I've been monitoring this tread from it's beggining, wondering how 'good' these recorders really are...after I buyed mr-1000 (couple days ago), I joined the discution just to share my houmble opinion, and maybe help some of you to choice your new recording companion

I've done some 'documentary picture' recordings with it, and most important thing I have to say is that this baby is beautiful sounding! Internal preamp section is avarage good, pritty decent (better then R4's!!)
but maybe still little 'muffy' for the hi-hi-end production. I buyed a RME QUADMIC to companion MR-1000 in a field, and i'm very very very (!) happy with the combination of the two! The sound is so focused, with extended depth and open clarity character, sounding very 'pleasent' and 'warm', very much like 'analogue feel'...
Everything else on this recorder doesn't give confidance that it's really 'profesional' recording device... leak of many various system & setup options you would hope to see on such a device, and for that we'll have to blame KORG engenners, for not having in mind all that things that every sound recordist wish to have in a field with it's recorder. (Recording can't be set to mono (one) channel only!, monitoring can't be selectable (left or right, or both! - it's left headphone L channel, right headphone R channel!) and the monitor (headphone) output is leaking power, and can't provide that much monitoring gain you may required...
I hope that KORG can fix that problems in a future, releasing some firmware updates and organizing 'software' circuit inside that would provide us with more flexibility...(if it can be done?) ...'couse this baby's really SCREAMING QUALITY!
I can compare it directly to edirol R4, and Fostex PD4 (since I used R4 & PD4 in some film productions in a past year), and I have to say that i'm very pleased with the sound i got with MR1000 (with the QUADMIC in front of it), it just blows away the mentioned two, in a terms of depth, clarity, warm, and overall sound 'sweetness' !
hope this helps someone...
cheers!
