I agree. I suggest it also depends very much on the player and how well he can emulate the nuances of each instrument.

No matter how good the sample (including VST's), a good part of the perceived realism still depends on the player's skill, and, although great strides have been made in achieving authentic articulation (SA/SA2, DNC, SuperNatural etc.), a trumpet sound, for example, will not be realistic if the performer doesn't allow for breathing and doesn't play in the proper range.

My biggest disappointment with the latest Yamaha Tyros instruments (and CVP as well) are the SA pianos...I'm still using Live!Grand Piano as my basic, "go to", piano sound...the SA pianos are very weak (lifeless)in the mid-range.

However, Yamaha does redeem itself with the other SA/SA2 instruments, especially the Saxophones and Trumpets (my favs are SA2 Jazz Trumpet and SA2 Jazz Saxophone) and the SA guitars (electric and acoustic), for the most part, are also very well done.

In the non-natural instrument category, the Tyros4's Synth Pads are pretty cool too, especially when stacked in two or even three layers.

Overall, I'm pretty content with my Tyros4.

Ian