| Absolutely, buying the recorder is the easy bit.
A decent 24-channel transformer splitter will cost at least twice as much as the recorder. Then multicores, desk of some kind for monitoring, preamps, cases, room mics, etc.
Etc, etc, etc, etc. Believe me, it never ends.
If you're just recording for your own amusement then you can do things however you like, but if you're hoping to record commercially, you have to commit to the long haul.
I agree with most people here that in this price range the HD24XR is the one to get. It has very credible A to D and, as you've noticed, it holds its resale value much better than the standard HD24 does.
(Although I'll also be the first to admit that the Alesis machines are not perfect)
I have no direct experience of the Fostex machines. But I have it on good authority that the Fostex doesn't stand up too well to life on the road. I don't know what that band were doing to their D2424, but they dumped it for an HD24 and were much happier.
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Paul
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