I wasn't of a mind to relinquish my d8b or HDR, more thinking of the R24 as an adjunct. I still have a 2" 24 track machine and Dolby SR. I saw it as a way to stay analog, penultimate to the bitter end. Anyway, there's a 69 page thread over on Gearslutz that raises some issues that are of interest, some of them not fully answered. Lot of flakes on that site. You've talked me out of it which is probably a good thing. More money for that skiing trip now.
Peter