I think that you might find that a hardware synth is like many of the software based VSTI's mentioned above....the prices and quality vary greatly....from hundreds to thousands.

You can see from my "sig" below, I have a fairly robust computer that can handle multiple VSTis at once with little to no latency issues. But I have to be honest, 90% of the time I use my hardware based sounds from the Yamaha Motif and the Roland Fantom rack mount modules.

Both of these are "romplers" that is they have fixed sounds with little to no tweaking capabilties...the way they sound is the way they sound. And the sounds are fixed...that is you get what sounds they have, you can't add any more or new sounds. Still each has over 1000 sounds...plenty enough for me. And you never have to worry about computer resources, latency or any other computer issues as these are independent of the computer.

Overall, hardware based modules, compared to true synth keyboard synthesizers, seem to be a thing of the past. Very few new ones have been released in the last 10 years or so. My Motif XS rack was released some 10 years ago! But you can use a hardware based synth module with any kind of computer system...any version of Windoes, Mac, PC...doesn't matter...they never become obsolete. Heck the core of my system is based on a 35 year old DX7II keyboard I use as a mother board!

So to make a long story short, you can go the software based route from soundfonts to high end VSTi's or synth keyboards to modules. The choice and the cost is yours. I think in the end, as you continue your journey in this "hobby" you may find yourself like many of us...you'll end up with a combination of applications, hardware and software.

In looking back, some were good purchases and some...well not so much....but my hardware based modules have always stood the test of time and keep on giving.


Jeff

Win11, Intel i7 7700K 4.2Ghz, 32Gb RAM, 2x1Tb HD, 500Gb NVMe, BIAB/RB 2026, MOTU 828MK3 audio, MOTU Midi Express, Yamaha Montage 7, DX7II, TX802, Motif XS Rack, Roland Fantom XR Rack, Oberheim Matrix 1000, VoiceLive3 Extreme, Kontakt 6, SampleTank 4.3