Good Question

That'a a good question, I haven't owned either of those items, but have some other Yamaha stuff, which I always thought was quality stuff. I looked into those units when I was previously in the market for a multitrack and I got the sense the Yamaha was a bit better, but that is all up for debate I'm sure.
So I'd be asking myself which unit really fits my objectives better. And if for example you are interested in the on-board guitar effects, then I'd be asking "well who has the better effects".

Thanks for the reply.

Basically I just want a unit which will give me a better final product. I know that the metering sucks on the BR1600, and that you can't change the monitoring levels.

Why did you narrow it down to those 2 units ?
There are other options in that price range. I know someone who released a CD recorded on a Tascam 24 track, had it mixed and master professionally and he was quite satisfied.
I noticed the Yamaha has a 4 band eq for channels, does the Boss ? features like a 4 band over a 3 band will make a difference. My impression is that the Boss is geared to the guitarist kinda' do-your-thing-guy, and the Yamaha is more geared to singer/song-writer/band thing....but I'll stand to be corrected.
Can you get to a store where you can see/touch/hear each unit ? Also did you find some other forums? I'm sure there are yamaha and boss forums, korg makes good units too and has a forum. Find folks there with similar musical direct as your's and ask them how their particular units are meeting their expectations.

I'm not a fan of stand alone units. It much better to get a decent computer and an audio interface.

Stickers Wrote:

I'm not a fan of stand alone units. It much better to get a decent computer and an audio interface.

It all depends what you wanna do and how you wanna go about it.