Hi Mike (Idatrod): Actually, it was the Technics KN5000 (not 6000) that I owned, and yes, it (as well as the KN7000) do not exhibit the 'full keyboard mode' chord recognition problems the Yamaha PSRs exhibit.I had the opportunity to audition the KN7000 last week, and agree that it has many terrific features (SD card memory, terrific navigation, beautifully designed & constructed, the BEST onboard speaker system of any arranger KB I've ever heard) , great styles (esp jazz & swing & big band orch), and wonderfully impressive sounds (awesome sounding Steinway grand, horns, etc), but unfortunately there are some issues keeping me from taking the KN7000 plunge

1) Cheesy sounding vocalizer with very limited harmony options

2) Anemic sounding drum fills (no kick to drums)

3) Not able to 'jump to/from' ANY variation with auto fill via a single button push.

As a LIVE singer/keyboard entertainer, having a decent 'built in' vocalizer is most convenient. I could drag along my external Digitech Vocalizer, but in addition to not having to take extra baggage, an internal one allows you to SAVE vocalizer settings inside the KB along with its associated song in the arr keyboard's Memory Registration Banks, making it far easier to call up when performing its related song.

I also feel that the KN7000's drum patterns, though the patterns themselves sound impressive (breathe), don't have much punch or volume (headroom). I always feel I need to turn the drums way UP to get enough punch out of them. Also, the fills tend to emphasize musical instruments (strings, or melodic instrument) parts and de-emphasize (or eliminate altogether) any drum based fills at all.

Lastly, the required 2 button push approach to making variation changes (along with hearing a fill) to/from ANY variation makes it to awkward and inconvient to use in live performance.

Believe me, if the above issues weren't such a high priority to me, I'd be first in line to score a KN7000.

Though I'm keepin my eyes open, I'm not in a big hurry to upgrade as the PSR2000 is still making me happy. Who says you need to spend a lot of money to get a great arranger.

Mike, As a PSR2000 owner yourself, are you seriously considering upgrading?

Btw: As a solution (abeit limited) to the full keyboard chord recognition problem on the 2000, I play in split mode and assign both left & right parts the same voice (piano). This works but limits triggering chords ONLY from left of split, and not in the right hand, or between two hands as piano players are accustomed to.