Jim,

Now I really am confused after having been sitting in the wings since September for the arrival of the PA1000. I now begin to waver between a PA700 as my use is limited or.....temptation as ever....a current secondhand PA4X on offer ( no soundbar).
But on the Korg forum I read the following comment by someone who had been comparing the PA1000 and PA4X side by side at Bonners. Remarkable conclusions I think:

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Just spent a few hours in Bonners trying out the Pa1000 and Pa4x side by side. I jotted down a few things to help me decide which to buy:
1. Pa4x has far superior build quality, it looks and feels professional. The Pa1000 is a bit plasticky and less professional. However that means the Pa4x is a lot heavier. The Pa1000 is only 10.75kg even with speakers built in.

2. The sound quality of the Pa1000 through its internal speakers was at least as good as the Pa4x but there is less choice e.g. less acoustic pianos although that is not a big issue as the Pa1000 has some really good pianos

3. The drawbar organ sounds seem to be identical and to my ears (surprisingly) the internal speakers of the Pa 1000 sounded slightly better than the Pa4x (with the soundbar) although appreciate this is subjective. I thought they were just as loud as well.

4. The Pa4x has physical drawbars and physical buttons for sound control (part on off and select) which means you can edit whilst keeping lyrics, notation etc on the screen whilst making changes (drawbars) or flip quickly back and forth (sounds) via a single button press.

5. Pa4x has more sounds and styles
6. Pa4x has more keyboard sets (12) compared to the Pa1000 (9) that can be displayed on the screen
7. The Pa4x keybed is a higher quality than the Pa1000 and longer (more piano like in length). The after touch seemed to be more responsive too
8. The Pa4x has a stereo input (e.g. for an iPad)
9. The Pa4x has an XLR mic input
10. The Pa4x also has stereo inputs for another keyboard so with 8 & 9 above has a lot more connection options.

For me its a difficult choice. The sound quality is fantastic but the build quality is budget and some very useful control features are missing. The Pa4x is about £1,000 more expensive plus it needs additional speakers. It’s also quite a bit heavier. If I was to go for the Pa4x-76 version (I’ve always preferred playing 76/88 notes) , it won’t fit onto the back seat of my car (across the seat) and I haven’t got a case for it (plus it would be very heavy with a case too!) I’ve driven 200 miles to try for myself prior to making a decision that has to be tomorrow!
NB - I did try the Genos as well and that is very very good (fantastic keybed) but yet another £1000+ on top. Sounds are fantastic too but for my type of playing is not worth the extra money ( I think!)

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regards
JOhn