The SH201 is TI-able.

[Khazul]

Ugh - welcome to latency hell....

At least until the main OS vendors decide that audio latency actually matter to some people...

I like hardware synths for a very good reason: near zero latency, when I hit a key - it plays now, not when some damn computer finally wakes up like its a grey monday morning, gets a coffee, looks at the mail and realises shit! - a sound needs playing!!! Arg!

[Hollowcell]

If all companies go completely soft with dongle hardware, then this will be horrible. DAWs are becoming drained enough.

As far as the quality goes, it's a hard one to judge without a hands-on. The 808 sampler box is another one in that light - $1000 with motorized faders and an hour of sample-time!? Almost Behringer pricing there.

I think it's good that companies like Roland are dropping prices. Maybe they are going for a volume pricing strategy as Khazul said. Good way to compete with software. Aim for lower profit per unit, and get in on those people who feel more comfortable with the price and environment of software.