I just ordered one of these R-05 recorders. It seems to me aimed to compete with the Sony M10. Looks like it is similar in build, size, battery life and screen and features for the most part.
The lower input impedance on the R-05 compared to the Edirol R-09 and R-09HR seems to indicate that there is a chance that this R-05 will have lower preamp self noise. Usually the higher the input impedance it is, the more noisey an input stage can be... but only time will tell when I get it in my hands to compare with my Sony M10 and D50 units.
As for the price difference being lower now than the R-09HR, I was wondering about that too. But I see from the advertisements that this R-05 comes without an AC/DC power adapter and it does not have a wireless remote control feature that the R-09HR unit comes with. That might explain the price diff? Just guessing but seems logical.
I sort of like the idea of having a wireless remote control capability, but it makes me wonder why they went with a wireless RF remote.... because wouldn't that RF oscillator and signals cause extra noise interference in the recording circuits being so dang enclosed in the small case? Hmmmm, I wonder. No one seems to have ever commented on this aspect so I don't know about it.