2000XL vs 2500 ??? Help

Hi there,

I've recently started to get into this production game - I've got an ASR-10 and have been working with that. I now want to get an Akai MPC to go with it but am trying to figure out which one to go for???!?!?
I know the 2500 is newer but does that mean its better than an MPC 2000XL MCD??? And are these Special edition ones you see on ebay sometimes any thing better or just fancy???
A work colleague told the pads are better on a 2000XL and that the 2500 is only licensed by Akai and not fully developed by them (I presume he therefore means that the parts like the pads won't be as well made).
Please could someone explain which the best direction is to take.
Many thanks, Peace, Billy M

i would go for the mpc2000xl sense most sampling will be done on the asr-10

all u realy want and need are pads and tha great sequencer

Shoot me a Email im selling a Mpc2000xl With Card Reader

Its in mint condition but has been replaced with a Mpc2000xl SE3

[email protected] i will send u some pics im only asking 750$

cheers for the info - I'm in the UK so I'll have to give your MPC for sale a miss - plus I need to save a bit more!

Im in the same situation,
i currently have no real equipment myself and am looking to start off by buying either a 2000XL or 2500.

Can someone with a bit more knowledge and experiance (than me) give us their honest opinion.

I have an mpc 1K at the moment (red blue version) but the pads are **** up, I gave it to the seller and he's has five more days to fix it otherwise I'll get the money back. His problem is that the Akai distributor doesn't answer back and so no new pads are send to the seller. When I get my money back I'll probably buy myself a new 2.5K because I want a new thing and it has a lot of features that the xl does not have. I am talking about the grid edit, usb, flash, the ability to stop other pads playing when hitting an other pad (xl has only mute target, not mono programs or voice groups), ability to play the sounds when loading them into the memory, sample out and a bigger ram. The xl is a very attractive machine because of its beautiful design, but the 2.5 has a lot more in it. I sometimes still think of the xl, I have to admit. They say the sound of xl is better, but i don't think there is much difference. On the other hand, xl has 4 effects (with the effect board). Depends on you guys, i don't like the Numark design, but the features seem to be better.
I'm sorry for my English, I'm not a native.