There's one element that hasn't been appreciated enough in our discussions, and Jdt9517 just hinted at it: the unique sonic character of the Prophet '08. I think the P'08 has somewhat suffered from its beginning as being merely the portion that was extracted from the Poly Evolver. From the start, it was conceived as only the analog portion of the PEK, and not as a unique instrument in its own right with its own voice. This image has stuck to it. Regardless, the P'08 is often viewed as a compromised instrument or one that falls short of all sorts of marks. It falls short of the Prophet 5 mark, the Prophet 600 mark, the Poly Evolver mark, and now even the Prophet-6 mark. It falls short also of the analog mark, because its oscillators are digitally controlled and therefore sound thin! Honestly, I can't think of another synthesizer about which I've read more online criticism. If you want to attract some, simply post a compliment about it under some one's P'08 video, and the critics will come out of the woodwork soon enough. It baffles my mind.
That's not quite accurate though, or only if you focus on the negative comments that tend to be louder most of the times, which makes them stand out more I guess. But I happened to come across a lot of positive comments about the Prophet '08 as well. After all, it's also still selling or otherwise it would have been retired a while ago already. You'll hardly find any retailer site with negative reviews about it (it's an 4.5 to 5 out of 5 stars product almost anywhere you look), same goes for the trade press. Last year, the German online magazine Amazona.de even did a comparison between the Prophet-6, the Prophet '08, and the Prophet-5 (with the latter being excluded from the competition for obvious reasons), which more or less ended up in favor of the Prophet '08, especially with regard to its price and features.
Other than that, you'll find lovers and haters for almost every synth. The Prophet '08 doesn't really stand out or carries a heavier burdon in that regard. I've read and heard lots of negative comments about the Prophet-6 and OB-6 as well. Such as: "the Prophet-6 sucks because it's no Prophet-5 Rev. 2, its keyboard is too short, it doesn't sound any better than software, it doesn't provide enough CV connectivity, it lacks modulation options, and doesn't have enough voices," or: "the OB-6 sucks because even Arturia's iSEM sounds more like a real Oberheim, you can't layer or split voices, I hate blue stripes, it is at least $1,500 too expensive, and nobody cares about it in a mix anyway, etc."
The reason why almost any comment about the Prophet '08 seems to have stood out a little more - especially in its first years -, is the fact that it used to be the only analog poly synth choice that was available brand new. Once the Andromeda was gone, there was nothing. Then came the Prophet '08 without any further competition for years. So that automatically increases the focus towards one particular product, and that includes positive and negative comments. Even Moog went through something similar with the Voyager before you could choose between 3-5 newly introduced analog mono synths each year.
I certainly don't regard the Prophet '08 as an "insiders' tip" - it's much too well known and used for that. And as for its prospective follow-up: For now it's still around, so no one really has to worry. If a synth like the DeepMind 12 will be a thread has yet to be seen. If yes - for all the right and wrong reasons -, DSI will draw their conclusions. But then, DSI also always used to surprise us. So maybe the next release, or one of the upcoming releases, will make these concerns irrelevant anyway. One thing's for sure though: Nothing will hinder anyone to just enjoy his or her Prophet '08.