Today, the combined brains of Engadget readers are recommending the best portable recording gear (link). So far, the usual suspects are coming up - M-Audio Microtrack, simple minidisk recorders (which is what most radio pros use), iRiver mp3 players, and tiny Olympus recorders. One person suggested the Fostex MR8, which has good specs - uncompressed wav recording, 16/44 recording, powered by AA batteries, XLR ins and mic preamps - all for $250. Problems: No phantom power (You'll need a ART Phantom II and more cables), and it's possibly the ugliest, reddest, cheapest-looking piece of music gear I've ever seen.