the EMX 1 was my first piece of hardware, bought it back in 2009, sold it in 2014. Man i wish i had never sold it. I had such an emotional connection to that machine. Loved how it looked and felt, and it was sooo immediate for expressing yourself and exploring ideas.
But the syntakt is light years ahead of it like someone else here said, in terms of depth and sound quality. The EMX1 can record a lot of automation but it’s impossible to really alter that information afterwards IIRC. P-locks on the elektron gear are way better for adjusting after live recording, or precisely placing on specific steps. Syntakt also has four analog voices, the digital voices sound super clean, way more versatility in the machines than anything on the EMX. The korg tubes were always kind of a gimmick to me too - never really liked how they sounded even after swapping in better tubes.
Still wish i kept it just because it was so sentimental and it would be fun to boot up and enjoy, but the Syntakt is head and shoulders a better instrument.
Both are actually pretty good at getting classic sounds like you asked about, but the syntakts chord machine for instance is overall more pleasurable to use, more versatile, and sounds better.
Not a great pad machine IMO, partially because mono (although there are tricks to get mimic poly or get more voices in a single track), but also just the sound isnt quite lush or thick the way youd want for pads. At least thats been my experience, but maybe someone else knows better.