[brockrockman]

Agreed -- the price contrast between the unit itself and the component replacements and upgrades is a turn-off, however going into a ~30 year vintage pro audio sampler thinking it will have a low cost of ownership or repair feels unfair.

Yes, the base unit themselves might be cheap. But once you're looking at enthusiast-produced LCD replacements or optionally-purchased-in-the-90s expansion cards, having sticker shock is expected.

LCD parts are cheap if you want to put the domain engineering work and solve engineering challenges yourself. They are expensive if you're one-stop buying a targeted kit and just trying to max out your upgrades.

An HN poster might be willing to put in significantly more time head-desking and soldering to save $200. A producer buying a vintage Akai is not necessarily looking for an EE project.

To that producer, the functionally upgraded unit is "worth" a lot more than $300 since they're selling the products of it.