In the store out of the box We weren't impressed with the Pa800 at all......its possible with mucho hours in the Tweaking dept it could be setup to a satisfactory sound...but out of the box no way to my ears....guitars were nice, but the trumpets, brass, were way below my expectations. And the fills? did they actually fix them from the PA80 days or? Quite expensive for what else you can get out there. Unbelievably some of the styles & sounds on the Roland GW7 which was right next to the Pa800 sounded better to us in comparison for a $700.00 arranger although not as full featured as the Pa800

as an off note:

I also was impressed with the GEM PRP700 Digital Piano....great sound and key-feel check one out!
http://www.generalmusic.us/prp7.htm

Hi DNJ
What version software was it running, (The latest is 1.5) as if it was less then 1.5 then it is guaranteed to sound total crap, (A Wal-Mart special sounds better) update to 1.5 and it is a total transformation, being equal and in quite a few departments better then a Tyros 2, (At least to my ears) the Sax comfortably beating the SA Sax.
It reminded me of the first G70s that were released, (Everything was that poor and unbalanced it was an embarrassment to have such a quality name as Roland stuck on it) which were way below par, but when OS 2 was released a total transformation took place, and it became one hell of a board, that was worthy of the Roland name.
Interestingly (Probably due to competition) apart from Yamaha, most seem to bring the boards out before they are fully ready, thus requiring a big update patch. (Yamaha gets it pretty much right first time, so updates are only minor)
Enjoy whatever you play

Bill

Bill is your comparison PA800 inboard speakers to Tryros2 supplied speakers?

Graham

Bear in mind that the Yamaha T2 vs Korg Pa800 comparisons made were posted on a KORG Forum.

Bill you know now that I think of it it took about 4 minuted to boot up....and Fran was saying something to me in the store about what OS it was reading....its possible its the old one as you say....he is out on a gig now but I will find out what OS it was tomorrow and get back to this thread for sure....I hope that was the problem..........but what gets me if it is.....why even release it and leave a bad taste in peoples mouth before its ready as it should be ?

Hi Graham
The comparison was actually 2 pronged.
1. Stage performances using the same Amp/Speaker system. (Live environment)
2. Headphones
I also had a listen to the PA 800 inbuilt speakers, and for the size they were excellent. (Much better then the Roland E80 for example)
The Yamaha Tyros 2 speakers as I have mentioned before are not worth putting on a wind up gramophone, they are awful, and make the Tyros 2 sound like its being played from inside a padded cell. (Yuk)
Hope this helps

Bill

My Pa800 boots in 1 minute and 10 seconds. If the 64 mb sample memory is filled it takes 1 minute and 50 seconds.

As Abacus says a lot has been done too improve the sound in OS 1.5. The new Master Equalizer has helped to get a more well defined sound overall and a lot of minor changes have been made to the styles and sounds.

Kind regards,
Tommy