Yeah, you should read up on what rights you have. As Tutor mentioned, in the UK we have up to six years to make a claim on something that isn't working as it reasonably should. It requires some effort, but for something that expensive I would be making the case. Also, it would be a case against the retailer, not Akai. It does suck that Akais customer services are almost non existent.
This idea that just because something is out of a 1 year warranty, and therefore something that you just have to eat, is bullsh*t. People need to stand up against poor standards. We're paying a lot of money for something that is suppose dto be made to a high standard, and should last a long time. I don't think anyone on this forum would buy an MPC from a store with a wad of hard earned cash, if the store said to them "have fun, this thing will only work for two years". I just had a £50 mouse start malfunctioning 13 months after buying it. I contacted the place I bought it from, and initially they said it was out of warranty, nothing happening. I managed to speak to someone in their head office (as opposed to a kid on the till) and I politely stated my case. For £50 I wasn't going to take it any further than that, but luckily the guy saw my point and sent me out a b-stock replacement. If it had been a 2 grand synth or a laptop, I would be taking it to the claims court.
I just think that for people who can't afford to throw money away, or people who want to put the effort in, it's worth finding out what rights you have. And, its no use asking someone on the shop floor because they rarely know anything past their own store policy.
Just as an example here is a nicely laid out statement from Apple for UK statutory rights. Even if it doesn't help the OP, it's worth noting just to pass on..
https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/uk/