Here ya' go mike. This was reviewed and compared to the 540 by our very own Squeak_D:

Price Paid: US $460.00
Ease of Use: 10
Not too sure on the software version, but then I don't think anyone knows either.(none listed in manual) Presets are very good to just ok. To me it sounds exactly like the 540. One thing I must state which is really false advertisement by Yamaha is that the 550 DOES NOT have more than twice the wave rom as the 540 did. The 540 had 6mb's and the 550 has 8mb's. If the 550 had more than twice it would have over 12mb's of wave rom making it more than the PSR-740 It's very easy to use too. Works exactly like the 540 with the addition of the music data base. Manual is written just like the 540. Clear and easy to understand. There is no patch editor (big bummer too) but there wasn't one on the 540 either. The only way to edit voices is through a computer and XG works software..

Features: 9
I think this is where the keyboard really shines. I paid only $460.00 for my 550. There is no other keyboard on the market in this price range with as many features as the 550. The poly is only 32 which isn't bad. Hell even the Korg Trinity only has 32 note poly. the keyboard action isn't too bad either. The board has a 16 track direct disk sequencer which isn't the best but also not the worst. You can actually make some really good compositions with it. There is also a style sequencer to record your own user styles (more user space would have been nice) The DSP effects are pretty good too. It would be nice if it at least had aftertouch or a modulation wheel. I don't understand why Yamaha makes a keyboard with as many features as this one and still leave out the modulation wheel. The song data base is ok. I noticed a lot of the songs are actually styles from the 540, 740, and the original DJX. The only room for expansion is adding user styles.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
Sounds are pretty decent. Again they range from really good to ok. Honestly it sounds the same to me. I can't hear any difference between this and the 540. They added some new voices which I honestly think the additional 2mb's went too. One sound I really hate is the slap bass. God is that sound AWFUL! One of the worst slap basses I've ever heard. Even the PSR-740 has that crappy slap bass. What's the deal Yamaha? All that sound technology and no decent slap bass..?? The Casio WK-1800/1600 have a better sounding slap bass. Overall the sounds are good. It would be nice if you could edit them a little though. Especially the velocity curve on some voices.

Reliability: N/A
Reliability??? HMMMM I wouldn't gig with it. It's got a cheap plastic case and seems more geared for home use. One plus is that it looks WAY more professional than the 540. They got rid of that ugly bright yellow demo button, the speaker grills are black, and the face is a goldish color. Looks way better. Also I wouldn't use ANY keyboard without a backup. Even the almighty Tritons and Kurzweils fail from time to time..

Customer Support: 8
Pretty good. Typical Yamaha, you call them with the problem, they call you back (assuming we all don't have lives and have the time to wait around all day for their call)

Overall Rating: 9
If it were lost of stolen I would buy another. It's a great board to have around to throw ideas down on, plus it has the XG sound set. Overall I give the board a 9 out of 10

Submitted by squeak at 10/01/2001 15:04

Best regards,
Mike

PS: Just ignore his obvious Flames at Yammy. He means well.