Akai's late-90s reinvention of the sampler: a big graphical screen, a computer-style workflow, and that clean 16-bit Akai character. This particular unit is loaded to the gills, RAM maxed at the full 256MB, running OS 2.12, with the eight-output expansion board fitted (sixteen individual outputs total) and digital I/O on the back. Basically the exact configuration people hunt for.

FEATURES & PROS:

• RAM maxed out: The full 256MB fitted as four 64MB SIMMs, over 25 minutes of CD-quality stereo sampling with zero compromises.
• Sixteen outputs: The factory eight plus the IB-S508P expansion board, so every part gets its own channel to the desk.
• Big-screen workflow: The huge backlit display turns sample editing into something closer to a computer than a menu maze.
• Universal reader: Reads its own library plus most EMU and Roland formats, and handles WAV, decades of sample CDs at your fingertips.
• Clean Akai bones: 64-voice polyphony, resonant filters, SCSI and digital I/O for fast library loading.

SPECIFICATIONS

• MIDI stereo digital sampler, 16-bit / 44.1kHz
• 64-voice polyphony (expandable to 128)
• 256MB RAM (maximum), OS v2.12
• 16 assignable outputs via 8-out expansion board
• Digital I/O, SCSI, MIDI In/Out/Thru
• 3U rackmount