I'm almost ready to buy a S80, but thought I'd post my thoughts here and gather some comments before I do.

My requirements (all equal):

1. Good piano action (weighted)
2. Good piano sound
3. A controller to interface to an SB Live Platinum, Cakewalk, Soundforge
4. A synth that sounds good on it's own
5. Resale value (in case I replace it 3 years down the road with a real piano)
6. Not very heavy (under 60 pounds)
7. Web resources, downloads, user groups
8. Want to spend around $1500
9. At this time, only home use.

I have looked at the Korg N1 & Roland A90

The concerns/questions I have about the S80:

1. Cannot download samples to it (though apparently you can download voice banks such as the 'pseudo' GM). What makes a voice bank different from a sample? Can you make your own voice banks or just modify existing ones?

2. How good is the arpeggiator? I actually like this 'dated?' feature a lot.

3. One shop told me that Korg has 2/3's of the total synth market (Obviously, they sell Korgs). This can't be true, or is it?

Please post any comments you have.

Regards