How about posting some impressions of the products you tried. (Doesn't have to be in depth)
Bill
Okay, just a quick overview..
Korg pa4x
- impressive sound, nice keybed, on par with Tyors 5. Better in some parts, like piano's, interface, pro options and edditing, buildquallity, drums(superb engine) styles.. Yet yamaha performs better in effects, guitars, brass, winds, organs, ensemble voices and pads..
Korg Havian 30
- okay keyfeel, but for those people that want above average styles in a portable piano, this is your only serious option..
Psr S970
- i played with the deejay styles and the knobs and the arpeggiator.. I love how Yamaha i plemented this ( tough miss a true chordsequencer, to record your own chordprogression) and i cant wayt to see this in the next itteration of Tyros... A great instrument and the only true weakness i could find is the keyfeel, just dont like it, i never did like the keys of the psr series.. But if you are okay with them, there is no better instrument..
Kawai ES8 and mp 7
- great piano's i prefer the es8's keys.. But the controllsurface of the MP7 as a midi controller beats it in every other way and it still has topknotch keybed..
Yamaha reface
- i had some time with all 4 of them, and loved the sounds and the realtime controll yet the mini keys will never accustome to my fingers..
kurzweil Forte
- loved to play this, okay keyfeel, but great piano sounds, very nice controll interface, would make a good master keyboard
Roland JD-XA
- dissapointment, plastic feel and the sound did not convince me, played a porphet 6 before this and some Nords lead4 after it, and they sounded way better over my headset..
prophet 6
- Analogue at its best, fat warm sounds, bloody nice to controll in realtime, brings back those jean michelle jarre and vangellis moments..
Ni komplese Kontrol S61 and Akai advance
- both are very very nice for controlling VSt's in realtime, yet continous loading times when playing with VSts is ruining my fun with them more and more..
Ketron MidJpro
- very very good styles, this was connected to a Nord Stage 2ex and i spend quite some time withnthese 2... A very very nice combination, that would fit any lounge player.. Perfect for restaurant gigs and such
Nord C2d, elekro5, lead4 and stage 2ex
- i am totally in love with the direct controll scheme of the Nord instruments, just so great for jamming away on them.. Great Organs, Great piano's and some very nice synths and samples to become that stage beast... I hope a future Nord stage 3 (2017) will have the Nord lead 4 synth and real drawbars.. But in the end, the nord stage is sitting there as one of a kind with no real competition when it comes to diversity and realtime comtroll
Casio px-560s and px-5s
- the homeversion of the px-5s, okay keys, okay piano's, nice sounds, beatifull touchscreen, and fun to play.. But below average styles... If the px5s wasnt so uggly, it would however allways be the choice for a pro player, as it has an incredible arpeggiator.. Which adds much more then the simple implementation of arranger styles in the 560
Casio celviano hybrid, Roland hp605, yamaha avantgrand N2
- 3 hybrid piano's loved the action of the avantgrand most when comparing them to a real piano, but the Roland action was surprisingly versatile and combined with its sound(i am a sucker for Rolands piano sounds) it would have been my choice of the 3, espescially when you compare its price to the avantgrand.. cAsio was a little behind, both in keyfeel as in sound .. Yet as allways that is a personall opinion.
Yamaha cvp-709
-just so much fun... But still a shame they didnt add the organs, multipads, ensemble voices and aftertouch of the tyros 5.. The touchscreen interface blows away the tyros 5 in userfriendlyness.. Its done really really good.
Wersi Sonic
-still the instrument of the future, a blast to play, yet my combination of Tyros5 and Kronos88 offers more at only half the price...
I had so much fun playing for hours with all thes instruments, makes you feel like a little boy in a toystore. bUt In the end, i have come to the conclusion that my own combination of korg kronos88/tyros5 is still the best for me.. However, a synthesizer with real knobs and controll like the Nords also is a toy i would love to play with at the home..
If i had have to buy a single product at the musik store, it would have been a Nord lead rack 4..