these are exactly the reasons that i did not choose yamaha. Not enough storage for user styles, very weak sound system, no midi-thru.
I think even the 9k sound system sounds weak, other features in the 9k and 9kpro are very good but it's just too much money for me. (must admit that i love their "soft" voices)

What else can you get for around $1000 with vocal harmonizer and 4 variations per style? I happen to like the quality of the sound on the PSR 740. And if you're nimble with your fingers, it doesn't take that long to load a style from a floppy, especially if you arrange your song titles in alphabetical order on the floppy. So the 3 USER styles are a bit misleading. For performance purposes, I can use as many styles as I can fit on a floppy.

All in all, I think that the PSR 740, with vocal harmonizer, 160 great styles, four variations per style, one touch setting, multipads, direct access, and hundreds of very realistic sounding voices, and can almost be carried like a brief case - I think it's an incredible, even astonishing, piece of technology.