I think what you buy should reflect your future as much as it reflects your current situation. If you want a one-and-done instrument thatβs going to augment your stable of plugins, I would not buy the Prophet 08, REV1 or 2... unless youβre hearing demos of it that make you so excited that you must have it. I say that, because the Curtis based modern Prophets/MoPho/Tetra have a very specific character. To me, theyβre like cloves. They make a lot of things better, but itβs not something like salt, which will end up in every dish you cook up.
So, if you are thinking this is the first foray into hardware synths, and think that youβll build a collection of a few hardware instruments, get the REV2. IMO, it is going to be considered a classic. However, if you really want a hardware synth thatβs going to make it into all your tracks and youβll do the rest in software, get the Prophet 6 or OB-6. Both are great but offer slightly different βflavors.β I have the Prophet 6 module, but only because it was first to market. Iβve done a lot of research into whether or not the OB-6 would work better for me, and each time I come to the conclusion that either one would make me happy, so I never changed it. Some people have strong preferences of one or the other, so thatβs a personal decision.
The Peak will also become part of my world at some point. They took my advice (no, really. Iβm sure they read my criticism and based all their v 1.2 changes on my opinions and needs.

) and spiced up the wavetable options and added killer features like more LFOs and made effects parameters available to the mod matrix. Novation, you are officially forgiven.

Why I think it would augment plugins really well is that, like the REV2 and 6s, it does really nice analog distortion. IMO, this is the place where most plugins fall short.
The Prophet 12 might also be a good purchase, though I feel like itβs better for more harsh and βdistressedβ types of sounds. Think NIN and Boards of Canada. I donβt know what your music is like, but I personally do use a lot of those types of sounds and they are sounds that benefit from hardware (usually). I have the Pro 2, which is the same (almost) oscillator section with the filters from the 6s. Only mono or 4 voice paraphonic, but thatβs fine for the types of sounds I use it for.
I really like the sound of the Korg Prologue, but Iβm not sure theyβve fixed the tuning issues... or if all units suffer from that particular defect/bug. Iβd be very careful and make sure you buy one from a place that lets you return it if thereβs an issue. I never bothered digging into that debacle, as they left off aftertouch, (in itβs own keyboard or from external keyboards) and thatβs a big no-no for me. If youβre new to keys, thatβs a feature that letβs you press down (sometimes it is called βpressureβ in keyboards) after a note is struck and add some expression/modulation to the sound. Think of it like a mod wheel that allows you to keep your both hands on the keys and that springs back to zero.