I have a soft ware based setup at the moment and I intend to keep my PC at the centre of that, I have no intention of moving my sampling or sequencing away from software for example

But as you say i'd like to have a hardware element and as far as I can see synthesis is the prime candidate.

I am studying a music course at the mo as well which has courses coming up on synthesis and acoustics...so i'm not doing it all on my own. Really i'm looking for a good synth to learn on at home while I study at college...and something which will then last as a central part of my techno setup for years afterwards :)