I've tried the 2500 in stores several times, and the drums always sound a bit more dull, and less punchy. there isn't as much power in the sound engine. things seem to mush together similar to how they do on a software daw, and as a result nothing cuts though.
I've used a 2000 for 13 years, and the sound has always hit nicely. the sounds are clear and punchy, with more lo end power. overall there is a stronger clarity and presence to each sound.
When the 2000xl came out, it still sounded the same as the 2000, but the jog wheel was replaced with a big wheel, with a garbage feel. the absence of the jog wheel really slowed down the process of selecting numerical parts for chopping etc. instead you had the option of using the slider when chopping. I'm surprised that Akai continued to use those new wheels on the newer models, in my opinion it just adds to the overall cheap feel and sound in comparison to the older units.
That being said, I've used the mpc 5000 a few times, and i was impressed with how the beats turned out.
I guess the real improvements i noticed were the filters (added hipass), a higher resolution sequencer, quicker and easier saving to disk functions, a larger screen, and much more stable and reliable clock (recording tracks one by one into logic did not require any editing as everything lined up perfectly). I noticed the end result actually had a nice rounded feel to it, not quite the same as the 2000, but still great in its own way.
At any rate, as far as sonic power goes, any mpc will shine over any daw, so you really cant go wrong with any model
MPC 3000
