yo i just messed a bit for the first time on an mpc 1000, dont know if what im about to say is gonna be of super help cuz youre looking at 2k right/? but anyway, the menu diving is in there, but i didnt really find it to be THAT annoying and since you're up on computers you might find it not a big deal at all. seems like it would be pretty dope with the tracks in the seq and the 4 ind. outs. anyway you're beats are dope i couldnt believe how raw you made FL sound with that cd you sent me, so i hope you make the right gear choice for you, if you still cant decide try combining pieces from all your diff gear into one track

Im also watching a few mv's on ebay, those things are a beast and i like the vga output in the back. they are pretty cool machines so i think it will depend on the used price i can get and when the bidding is over but i gotta get rid of this 555 first, then its on.
but just being able to see the waveform when i chop would help me out greatly cause i just couldnt get used to copy and pasting and editing all those chops.

I would be careful of the MV. If you like the fast results of the 555 I dont know if you will care for the mv. There are a lot of menus in the mv ESPECIALLY if you are not running the external monitor. It is not as intuitive as the sp series. I actually put mine on craigslist today. Im looking into a 606 or mpc1k. I know the MV looks cool and a few on the forum rock it, but beware. Just my 2cents.