Am not an expert in drum machines nor am i a ROCK STAR drummer but the alesis performance pad is a niffty little thing! the sounds are extreamly realistic from the crash symbol to the snare drum and there are an array of different drum sounds to choose from...jazz, rock, latino to name a few! its also quite a simple machine to get your head round, very easy to programme, no complications at all...i have mine connected through my PC speakers (creative gigaworks t40's) and it sounds a treat, not that you need to run the pad through a PC, it works all on its own, just plug it in, switch it on, connect to either headphones or speakers and away you go!! it also sounds supurb through my KAM headphones, brilliant for keeping next door happy! In all i think it is well worth the money compared to some more expensive models out there which no way sound as good as the alesis performance pad..its also a very stylish looking unit, very simple to control and operate...my only dissopointment is the LCD Display has no back light so if your playing in a dimmly lit room, or gigging in some dark pub corner..have a torch at hand cos you cant see whats on the display...strange why alesis didnt give it a back light especially when its run off electricity!!!...still....i love it and am sure i will have many, many hours of fun with this machine...maybee it will turn me in to a brilliant drummer someday!