern, pointed at one of the PA speakers from about 15 feet.