No intent to take the thread off topic and to only answer your direct questions:

<<respectfully i have concerns about useing a standalone hardware multitracker.
based on past experience.>>

<< 1. Will it Last?>>
Can it break? Of course. The better question is if it doesn't break, how long can it last?
The answer is decades. I purchased a Tascam DP004 in 2008. It works flawlessly today and has never crashed nor needed any repairs. I own a Zoom HD16 that was also manufactured in 2008 and it works flawlessly with never a crash nor any repairs. Including the original 80GB spinning Hard Drive. If and when it does crash, I have complete and current backup of the contents. I have a recovery ISO to create a replacement hard drive and I have 19 hard drives laying around. I recently sold a Tascam DP-24 that I purchased new in 2015 when they were first introduced. It worked flawlessly and I never had a malfunction or crash with it. It still looks pristine. I've had Zoom H1, H4 and H5. Zoom R16 and R24. Tascam 2488MKII neo, Tascam DP008 and never a mechanical issue or OS crash with any of them.

I've owned multi track recording devices since 1968. I learned to repair, service and maintain that type of equipment. I still own the Sears Reel To Reel Tape recorder from 1968 and it still works and can be used. I have a friend that still does all of his recording with a 2006 circa Roland BR1200 and his son has the BR1600 model purchased at the same time.

<< 2. parts availability in case of failure. these type of units are great at first glance , and have good reputations, and might give years of service. BUT what happens if it goes wrong down the road ??>>
The same thing that 'happens' to a refurbished computer that already has a history of some type of failure. Which is more likely for a failure to be a design or product failure? The refurbished unit or a retail release item? These hardware MTR devices, especially the more economical ones, have very few proprietary parts and are mostly designed using commonly available parts for cost savings. When it comes to mechanical parts that are most subject to wear and tear/abuse, a switch is a switch and a button is a button. There's almost assuredly there's a common replacement item that will work as long as it can be made to fit. While it may be an issue for a service center to replace an item to use a non-OEM part, any TV or CB shop can and do use non-OEM parts for non-warranty type repairs. Rather cheaply in most instances as well.

<< 3. the guts of the machine using internal custom SMT chips and obsolescence concern. >>
The main reason of SMT chip (or any other chip) failure is heat or abuse or a manufacturing defect. SMT common chips, ie: 555, 380, lm386, etc, capacitors, diodes and resisters are commonly available and are easily serviceable. If a chip has some sort of defect, that normally shows up well before a warranty ends.

<< 4. navigating menus etc etc. >>
Ease of navigation is a MAJOR selling point of stand alone multi track devices. Some are easier than others but I'm unaware of any MTR that has navigation complexity anywhere close to a DAW. One benefit of many hardware MTR's is that the items that are used occasionally or that may be features many users won't use or only use rarely are the items buried down in the menus. If reading the screen is a sight issue for someone, there are units that do offer video outputs for using an external video device. Shop for what you need.

Regarding the day to day operation of an MTR, the quick start guide is about as deep as it will get for most users. By the time one gets to recording their third track or so, they're pretty much at the expert level. Regardless if one is working with one track or 30 tracks, importing and exporting tracks, mixing and mastering is always the same.

I completely agree with you that every technical mode of recording will have pro's and con's and one of the major drawbacks of hardware is they are nowhere near as popular, complex, expensive or feature laden as a DAW based computer recording system will be. With that said, every hardware MTR since the early 2000's has the capability to import and export recorded tracks with any DAW. Unless you tell someone, a track recorded on a $100 Tascam DP004 is undisguisable from any 44.1/16 bit audio device at those same settings. I routinely connected a Presonus Studio 192 or 22VSL both with Xmax preamps to the line input of the DP004 and DP-24.

My $100 used Zoom HD16 has 190 Tracks. The DP-24 has 192 available tracks. (Those totals are without bouncing any tracks.)

Starting from scratch with a refurbished laptop at $300 and a basic focusrite 2i2 at $160 and a Behringer C-1 mic for $59 is $519. A novice can start from scratch with a Tascam DP-008with built in stereo condenser mics for $280.

I appreciate the opportunity to expand my thoughts about hardware versus computer and I agree that further discussion is more appropriate in its own thread.

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.