Hello Tom,

I am sorry to hear that you didn't like the 9kpro. I have one and I think it offers much
more than the SD-1 or X1.
I guess it depends what kind of music you play and what exactly you look in a keyboard.
If you look for a board with nice preset styles and sounds you will not even look at the 9kpro. Its factory setting really sucks and can not be compared with Solton.
But if you need a board that will give you more opportunity for creative work other than just gigs, 9kpro is much better choice.
What I really mean to say is that if you are looking for arranger + workstation 9kPro is much better than SD-1.
I wanted to buy SD-1 on the first place but after spending hours on my friends SD-1 I decided to skip it. I have figured out that even with its fabulous presets it could get me bored very easily due to the following reasons,
1. No arabic drum kit
I am not playing oriental music but I think that arabic percussion becomes more and more popular in today's music and if you want to play "Desert Rose" by Sting or some tunes from Shakira you need to have possibility of having that drum set too.
SD-1 and X1(regular one) doesn't have this.
2. Sampler memory not expandable
SD-1 has 16Mb and X1 8Mb. If you need it more, you can't do anything about it.
9kpro can be expanded to 65 Mb. I did full expansion on my 9kpro for less than $30
because memory is soo cheap.
Today more and more people make really incredible pro samples of drums or sounds which you can not find in any keyboard and I think that in the future sampler will become very important part of any arranger. Therefore, more memory will be really appreciated. If you don't have it, you'll have to sell it.
3. Plug-in boards
This is where the 9kpro is a big winner.
If you want to get the latest, improved sounds on your keyboard you don't have to buy a new keyboard. You simply buy the latest plug in board and you can have completely new sound engine on the board, not just the sounds from the "on-board"sound engine.
That's how you can end-up having DX-7 sounds on you 9kpro which you can not just make by toggling presets.
Again, If you don't have it, you have to sell it.
This new "modular" strategy is more and more used by manufactures in their latest products, Roland RD-700, Motif, Triton ...

You can easily convert SD-1 or any style and play them on 9kpro and you have solved the style problem. Also, you can buy new sampled sounds and download in 9kpro although I think with combination of 3 layers on 9kpro you would be suprised how good sounds you can achieve. You just need to be creative.
I can play Roland arabic styles on my 9kpro and make it sounds like DX-7 or AN-1 synth but with SD-1 and X1( regular) you can't do it. Also there are much better samples of instruments made on pro samplers then Solton's presets.
So basicly I can make my 9kpro sound like SD-1 or X-1 but you can't make SD-1 play as DX-7 or other synths simulated by plug in boards on 9kpro.

That's why I think the 9kpro is more Pro then other arrangers, or it is better to say it is not just an arranger it is a workstation too. You can do much more with it then with SD-1 or X1 because of above mentioned limitations, you just need to be creative.

Cheers

Denis007