if you're looking to get in the door cheap and easy I'd go with the iriver (and rockbox it). I've owned minidisc, iriver, and JB3 and based on what you've said it sounds like you're a good iriver candidate. in reference to the distortion, you're still going to want a preamp to do your ADC work because none of the digital recorders you're looking at have the ability to handle a rock concert on their mic in without distorting. As long as you have decent mics and a decent preamp you won't have to worry about distortion in a high SPL situation.