Funky-
These kinds of questions are always hard to answer as it's a very subjective matter what sounds are right for someone.
I have
a Proteus 2500 which has, I believe, the same sound set as the 2000, but adds a sequencer and a faster, 24 bit processor. I also had for a while
a XL-1 Turbo. Personally, I found the XL-1 hard to use. The interface is the same for all of the proteus units and I didn't like trying to work with 4 knobs to control 16 parameters. Very unintuitive, at least for me, anyway. The 2500 has a lot more real-time controls, but I still find the interface confusing and, frankly, it's very unattractive which, sub-conciously, makes me less inclined to go beyond the presets. My impression of E-mu sounds is that they're not particularly inspiring. They don't have the bite or edge of some units, more meat and potatoes. Still they offer a lot of bang for the buck and, I suspect, that's why E-mu has had good success selling them. It's also good that the units are expandable, though the boards seem overpriced to me. The good news is (or maybe it's bad) that I think E-mu is discontinuing/has discontinued most if not all of the Proteus line as well as their keyboards (depending on your budget and needs, you might look for a deal on
a PK-6 keyboard-it's the same synthesis engine again with less polyphony, but better DACs, but you get a keyboard-albeit not a great one). One other thing you might consider for your Proteus, and I haven't used this myself, only found it today is this-
http://www.saxonite.co.uk/proteum/proteum.stm Anything that makes programming clearer is a big help. Excuse my ignorance, but what is a "SH" unit?
I've never had
the JP8000, but I know it's a solid board for your chosen genre. Personally, I have come to dislike Roland gear in general. Every single thing I've ever bought from them has had some little niggle that really seems to affect my experience with the device. But, that's just me and I seem to be a very small minority.
You can't go wrong with the Triton- which version of the LE are you looking at? Try to get at least the 76 if not the 88. I highly, highly, highly recommend that you invest the money in this-
http://www.karma-lab.com/
If you spend the time to learn this software, you will be absolutely blown away. I own a KARMA and it is, without doubt, the deepest synth I have ever had. The MW software basically adds, through your computer, the KARMA function to your Triton. Also, the latest version's Virtual Midi Port allows you to send the KARMA data to any device in your setup.
I don't know much about the A-Station. The obvious things I see are the reduction in polyphony (from 24 to 8) and it sure looks like it would be difficult to program from the tiny panel. The knobs are right on top of one another! I suppose that all these choices are related to budget. One thing though,
the Supernova II is not being supported by Novation which means that you should be able to find some great deals on them (I got mine as a demo unit for only $899.00 at Sam Ash).
I hope all of this helps.
Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer.
Ted