The best way to test out a new keyboard is to use your own speakers if you can. Otherwise going through a stores speakers could make it sound better or worse. Testing out an instrument with headphones might be ok, but I would never use headphones to pick out an instrument and make a buying decision. (Try setting up for example an external style on headphones. You can get it sounding good on headphones and even compare it with onboard styles and they sound like a good match. You take it and use the same style and play it through your speakers, live without trying it out first with speakers and you are likely going to be surprized that the style is not set right for your speakers compared to onboard styles. You'd never know what it will sound like until you use your speakers.

Hi Mark,
Frans I beleive may have a MusiKant version?

What keyboard are you using currently?
Basically what styles weren't you happy with on the PA3X? There were a few Ballroom ( Dance) styles that were on the PA800, that they dropped on the PA3X. I'm SLOWLY sorting thru them & resaving as PA3X. Happy to share.

Pa800/PA3x has some really great editing functions. For me, one of the handiest functions is being able to EXPORT & IMPORT a complete style as a midifile into a pc sequencer, BUT, for anyone who wants to do all their editing onboard, you've got
Event List Editor for editing, notes, controllers etc
You can cut bars,
you can change velocities of a complete pattern, or track, right down to a specific note type.
You can transpose notes.
You can copy a pad & make it part of your style ( if you have a spare track)
You can turn a style track into a pad
You can copy style tracks within the same style or from a different style , to create a new one, Mix n Match. Very handy for conversions ie I sometimes replace a track from a conversion with an onboard style track.
I converterted one of my Ketron styles a while back from a midifile of the style. Couldn't use EMC as it removed all the tempo changes in the intro's/endings. EMC made a real mess of the Live Drum track. I had a rough idea of what the track should have sounded like, & I replaced it with something similar from one of the PA800 styles.

There's a really great function called DRUM REMAP. One could virtually create a single drum track , just say for Variation 1, copy that drum track into vari2,3 &4, & by simply changing to a different mapping for each of the variations, you can make each of the tracks sound slightly different,
ie start with something soft to something heavier by the time you get to vari 4. ie basiclly it changes certain drum notes ie from a closed hihat to an open hihat, or into a ride cymbal. Stuff like that. It's actuall quite interesting playing round with the Remapping on existing styles.

If you ever get into recording styles, Guitar Mode is brilliant, you can create these amazing strums via single notes. Again it's great being able to replace a less than brilliant strumming midi guitar track with a guitar mode track.

Anyway, good luck with your choice.

I agree with Scott -- The shortest route to disappointment is to use quality headphones only to find out you cannot duplicate the sound with your amplifier. Not a good test when buying a keyboard.

I use a Bose headset to listen to my KMA, if I could duplicate that sound I would be in la la land.

John C.

More important than listening to a new keyboard with headphones....Do NOT edit your keyboard (sounds, eq, etc) with headphones....Set up using your performing PA system....and at stage levels when possible..


Another hint....I noticed several folks are editing in detail...favorite styles..these edits are including velocity changes etc...be careful, you are editing a few styles that are your go to styles, but changing these velocity settings per style will be a nightmare when you need to depend on other styles...It is better to alter or change things globally or in your mastering settings...