In many ways I think we've been stroked by manufacturers to think that 185 or even 300 MB of WAVE ROM is a lot. I've been working with Colossus, which is a 32 GB (not MB) sound library. The sound difference between Colossus and my Motif ES 8, which has what Yamaha calls "a whopping 185 MB of WAV ROM", is a no-brainer - Colossus sounds much better in every way. And the way Colossus works is simple: the attack of the sample is loaded into RAM for on-demand playing while the rest of the sample plays direct-from-disk off a hard drive. Colossus is now available on the Muse Receptor for live use without a computer. I think companies like Y/R/K could make keyboard workstations that delivered GB's of WAV ROM in the same manner if they wanted to, but as long as they can sell their comparitively limited hardware at high prices then they have no incentive to do it.
[This message has been edited by Esh (edited 10-04-2005).]