Designed to produce digital stereo recordings that are completely faithful to the original master, the PCM-D1 is capable of re-creating even the most subtle performance nuances. The PCM-D1 can be used for high-quality recording in an array of applications including live sound, house of worship and theatrical performance, as well as by journalists in the field.

"The PCM-D1's level of quality is matched only by its extraordinary 'cool' factor," said Paul Foschino, senior manager for professional audio in Sony Electronics' Broadcast and Production Systems Division. "The body of this portable recorder is fashioned from pure 1mm thick pressed titanium that's several times harder than alumite-treated aluminum. Sound engineers will simply not want to put this unit down."

The new recorder is lightweight, free of all drive mechanisms, equipped with extraordinarily sensitive, built-in condenser microphones, and designed with circuits that process stereo sound with virtually no extraneous noise.

The PCM-D1 features 96K/24-bit recording capability, 4GB internal flash memory, removable Memory Stick Pro high-speed storage and a built-in USB 2.0 port for Macintosh and Windows/PC operating systems.