Al,
this is not a major software upgrade and in fact it's only a 2.03 vs the previous 2.02 (otherwise it would have been something like 3.0).
Speaking of comparisons, I got my 9000 pro about two months ago and I had the choice to buy a Tyros for a little more money (2500 euros for the Tyros without hard disk vs. 2400 for the pro with hard disk). I decided to go for the pro because:
1- I love to play on a 76 notes keyboard (when I play on a 61 notes kb my left hand is constantly trying to reach beyond the physical limit of the keybed)
2- I love the idea of adding more sounds via expansion cards (I have already on order the piano and the VL)
3- I love the idea of having a sampler or at least a sample handling ability
4- Playing the pro and the Tyros side by side I had a definite feeling that some sounds, like the Tenor sax, the sweet trumpet and the flugel were better on the pro. I agree, on the other side, that other sounds (like the sweet oboe or the sweet clarinet) are better on the Tyros, but at least on the pro I have the hope to add these sounds via sampler)
5- The pro has been on the market for two years now and we all know that it takes some time to "iron out" all the bugs from a new keyboard; for the same reason, the pro has quite a bit of hardware support now. I have on order also the USB interface from Musitronics; I have asked about that on the Yahoo Yamaha Group and was reassured that works well and fast.
6- It's true that the Tyros styles are the best Yamaha has ever made, but the same styles are today available on the web and you can tweak 95% of them to work fine on other Yamaha keyboards, especially the 9000 and the pro.
All that said, I think that the Tyros is a fine board and wish to all you Tyros owners to play a lot of great music with it. You see, I am really trying to get beyond the "mine is bigger than yours" mentality.

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 01-25-2003).]