And we're clearly speaking of different priorities for home studios between an artist aspiring to be successful mainly as a singer/vocalist/musician than the one with aspiration to be a mixer, engineer, producer. The musician will need a few good Plug-ins not hundreds. That is the same reason I feel the DP-24 or 32 stands out from the rest of similar recorders made specific for multi track audio; It has the best OS for mixing/mastering tracks and the best layout for mixing over competitors like the Zoom R8,R16,R24. The reason is the DP- series have single layer access to the 24 tracks and 8 channels for tracking and mixing. The Zoom devices only for tracking. Devices like the Behringer XR series such as the XR12, 16, and 18 are good as well but they store the multi tracks to a PC. The new generation yield weight to mixing features and tracking and are designed and intended to move recorded tracks to a DAW for further processing. They will record a project from start to finish, but lack the sophistication and depth of stand alone multi tracks.

For tracking, any good multi track device will suffice. Zoom H4N, Tascam Dr-05 type devices have good pre-amps and can record up to 4 inputs can great Their design focus more toward live venue than studio recording. They lack some convenient features or have them hidden down deep in menus. However, at similar cost, devices designed more for studio audio recordings over live venue recordings are Tascam DP008, DP-03 are better choices. If cost is a major issue, the Tascam DP-03 is the most features that are similar to the DP-24 and would be my choice. The DP-03 is limited to 2 inputs and 8 Tracks but it has a lot better mixing, mastering options than other models.

I prefer the DP-24 over the DP-32 simply because I don't think the feature differences between the two units is worth the price difference.

I prefer my Zoom R24 over my DP-24 for use as a field recorder because of its portability, battery operation capability, size and built in mics. I have a Tascam DP004 that I keep in my guitar case for quick access when I have time to play and develop new song ideas.

BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.