I purchased the fostex D-5 on ebay about one month ago,i read a lot of reviews about it and also the competition.There is a model made by tascam (PRO-TEAC) which looks identical to this only is finished in a smart satin black, the down side if it concerns you is it's total lack of pro xlr input and output connections,instead you get unbalanced rca phonos which are fine for a home audiophile but it's a bit lacking as a broadcast pro machine,which as we all know has balanced analouge xlr inputs and outputs with an array of other possibilities.The fostex D-5 however has included balanced xlr inputs and outputs it makes the end result of a recording better all round.The fostex has a very good asphetical look to it,it's a handsome brute,when these machines were released in 1995 there new rrp was £1,198.00 approx,i got my well looked after secondhand example for £85,and i think that's not bad going.It will record and playback in long play in 12bit 32khz,16bit 44.1khz(cd quality) and the highest position for this model ,48khz which are all the decks sample frequencies.It supports two quantisation modes and a highly reliable sendust head.In my opinion considering this machine is at the lower end of the ranges available it still packs a fair punch,and is still an entry level broadcaster due to the attributes i mentioned earlier.All in all then i would give it 5 stars for being a cheeky chap.