Glad your putting a rig together, but I have to ask the obvious question that no one has seemingly bothered to ask. If the DR-40 only has xlr inputs and you want to perform low profile recordings, why do you consider it to be perfect for your needs?
There are many, many small handheld recorders on the market in the same relative price range with similar or better features. Since almost every set of miniature mics on the planet are terminated to 3.5mm TRS connectors, wouldn't it just make more sense to get a recorder with a 3.5mm input. For roughly the same price, you could get a Sony m10, an infinitely better product than anything that bears the Tascam label.