Improvements from the original DR-680-
Playback of multitrack recordings
The DR-680MKII can load multitrack audio files. Multitrack materials (multiple mono files) prepared with a DAW, for example, can be played back.
I was thinking of your posts when I read about that function.
Improvements from the original DR-680-
What I would also like to see is a few basic DPS routines for playback-
EQ
polarity
delay
compression
and the ability to use more than one of those effects simultaneously.
A firmware update could add at least some of these, delay would be helpful even for recording (the old DR40 has it), but I suspect it might not be possible to have them simultaneously unless they upgraded the hardware too.
It would have really made my day if they would have added the possibility to use as USB sound card. Zoom has been doing this in their recorders for ages, and Edirol does it with the R8.
This way, you could use any laptop with a freeware daw to play back 5.1 recordings, add any effects you want, and play them back via RCA to any 5.1 reciever.
I wonder if they upgraded the headphone amp, there's no mention of it.