bought an mpc 2500 about a year ago ended up selling it...before that i had an akai mpd and now maschine..to tell you honestly, its better having a midi controller than a hardware unless your really into it...as
@thedreampolice said its basically the same...it will practically spit out what you put in...your better of sampling into your laptop/computer that way you can do more rather than going hardware which will limit the stuff that you can do, because from what i understand is a hardware is built for a specific job.
but if i had to choose? i would go for the 2kXL always loved how every beat made through this sounded classic...
if your going to use the mpc alone for everything go for the 1k..again...because its faster...
but if its just for sampling your vinyl collection, might i suggest a cheaper option?
how bout the mpc 500? that way its portable? ( might buy myself one of these soon )
also if you like keyboards check out ensoniq asr-10...(will definitely get me one of these if it pops up.)
if you want to hear what this sounds like? a perfect example would be jake-one...he always uses this.
hope that helps..
peace!