XV-3080 for "cheaps"

[Cloudschatze]

Saw this on Harmony-Central's Gear Classifieds page:

Pro Tools and stuff
Asking Price: US$N/A
Condition: Mint
Age: N/A
Description:
Digi 002 Console in perfect shape, No scratches etc,
Have all original packing, Pro Tools 7, Manuals and software
$1425 or best

Digidesign M-Box 1, Pro Tools, Reason Adapted, Ableton Live for PT, Sampletank Le, Amplitube Le and T-Racks Le
Excellent cond w/ orig box $225 or best

Roland XV 3080, Excellent cond, $375

Wavestation SR synth, Excellent cond, $200

Korg MS2000R, Excellent cond, $300

Roland Orchestral II expansion card or all JV, XP and XV
series synths, EC, $75

Roland Sound FX expansion card or all JV, XP and XV
series synths, EC, $75

Tascam DA 40 DAT, used 1hr, perfect cond, $???

Studio furniture and rolling rack for local (Arizona)
only. Make offer
Seller: Paul CruiZe, 623-810-5681
E-mail: cruize (Profile)
Location: Surprise, AZ
Post Date: 6/23/2006

I'm not sure that I would actually recommend the XV-3080 to anyone, but it's a fairly decent price.

[shad0wfax]

I'm not sure that I would actually recommend the XV-3080 to anyone, but it's a fairly decent price.

Eric, I'm just a bit curious: why do you doubt you would recommend a 3080? There are better modules, of course, but for $375 it's difficult to think about one. Maybe a XV-5050? Even so, the 3080 has some advantages, like 128-poly and better expandability.

[Cloudschatze]

XV-3080 = 32kHz engine, 32kHz waveforms
XV-5050 = 44.1kHz engine, 44.1kHz waveforms

Always a compromise, it seems.

[shad0wfax]

XV-3080 = 32kHz engine, 32kHz waveforms

Are you sure about that? (this is a real question, because I really don't know). It seems to me quite shocking that the 3080 works at only 32khz. It was labelled and targeted as a "high-end" module, and AFAIK it's the same engine as the XV-88 keyboard synth, which was the Roland's "beast" at its time (speaking about keyboard synths, because the absolute top was the XV-5080 sound module).

In particular, it seems to me a bit strange that it has 32khz waveforms, when it's calimed to have the same waveform ROM as the 5080. I would think that the sonical differences could come from the simpler effects section and (maybe) the not so good DACs (compared to the XV-5080).

[Cloudschatze]

XV-3080 = 32kHz engine, 32kHz waveforms

Are you sure about that?

David Green, of Lil'Chips fame, confirmed it with Roland Canada and Roland Japan. He created a specification chart which I'll link to later (can't do it from work).

The XV-88 does, in fact, share the same 32kHz engine and waveforms as the XV-3080, attributing to the "darker" sound, as compared to the XV-5080 and above.

Bizarrely, the XV-5080 was the first Roland synthesizer since the JD-990 (1993) to have a 44.1kHz engine.

[shad0wfax]

Well, this is just very surprising for me. I took for granted that both the 3080 and the XV-88 worked at 44.1khz. On the other hand, I'm glad to see that both your XV-5080 and my Fantom XR are, objectively speaking, better sounding synths

[Cloudschatze]

Here's that link I mentioned:

http://web.archive.org/web/20041106084440/www.lilchips.com/roland/