I've got a few questions for the audio tech savy

1. I am looking at two recorders by the same manufacturer (Marantz). They are both xlt, but one is a 16bit and the other (to be released in April pdm671) is a 24 bit. In terms of quality is there that much of a difference. It is to be used for voice (film, docs, etc) and small band recordings.

2. The second regards media. I am told that compact flash is better than using a microdrive. The skinny is that microdrives can add noise. Is this a realistic concern or is it just marketing to get me to buy the more expensive compact flash.

3. Lastly is an unrelated noise reduction question. When you are capturing a few minutes of ambient noise for possible later noise reduction is it best to place the mic in the position or path of where the voices are going to be coming from, or does it not matter.

I can't answer all of your questions, but I have read that there really isn't all that much sound difference between 16bit audio and 24 bit audio. The difference is in post-processing your audio. In other words, you can do a lot more things with processing 24bit sound in post, then you can with 16bit before the signal begins to degrade or distort (I'm not talking about making copies, I'm talking about applying mutliple filters and such.)

Doesn't 24 bit have a wider dynamic range? I thought it let you have more headroom, assuming the preamp was clean enough.