I make a living performing in nursing homes and schools, and the PSR 740 is the only instrument I can see that completely fits my needs.

For someone who travels to several one-hour, sometimes forty-five minute performances a day, the PSR 740 has one major advantage over the PSR 9000 - It weighs only 22 lbs. I couldn't possibly lug the PSR 9000 to all of those places.

The X1 was also too heavy for my needs. It also had other limitations that made it more difficult for live playing.

For venues where I need extra volume, I bring along some extra light speakers. I have been using Labtec computer speakers (6 watts per channel), but I'm moving up to the Numark M-40 (20 watts per channel) because once in a while I play in a big room.

The vocalizer on the PSR 740, when used in moderation, really thicken up my vocals.

The PSR 740 has 163 onboard styles including 3 loaded styles. Loading styles from disk can be done quickly enough for performances. The MZ 2000 has only 130 onboard styles including 10 loaded styles. How long does it take to load a style from disk?

The PSR 740 has a groove feature that the PSR 9000 doesn't have. This puts a swing into a straight-on beat and vice-versa. I do use it sometimes.

The PSR 740 is pretty sturdy. I do a lot of gigging and keep it in a cloth case. It keeps on working. I've only had a loose adapter connection which a friend of mine with welding experience fixed.

The PSR 740 has made me very popular as a performer. I wish I had the money to have a PSR 9000 or an X1, or maybe even an MZ 2000 inside my home studio. But for lugging around everywhere, the PSR 740 is close to ideal. If it only had a @#!%* hard drive, I would venture to say that it was ideal!