So where are all these audio styles? If production of them from audio loops is so easy, just where the heck are they all?

You've got one important issue about making commercial styles from loop libraries... Copyright. Most licenses for these libraries allow using them for music production, either commercial or personal. But most of the agreements don't allow you to use them in another commercial product for sale. So where does that leave style production? $20K a pop?

Sorry, but look at the market. Ketron is a niche product, virtually unavailable in the US (a tiny handful of dealers), and pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole compared to the Big 3. Yamaha are the ONLY other arranger company that have gone the audio loop route, and have hardly made a significant splash... The jury is definitely still out, as far as the vast majority of arranger users are concerned.

I wonder... do you still have your Betamax? I'm afraid the rest of us went with the (debatably inferior) VHS system.

Audio drums are dead the minute that arranger manufacturers increase the sample ROM to VSTi sizes, or allow SSD streaming of ROM (like Kronos's already do), and, as our shootout has shown, aren't so markedly superior that every disadvantage of them doesn't outweigh them. And that's just with today's tiny ROM size kits.

Tell you what. Outsell Yamaha, Korg or Roland, THEN tell me they are here to stay, OK? LOL