I’m not sure, but on paper they’re both attractive. The DR-2 with its built-in processing of every sound. And the recent new firmware. There and ready rumbles and everything that everyone would like to wish for themselves. AB praise and distrust of users, the number of tools on board. In general, it’s hard for me to say. I probably came for a simple answer from the owners. Take this or this for you. Or it’s all bullshit and get a sampler)
no opportunity to test that’s gear
I am in the process to map the euklid generator of Analog Rytm to a midi controller bank, dont know how this turns out, but could be fun and endless rhytmic pattern variation. Who has 12 euklids at his fingertips? I doubt that a Alpha Base can do similar.
This is a cool video that shows that idea in action: Nice video: Linking MIDI faders to the Euclidean FILLean
After I got an AR mkII I spent less and less time with my modular setup. With the AR 1.70 there was just so much you could explore, and it felt a bit like working with something modular - but you could save it and recall it.
It’s not perfect, but for techno it is pretty much the most versatile machine you can get.
Haha, yes… thats the idea, my midi controller can have min max settings also, so i want to load 10 snares to sample slot 80 till 89 and scroll them while also tweaking the euklid, can be fun, but needs another evening for setup. Adding a controller is not a bad idea to the rytm, while it already has the best interface for performances… but i dont know if the performance macro can control the euklid generators, it sure can switch the sample.
I’m a simple man, all I want for Christmas is Multimap on Syntakt.
Best machine with most features: AR
Best synthesis sounds: MD
Best workflow - and the best machine without overthinking: Perkons HD1
Someone said this elsewhere and it’s a truth bomb that is now going off all the time:
All you need is a Syntakt.
i feel like the AR is the best I’ve used but i still get frustrated by it:
part of me thinks id get more done with the TR8 but its the ugliest thing ive ever seen in my life. used to have the original but blegh
korg emx-1 was probably the most fun drum machine ive owned but it sounded like butt (my two cents)
So - while I am certainly supportive of my Syntakt comment above, I happen to have a secret weapon and it may be my true all time fave: the Monomachine Bbox.
That’s very true.
Trying to find the perfect drum machine would be elusive because perfection doesn’t exist 
IF… I was going to get an 808, I would plump for an RE-808, simply because it is an 808 with the option of midi and the solder points are fresh!
The 808 kit that an Electronaut made for the AR is what I actually have, it’s great, it gets me there and I don’t need to fork out for a Pultec to make the kick booooom. I can also use the Din-Sync out (option) on the AR to clock my Pam’s/modular.
I love my AR mk1, I need to get the knobs serviced and a new pad set, but I can’t let it go.
I keep being tempted by modular drums, but I always resist when I remember the AR + OT…
The DR-2 has some solid bass drums on it, along with the bass line synth from the new firmware, but I’m not to thrilled with the claps. The other percussion sounds are ok to work with though.
The Alphabase, as I’m sure you’ve heard, has a mean kick. But for me the magic is running samples through it’s filters, makes everything nice and crunchy. I can’t get to many usable sounds from the Mbrane or FM synth, this takes some work to do.
My MFB-Tanzbär is my favourite analog drum machine… That and the Digitakt II kinda cover my needs. My Rytm is getting less and less use. Hope Elektron release a Syntakt II which basically covers the Rytm and Four territory… But yeah. Tanzbar. It sounds SO good…
…to be able to treat rhythmical elements AND harmony elements in samblebased and synthesis based form, via plockable stepssequencing AND via fingerdrumming pads with a songarranger backbone…THAT’s ALL it ever needs…
and elektrons’ TV…in combo with some additional, ordinary external midi conroler that offers deadsimple pads and knobs might be the final answer to all this…
until then…an old mpc and/or a dt2 plus st will do… 
For me, the “perfect” drum machine has the ability to swap sequences for each part independently. So sadly current Elektron faire doesn’t hit it. Nothing really hits it yet.
I always thought the Drumbrute was the most immediate and playable drum machine I’ve encountered so far. Lots of fun and easy to navigate. Only issue is the sounds of course. If they had this UI with Elektron style machines (or even samples) with P-locks it would be just about perfect to me.
A Digitakt with a Perkons UI would make me the happiest man on the planet.
Syntakt with more digital machines or a short wav player really would fit this bill… love it but a bizarre move to save usable digital hi hats for a future update on what was initially a 1k drum machine