I'm going to take tht other side of the argument here: Jim Aiken is "warming up" to arrangers more than he has in the past, and while some of the comments may seem a little derogatory, it's because they are taken out of context. I read his entire review of the Tyros and it is positive overall. Read the entire article before judging it. The Keyboard magazine (not done by Jim Aiken) and Electronic Musician reviews of the 9000 Pro by comparison were rather cold-shouldered, and I think both magazines got their fair share of negative feedback for not giving arrangers the credit they deserve. Arrangers are coming up in the world of pro keyboards and as they acquire more features that put them on par with well-known workstations then they'll get their due.

And I know we have a lot of "internal speaker" fans here, but the truth is that your very arguments, such as Mike's about "not being able to turn up the Master Volume without affecting the Sound System" only shows why internal speakers on a keyboard are a limited-use-only option. A true, separate stage monitor system would allow you to change any aspect of your monitoring while sending an unchanged signal to the main mixer/sound system.

The only place internal speakers serve adequately even only for stage monitoring is low-volume solo gigs. What's the most powerful internal speakers system made now in an arranger? 40 watts? (2 x 20 stereo). Most aren't even that powerful - regular car stereos are often better as are most ghetto blasters. That would be a waste of money and unnecessary cartage on any keyboard for people like myself. The Tyros has the best approach: make external powered speakers optional. Korg's new PA1-X and PA1-X Pro also have the right idea: make a small 61-note version with internal speakers for those desiring such and a 76-note pro version without it.