True enough in that regard. In my comp, I only compared the littlebox to the V3's preamp stage, with the A/D stage coming from the R44. Chuck compared the littlebox>iriver to the V3(digital)>iriver though, and the littlebox recording still sounded very nice compared to the V3 acting as both preamp + AD.
If you really are into the sound of your preamp+AD, then yes you need a digi-in bit bucket recorder. And I know for years when I ran my V3, that's what I wanted. The real question though in John's case is how does the package of the littlebox+d50 analog in compare in sound to UA5 (digital out) to recorder? If you like the sound of the D50 line-in (using the internal AD) enough, then you won't need a digi-in recorder.
I'm getting far too biased in this, since I really do like that sound quite well, and I've sold my V3 to now run either PSP2>D50 line in, or littlebox>D50 line in. For me, the D50 works great as a non-bit bucket, analog-in recorder. I loved the D50 as a bit bucket, and I love it as well as a line-in recorder. Really too bad though that it is so limited as a bit bucket. Still haven't heard about how it fairs with a mytek or ad2k, but it seems its use as a bit bucket is pretty restricted due to this 24bit flagging issue.