Feature:
Basically it came with a drivers/help DVD, power supply and USB cable... pretty much all you need to make music with it right out of the box. It works as a MIDI controller. The USB interface part had a lot of time lag, that was dissapointing.
Quality:
This is why I rated it so low - I think Novation really screwed up in trying to make a very low cost synth/interface/controller; they must've farmed out the manufacturing to the lowest bidder. The keys SUCKED, they are wobbly and something was wrong with the velocity sensitivity on mine (you had to strike the white keys really hard to get a moderately loud note, and even that didn't work sometimes). In addition the X-Y pad, which is the coolest synth interface ever, was misaligned or something and would BEND in to the unit when I pressed hard on it. I know this is not part of the design, because I exchanged the Xio for an X-station, and the X-Y pad on the X-station is rock solid.
Value:
It's cheap, but it's built cheaply - you get what you pay for. Or maybe not.
Desirability:
I really liked the design of the Xio. The grey body with a blue display, and the black controls looked really cool. If only it had worked as well as it looked...
Sound:
I bought a 49-key Xio because I wanted lots of basses and FX sounding patches... the endorsement by Roots Manuva was also a factor, I respect his music. He was right to say it's really loud, and to me the sounds in it are very good, as good as the Yamaha AN-200 modeling synth I used to have. You can tell the sounds in the Xio are not in the same league as something like a Korg Poly-Six, but only just.
Ease of Use:
I've had experience with a few old Yamaha FM-synths, which were all programmed through menus like the Xio. Even so, this machine takes a lot of getting used to, to figure out what setting or sub-menu has been chosen. Frankly, something might have been wrong with the Xio I had because sometimes it seemed I didn't have access to the settings I was trying to change. If you get one, use the DVD tutorials, it's probably the only way you'll figure out how to program it.
Support:
I contacted Novation about the quality issues and they were very quick to get back to me. They did however basically tell me to talk to the retailer if I thought the Xio had a hardware issue (translation: it's cheap, so if you think it was built badly work it out with whoever sold it to you).
Overall:
I had to exchange it for an X-station. I'm not a full-time gigging musician, and if I was I think I would've been even more unhappy with this synth. You've got to be able to use the gear you buy, no matter how you're using it in your music.
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