Well. The old saying goes: What sounds best to you is the one to buy. I can offer this as I own a Roland SC-880 and the Proteus. The Roland modules have a brighter, punchier sound with presence. The Proteus sounds great but you will sacrifice some audio quality. You may not notice this depending on what you are playing the modules through. I use 2 Roland KC-500 keyboard amps each having a 15" woofer and 4" horn tweeter. I can easily tell the difference between the two modules. The woodwinds, strings (pads), analog effects, and acoustic guitars are really good on the Proteus. The Rolands are good for everything else. Just go to a music store and A / B the synths in studio monitors or a keyboard amp of high quality and you'll see. I think it is important to have a module that has near CD quality so when you print to tape or DAT you have a polished sound. So, if you are going to have only one module, get the Proteus 2000. It's versatile, but not great.