DR680 Owners: Would you buy one again?

["Steve Sergeant" stevesgt]

Asking on behalf of a video producer friend:

Those of you who own the Tascam DR-680, would you recommend it? If yours
was lost, damaged, or stolen and you had the insurance money, would you
buy it again? Why or why not?

Background: A friend who has been producing film and now video
documentaries for two decades, with stereo audio, was just told by his
distributor that they will no longer accept anything that doesn't have
at least 5.1 surround sound. So on his latest project, he's scrambling
to go back and gather location backgrounds from scenes he's already shot
(with no extra budget). These will (hopefully) serve as convincing
surround-sound backdrops.

As a lurker on NatureRecordists most of the time, I thank you for all of
your great discussions and advice.