does the 2500 sound thin compared 2 older models?

i have a mpc2000xl but i want to upgrade to a 2500 because of it´s faster processing and more possibilities..

but i keep hearing the numark models like the 2500 sound thin and clean compared to the real akai models. (mpc 60,3000,4000 etc...)

is this true,and would the 2500 be a wise upgrade,i will buy the white SE model when the XL has sold.

I made the same switch and it's definitely a nice upgrade for a whole host of reasons. The sound is subjective so only you can decide whether you like the cleaner sound of the 2500.

It's the least of my complaints though.

my friend used to own the 2000xl and his beats were crispy and tender. he then started using the 1000 and they were still crispy and tender. bottom line? the 2500 is an upgrade in hardware, and is worth buying. the sound will be awesome if you are awesome, my friend. which you will be, or already are because of/due to many hours of practice and dedication.

i own the 2500, i don't know if i'd switch to anything other than a 4000 because it's such an awesome machine. starting to fall apart, though, due to my room being dusty. just needs a clean i think as the buttons are starting to not work, not the pads however. just bought a dust cover (for printers) off of amazon for £4.00 so hopefully i can take better care of it.

Don't listen to any of that crap. I used the XL for about 8 years, and when I got my 2500 I heard no difference. Once I learned about the compressors/eq's in the 2500, it took the sound quality over the top!
The 2500 has just enough features for me to never need another drum machine for the rest of my life. Kinda wish the build quality was a little better (had a few buttons bug out on me), but sound and feature wise, it's definitely the best bang for the buck.

Ive had my 2500 for lil over a year now. My theory on the 2000XL/2500 sound debate is that the 2500 Master EQ/Compressor is turned off as a default. If you turned it on and tweaked the EQ a lil bit, it would give you that "Hard Hitting 2000XL Sound". Providing you have that "Old School Ear".


Just my .02

I have a 1000 a 2000 and a 2000xl


all three are digital samplers 16 bit 44.1 khz


put the same sound in all three & they sound the same without messing with effects/ filters


I like the feel of the 2kxl the most though out of the three but the usb connection on the 1000 ( guessing the 2500 has that too i imagine) is quicker transfering files back/forth from pc ( everythinfg ends up on pc eventually for mot of us)

"If you turned it on and tweaked the EQ a lil bit, it would give you that "Hard Hitting 2000XL Sound"

Nah bruh..the 2500 sounds just like the XL in default mode. The magic on the 2500 comes alive once you turn the eq and compression on. I've had both side by side and heard no difference with the dynamics turned off. Personally, I think the 1000/2500 sound better than the 60/3000 ONLY BECAUSE of the eq and compression and plus, you can customize your output sound.

Wow! These are all some real truthful responses! I agree with the responses that stock they sound basically the same. The 2000XL and 2500 are both good sounding machines and with some knowledge and creativity they both can bang hard!!

roxstar wrote:Personally, I think the 1000/2500 sound better than the 60/3000 ONLY BECAUSE of the eq and compression and plus, you can customize your output sound.

good to hear, since everyone here seems to put down the 1000/2500 sound in comparison to the 60/3000.. prolly folks just being nostalgic..

josephnicks wrote:

roxstar wrote:Personally, I think the 1000/2500 sound better than the 60/3000 ONLY BECAUSE of the eq and compression and plus, you can customize your output sound.

good to hear, since everyone here seems to put down the 1000/2500 sound in comparison to the 60/3000.. prolly folks just being nostalgic..

Even worse - often times those criticisms are just somebody with no skills or experience repeating what they read or heard somewhere. I had a kid in Guitar Center tell me how much better the "real" Les Paul guitars sound than the inexpensive, epiphone models. I have been playing guitars for over 25 years and he was there to buy his FIRST guitar and has never played a vintage Les Paul. The same thing sometimes happens to the MPC comparisons.

BGBEATS wrote:I have a 1000 a 2000 and a 2000xl
all three are digital samplers 16 bit 44.1 khz
put the same sound in all three & they sound the same without messing with effects/ filters

+1 ... i got the 2xl and the 2500 together, same samples same sounds ... the rest is just power of suggestion imo ...