I went to the nearby store yesterday and they had the E-50 in stock. Spent about 1 hour on the keyboard and here are my first impressions:

The first thing that struck me was the rubbery buttons it has. While it is nice to have the soft indicator light under those buttons, the rubbery feel and toy-like clicks make me wonder if I am really looking at a >US$1,200 instrument.

The sounds are pretty good. The default piano sound (Natural Piano) has a warm and rounded feel. There are other Piano samples like Superior Piano, Upright Piano or Classic Piano offer some variation should you prefer shaper or duller sounds as you please.

The key feel seems typical Roland. But compared to my old but excellent Roland XP-80, the E-50's keys somehow doesn't feel as good - a little more springy and not as crisp. Of course, this keybed beats any Yamaha keybed hands down. This is subjective - so if anyone has tried the E-50/E-60 please share your feedback as well.

I like Roland's user interface, but not the screen. The screen is grayscale and passive-matrix which is famous for its contrast problem. But I figure I would probably have to pay double if they use an active-matrix screen. Screen touch requires a firmer push - a gentle tap would not register.

In general, I think compared to the PSR-3000 (which i also tested), the E-50 is a better keyboard. While I reckon the build of the Yamaha is better, Roland wins on the key feel. Sound-wise, they are similar at least to my ears, but this is speaker and EQ dependent. PSR-3000 has more styles and has harmony capability. E-50 has a guitar mode, which the Yamaha doesn't, but I wonder how much I would use it. E-50's styles are also decent, especially "Live Band" styles, which I like.

[This message has been edited by leeclw (edited 11-02-2006).]