I feel like I've learned a lot in the last 48 hours on this subject - thanks a lot.
I looked at the R-09 and I don't think it's my bag.
I checked out this page
http://www.sonicstudios.com/access.htm
which appears to have a picture of the windscreen headphones. Below it are some earbuds that function as microphones, but they say they're not effective in windy conditions. That's a real shame, because boy that windscreen sure looks conspicuous.
I'm gonna read some more of the links on your site, as the one on the minidiscs was very helpful. (recorders, or why to use minidisc)
I gotta say that 16 bit or 24 bit is probably much less a concern than
- guaranteed no distortion (or virtually)
- no wind noise
- extremely easy to record without a lot of setup
- I prefer the earbuds to the microphone in a recorder because it would be less conspicuous, I wouldn't have to point the recorder at things on the street, for example. I could also imagine being able to just press record within my jacket while walking to capture a fire truck or cars passing, without having to pull out a recorder, point, etc. In those cases, one can see that the apparent extra "depth" of 24 bit is virtually meaningless compared to a nice tight recording without wind or distortion.
I'll do some more reading and listening on your site.
Jon