We have passed the stage where each new model jumps significantly ahead of the others as they are all so good these days, consequently the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. (Manufactures have to spend more and more on R & D just to get incremental upgrades)

The only way forward is to go software and have all the arranger & control features of the Tyros 3, Korg PA2x, and Audya etc, combined with the best sample sets and VSTs out there. (Not as extras, but included as standard) and then you would really see an improvement in sound quality.

Just think about having the following, coming as standard with the instrument.
http://www.soundsonline.com/EastWest-Quantum-Leap-Symphonic-Orchestra-PLAY-Editions-pr-EW-177.html
http://www.soundsonline.com/Quantum-Leap-Ministry-Of-Rock-License-pr-EW-173L.html
http://www.garritan.com/jazz.html
http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=b4ii
http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=kontakt3
http://www.musiclab.com/downloads/listen/
http://www.toontrack.com/ezdrummer.asp
http://www.ilio.com/synthogy/ivory/index.htm#demos

Regards

Bill

Good grief, Donny... you think this is no better than a T3?

Just the drums alone... you can't honestly put Yamaha in the same room as this. Ketron's drums sound real (and some of them ARE!), Yamaha's drums all sound canned.

For someone who's main focus is simply accompanying your vocal, perhaps this doesn't mean as much. But for those of us whose main focus is to PLAY, and with the best, punchiest, live sounding rhythm section we can in lieu of a REAL section, this one section is critical, IMO...

Well at the rate software is moving..., I think it's slowly killing the keyboard market. Software is doing it better, giving you more, and doing it cheaper.

Don't get me wrong.., keyboards are always going to be there..., but the software setup with its many advantages will eventually drive the prices of basic keyboards even higher IMO.

How often have we complained (even recently) about how the keyboard makers are still using old and dated hardware compared to what's out there now.

Diki..., I agree with you on the drums. Those acoustic kits are IMO by far the best I've heard on any keyboard to date. Very live and very punchy. I still think Ketron needs to come down on their prices and keep them within reason though. Even Ketron's low/mid end is way out there. Look at the price for the XD9! Hell that thing goes for over $1,800 (without the vocalizer, without the optional flash sounds.., and it's only 64 note poly)....

Bill, that's more money just in VSTi's than most spend on their entire arranger! THEN add the hardware, which currently ranges from close to $3k upwards to $10k+

Not ALL of us here are wealthy retirees with our children's inheritance to burn!

At some point, the concept of diminishing returns kicks in... In a live situation, the difference between today's TOTL Big 3 arrangers (OK, Big 4 now with the Audya!) and all this VSTi nonsense is minimal. And in a non-live situation, a FAR less expensive laptop or tower computer can do the same stuff as a sound source.

Paying a $3k-8k premium, just for the convenience of it all being housed in one keyboard just doesn't strike me as money well spent.

Perhaps in the future, things will get better (cheaper! ), but anyone getting into this at the moment reminds me of those who bought $250,000 Synclaviers back in the eighties. I sure haven't seen anyone STILL playing one now live...

You think they got their money's worth?

At first, I would agree about the pricing on XD9 but now I see the beginning of the Audya from the X, XD & SD series. One of the great features of the XD & SD were the live drums. I would say even though you don't get the vocalizer or the hard drive included in the XD9 for 1800. but you get much more then any other mid-level keyboard at that time. It has great sounds & styles and put any other mid-level keyboard up to it and I sure the Ketron will really pull through. Also I sold my SD5 for the s900 and now I regret it, I wish I would have kept the SD5. That also has some great punch and with the new live drum set is icing on the cake.

Im with you on the sounds and styles MC. Again remember though that the two most subjective areas of an arranger keyboard are the sounds and styles. Some prefer CD quality styles like what you find on Yamaha, and some prefer the more live feel from Roland, Korg, and Ketron.

However I wouldn't say the XD9 (base model) at any rate blew away it's competition though. The Ketron's (lately) have been nothing but "sounds and styles" and (as mentioned in the past) Ketron is offering less for the songwriter (onboard).

Strip it all away and you're paying a huge chunk of money just for the sounds and styles alone. Hell the XD9 was still using floppy. My old Roland RS-70 (even though it has a floppy has a USB midi interface and a great software editor.., and I paid less for it brand spanking new than what the SD4 costs)

I think all these keyboard makes have a thing or two that set them apart from the others, but Ketron's pricing for these differences is out of touch IMO. Even the average buyer can barely afford their lower line.



[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 12-29-2008).]

That's because they're about 5-7 years behind the curve. USB 2.0 has been out since 2000 and here we are in 2009 (almost) and we're still not sure Ketron included USB 2.0 in the "cutting edge" Audya. My guess is NO because our friend did some file transfers and apparently the speed didn't impress him. Back to square one I guess.

December 31st.
03-14-27-30-33-41 Classic
14-19-22-36-44 PB-16 PP-03 Powerball

All the best,
Mike

Yamaha's sound is way more then enough LIVE Sounding for my needs.....again pure personal opinion nothing more from pro in the trenches day after day night after night.

proof is in the pudding nuff said.....
all this fortune telling is heresay at best ....let this unit come to the states......then find one if you can ....
try it....make a decision yah or nay to buy or not simple...
the high price = "should sound better" dont always fly anymore in todays world.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 12-29-2008).]