This box isn't a step up for Edirol, but a step to the side.
Yes, the smaller size and 48khz additions are great.
But, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, this unit falls short in it's use of digital "buttons" for level control rather than a manual dial like the R-1.
This is a shortcoming when compared to the functionality of the R-1. If the R-09 offered a digi-in, this would be a non-issue, since it would be used as a bit-bucket, like the MT and JB3 are used, with levels set by an external pre running digi-out to the recorder.
But since the R-09 has no digi-in, the "best" rig set-up on it would be using an external pre going analog-in to the 1/8th inch input and having to use these digital level control buttons in conjunction with the levels on the pre. Which means the unit is slave to the same analog-in quality of the R-1, but without the same fine-tuning flexibility of the dial. No taping down of levels, and reliance on whatever the quality of the digital level controls give to the unit.
The R-1 still has this one beat.