Pricing & Availability

Spark 2 can be exclusively purchased online from Arturia for an introductory promotional price of €129.00 / $129.00 between May 1 and June 30, inclusive (rising to €169.00 / $189.00 thereafter).
Alternatively, Arturia is also offering a promotional pricing of €199.00 / $199.00 on the SparkLE Creative Drum Machine controller (with Spark 2 included) between those same dates (rising to €249.00 / $299.00 thereafter).

 

So, they upgraded the software, made it backward compatible with the original Spark Hardware but yet, downgrade the new hardware to LE, plus cut the price? Interesting!

 

I would definitely say that the hardware has been upgraded, there are so many things that are better about it, most of all the improvements that affect your workflow. You can see the difference for yourself: Original Spark vs SparkLE It is odd that they call it LE as this usually means to me that it is a light edition and in my opinion it is far superior to the original Spark. I have only personally owned a SparkLE, as the price of the original Spark was way too much for a student's budget. The price for a SparkLE is really good, and with the new REX features that Spark 2 has to offer I may not be playing with anything else for a while. I would most definitely recommend the SparkLE and Spark 2 combo.

 

I may have used the wrong term "downgrade" here to categorize the new hardware; I'll also admit that I don't physically own any versions. So, maybe the term should have been 'another version'. However, it is also very obvious and apparent that hardware wise from feature standpoint and built, this is NOT an upgraded version of the original Spark. I mean, by default and industry standard in labeling "LE" stand for limited/less. And no manufacturer would make the mistake in promoting an item for months with such a gaffe if they meant otherwise; especially with a less expensive price tag. Just by looking at the two hardware size and available knobs and screens, it is no contest that SparkLE is the junior; Just like MK2 and Mikro are the little brothers of Maschine Studio.
Now, of course, just like you pointed out about certain things you like about the LE, a potential new customer can still make their mind and choice in choosing the LE based on form factor and knobs placement, which usually is the deal breaker for maximal workflow. But again, it is choice that Arturia offers here, not an upgrade per say of the original hardware.
The real upgrade comes in Arturia 2 the software, which is backward compatible with the original. So, truly, if ones already is comfy with the original, they get a beefy upgrade too.

 

I bought SparkLE months ago (and the TR-8 last week) -- great bit of kit(s) -- Spark 2 looks GREAT (much improved) -- however, the v2 update requires me to upgrade to 10.7 (MacOS) or greater. I have yet to take that plunge (still on 10.6.8), for fear of what I might lose in regards to audio SW, etc. I keep getting Apple prompts to upgrade from 10.6.8 to 10.9 (for FREE) -- a bit pushy imho, has me wondering ... WTF? Any Mac OS users care to impart some solid OS advice in regard to upgrades -- 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 --- what's the word!?

 

The first thing is to check ALL your hardware drivers (sound card, controllers...) compatibility.
Some brands didn't moved right on this point...

About softwares, you will be pushed forward to 10.8 (at least) anytime soon.
It is the same movement than ppl being pushed over Windows 7 minimum, because XP is dead...and Vista is just bypassed.

Here, we have 10.6.8 with 10.7 "bypassed" to reach 10.8/10.9
They don't ask for 10.9 minimum...but it is coming soon ("you know guys...upgrade is free !" kind of sentence)
May be next year, Logic X updates will be 10.9 minimum (it is already 10.8.4) ... we are used to this with Apple.

And this move is partly due to computers being compatible with 10.8 are with 10.9, too.
This free Apple upgrade pushed all the softs makers (and even hardware) in the 10.8 / 10.9 minimum direction.

Do a FULL backup, do the 10.9 upgrade. Play a month. And make the decision to keep or not.
Be careful to make a REAL total system backup, because roll-back can be a mess

 

With the exception of the ability to tweak multiple pads at the same time the SparkLE offers an identical feature set and even offers a dedicated tune function. I would argue that because you are going to be using the hardware with a pc there is no real need for a LCD screen as you are going to probably look at you pc monitor anyways. Personally I don't find the ability to manipulate multiple pads at once in realtime a necessity. There is always automation should the need arise. However I always tune every pad and even build entire groove sequences with it. The location of the step sequencer is also much more accessible. Because the functions that would be accomplished with the extra knobs can all be done via automation, I find their inclusion unnecessary for my needs. If you are a live performer who requires that degree of control, then I suggest investing in something like a dsi tempest as they are more suited to this purpose. The Sparks run identical software, so for most people I think tat the price is a benefit to SparkLE ownership. I find the build quality to be excellent, and the size to be appealing as I have a lot of equipment to squeeze into a small space. I recommend that you spend a lot of time with both of them as I think that you are likely to come to the same conclusions as I have.

 

Agreed, nothing but good things to say about SparkLE -- BeatStep is next on my list of wants ... Arturia is getting it done !