Hi Green Hornet
I havent looked into any of the current Yamaha product but based on past experience would expect it to be very good quality. I've worked in music retail for a number of years but due to wholesaler politics we havent done Yamaha for a few years and I'm not up with their latest stuff. I'm in the guitar dept and would have to ask the tech boys if they have been keeping up with the comptetion ~ we do mainly Roland, Boss, Zoom (as well as PC and Mac and software).
I've been very happy with
my BR1600CD. It has proved to be excellent value for its features, quality and price ~ and they are much cheaper now than when I got mine.
Sound quality ~ I've found it to be excellent. Also, with time I'm getting better with recording techniques and mixing and mastering. Even my early efforts achieved quite good results considering I had little experience at the time, but like anything the results depend on the user.
re it being 'plasticated' ~ I wouldn't say it is built like a tank but it isnt flimsy either. Mine's not being transported very often so being fully bullet proof is not an issue for me.
Check out
www.topsoundproductions.com ~ this studio chose the BR1600cd as their portable recorders and have developed their own wave file software for editing stuff recorded live in a BR1600cd once back at the studio and exported into computer. Interesting.
If I'd had more $$ and a lot more time for the bigger learning curve, I would have either gone Cubase (based on the recommendations of a colleague) or something in the Roland VS range.
I was initially uncertain about the BR but was lucky enough to see a demo by a Boss demonstrator who was able to answer my questions. Hopefully your local dealers have staff who can show whether the Yamaha, Boss etc suit your needs.
If you want to read up on user experiences on the BR1600CD there is a very good forum
www.takeforum.com/br1600cd The posts there should reveal the good and bad aspects of the machine and hopefully convince you one way or the other about the Boss.
I hope my 2 cents worth is of some help

Good luck with the search. I'd be interested to see what set up you get in the end.
Cheers
Frambo