It does sound very good. I hope that they port the 4 voice versions of the jupiter and juno to the system 1m . I don't see me buying the system 8 not for lack of quality but more because roland kinda nickel and dimed the users of the system 1 and 1m (I mean really I have to BUY the plug out of the system 1 engine to use it as a vst?) maybe if I see it used on the cheap... but damn it did sound like the real deal.
I listened to quite a view demos last week, including the System-8 and the System-1. I have to agree on the sound quality. It sounds really, really nice. I would even be tempted to get a System-1m for the System-100 plug-out alone, but then I learned that the hardware doesn't give access to all the necessary parameters, and that was the end of the story for me, since I belong to the "no mouse, more fun" group.
Nevertheless, the advantage of the hardware obviously lies in not making your computer's CPU freak out. That and having at least in most cases a bunch of dedicated controllers for the plug-outs seems to be it.
I can't really tolerate a hardware poly synth without aftertouch in 2016 though. Especially if it's all digital. That's a huge step back in terms of expression. And like I said before, the JD-Xa keyboard already felt super bad to me, and I don't assume Roland adjusted the quality for the System-8. In that regard I have to say sorry, it just doesn't feel like a proper keyboard that should be on a synth in this price range. After all, the System-8 and System-1 have been built to meet the haptic needs of musicians. If you fail to add a proper keyboard you basically damage the whole package in my opinion. It's like the lack of a MIDI interface and a headphone output when you buy all of the Roland modules in the SYR-E84 Eurorack case: a completely unnecessary move.
i dunno, aside from their eurorack stuff (which is really malekko) I kinda would rather roland stick to digital as opposed to analog... the analog they have done lately hasn't exactly been mind blowing, where as the digital stuff certainly sounds good (that pro mars sounds so damn real)
I think you don't have to worry. But what analogs (the modules aside) are you referring to? The analog elements of the JD-Xa and JD-Xi?