For sure, I love the X99. I haven't tested it with an X88R back to back, but the X99 sounds and feels very close to what I can recall from the X88. So, well, I would say it's like an X88, but with MIDI and presets. In any other respect, I probably wouldn't call it modernized, but it came out back in 1992 or so and is a pretty old school unit apart from the motorized pans.