Just wanted to add some "little thought of" aspects, the vast improvements is SQ aside.
Garys unit is very well built, like a tank. I have dropped it into hardwood and stone floors several times by accident, nothing happened. The worst accident implied nothing more than to open it up an make sure the cells were in place. Since I added some support for the cells inside the case after that (foam rubber), it seems virtually indestructible. Very good quality on the connectors as well, feels like pro class.
Portable gear must be built to take a bashing and this one certainly is. I'm sure you can run it over with a truck and nothing will happen.
Another positive aspect: battery life! Like it is powered by a micro nuclear plant, several hundreds of hours in between charges. There are smaller amps for sure but this one feels like the perfect compromise for me considering the battery life time I need to make it work in the long run. Two rechargable AA cells, utilized to the maximum. What a beautiful design! The only thing I think Gary possibly could improve on is to include two good NiMH rechargables to keep people from feeding it by alkalines (very poor results if you use alkalines).