What is comprised, IMO, in the r-44 over the higher priced boxes is more than made up by it's appeal fiscally. It also functions wonderfully, the stock pre's actually sound pretty darn good. Of course, I'm still running outboard pre/ad on channels 1,2 and soon will be running outboard on channels 3,4 but still, the price is far far far lower than the other 4 channel recorders of another name. I would not hesitate, in lowpro situations, to just run it stock. I also like not having a hd. I much prefer removable, swappable, flash memory. Reduces size, weight and improves battery performance.
I think edirol hit a homerun with this box.