The EPS has a straightforward interface that is easy to use, with configurable controls geared for live performance.

A company called Maartists offered both 4x and 8x memory expanders, allowing a total of 2 Mwords RAM.

Other improvements include CD-ROM support in the optional SCSI interface and FlashBank storage for the OS and favorite sounds.

The keyboard is of thick plastic construction of a dark gray color with 61 weighted keys.

The interior of the unit is accessed by removing four hex screws under the front of the keyboard and swinging open the rear-hinged control panel.

The key limitations of the EPS were its proprietary disk format, and later a lack of support from Creative Technology, the current owner of Ensoniq.

The main processor handles the I/O while the sound engine is responsible for keeping the audio running without interruption — this made the EPS especially useful for live performance situations.

Easter Egg: There is a hidden menu in the Command-ENV1 page which contains Software Information, the names of the designers, a DC Offset Adjustment, and a keyboard calibration command.

Instruments can contain a number of discrete samples which are patched into Layers - each with their own ADSR-like envelopes and keyboard ranges.

On the EPS-16 Plus, the Transwave loop mode allows the start point to be modulated in exact "single-cycle" steps, giving effects similar to the PPG Wave.

The EPS supports polyphonic-aftertouch on its 61 keys, and therefore allows a fair amount of expression as a MIDI controller.

True to their user-oriented approach, the EPS boot disk not only contains everything needed to run the sampler, but also a tiny operating system with the ability to create a bootable version of itself.