The SD40 Operating System is very easy to use - I find myself wishing my Audya had the same. The touch screen icons are large, easy to use and sensibly placed with the important arranger buttons still being tactile (below the screen). It takes only miniutes to get used to the new OS.

Ketron sounds are always superb and the new sound engine used in the SD7 offers some very lovely voices not found on the Audya even. But where the SD7 wins out over other models including my Audya is with style compatibility. The Audya's live drums and guitars are incredibly impressive - so live and real sounding that people will comment on the sound at gigs...but the downside is, if you need to use a standard style (midi based) there is a massive difference in quality on Audya; the older styles or third party/converted styles from other manufacturers sound flat and dated in comparison.

The SD7/40 live styles have been toned down and the midi drum kits and midi guitars improved which means that older styles sound miles better than on any previous keyboard (including Audya) and the live styles can be used seemlessly. Suddenly you have the possibility of selecting from thousands of older styles from other sources, including Ketrons own back catalogue.

The result is you can use, for example, a converted SD1 style (i love PUB SONG) for one number and then an SD7 live style for the next with no massively noticable transition.

I also noticed the SD7 is not so fussy about PA and sounds great through just about anything including the onboard speakers.