Perhaps you might like to take a look closer at the Kronos..?

Perhaps ROM and RAM are slightly archaic terms, but basically, ROM tends to get used semantically as the Factory samples, and RAM as user stuff. But rapid streaming of samples from the HD rather than pre-loading them into user RAM kind of makes the two differences moot. I know all about ROM and RAM as computer terms, and am well aware of the differences they USED to have.

The Kronos makes that moot, though. You don't need RAM at all, as the SSD is fast enough to deliver content as fast as a ROM chip can. The difference between this and your Audya, for instance, is that the total ROM for the entire soundset in an Audya is probably less than the data used for JUST the grand piano (well over a GB!) in a Kronos. But it still resides on an SSD, not burned into a chip. There IS RAM on a Kronos, in addition to what the SSD streams, but, unlike your example of what has been happening since the early 80's, what the Kronos does is utterly different. Maybe it's not a trillium-carbonic alloy, but it IS reality...

Enjoy the semantics of the whole thing, and yes... consider that a bet. Personally, when the Kronos has shown that ROM size limits on burned chips has been removed as a barrier to sample sizes that keyboards can practically use, the limited benefits of audio loops has disappeared. An arranger, based on the Kronos engine will not need audio loops (although it will be able to use them). It will have MIDI kits completely indistinguishable from reality. And every benefit we gain on even the limited size ones we have now (that are pretty darn good despite the size limit) will then apply to utterly realistic kits.

Then, cost of production of styles will return to the sensible levels they are now for MIDI based arrangers, and the thought that styles used to cost up to $20K to produce EACH will be simply a joke told about redundant technology.

In the meantime, enjoy your Betamax. I'm off to turn some of my rock styles into acoustic ones!