Can anyone here compare or contrast these synthes? What makes one desirable over the other? What might I want to complement my XP80?

Why would you get another keyboard when you already have the XP80? If you must add equipment of this sort, why not just get the 3080 or 5080? Or are you looking for a different kind of controller?

Mostly I want 88 keys, hammer action. Plus, the SRX piano expansion sounds so good, I don't think I could ever get the hang of playing such an expressive sound with the semi-weighted XP keys.
I won't be buying anything in the near future, but I'm keeping my ears open and looking for feedback from users.

FAEbGBD:
Here are two links that are to reviews of the two synths on Harmony Central. If you haven't had a chance to check them out yet, you might find them valuable.


Link for RD700
http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/Data/Roland/RD-700-01.html

Link for XV-88
http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/Data/Roland/XV-88-01.html

It sounds like you'd really dig the XV-88, but check out the reviews for yourself.

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--bluesboy2003

Hi FAEbGBD:
As far as I know, the RD-700 is more like a digital piano, while the XV-88 is a synth with 88 keys. The strange thing is that the RD-700 can use the new SRX-boards, and this means that it must have basically the same synthesis as the XV-series.

But, if I'm not totally wrong, you can not edit the patches of the RD-700 to the same extent as with the XPs and XVs.

So, if you need the "synth features", I would go for the XV, but if you just need a good keyboard with great sounds, then the RD-700 would probably do the job.

The RD-700 is probably one of the strangest instruments that Roland has ever made, being a hybrid between synth and digital piano..

Stig

That was pretty much my thoughts as well. I never could quite understand why both of these keyboards were made; they seem so similar that it is hardly worth it. I read those reviews Bluesboy sent, and the XV seemed to have slightly better ratings. That's why I started this comparison/contrast thread. Just trying to make sense out of this oddity. The RD seems slightly cheaper, but not significantly so.