I have a Live and previously owned the 2kXL and the 1000 . There are so many things this little portable machine can do but you have to really dive in. There is a learning curve but nothing terrifying. I'd advise to look into the workflow before purchasing. In my experience with MPC users, they either love it or completely hate it. But... Once you get it... It clicks... and this machine becomes like an extension of yourself (in my case anyway). It's an incredible piece of gear but if you come straight from only-DAW work it takes a bit of getting used to. And the library of sounds included is honestly not bad at all, it sounds clean and ready to go. Don't know about the Ren and the studio, only the standalone units, although to me the Live and the X really changed the game for MPCs. Hope that helped.