OB-Xd is based on the Oberheim OB-X. It attempts to recreate its sound and behavior, but as the original was very limited in some important ways, a number of things were added or altered to the original design.

OB-Xd was designed to sound as good and as rich as the original. It implements micro random detuning. Also, like many synths of the OB-X's generation, the OB-Xd has no internal effects so its sounds and textures can be greatly enhanced by the use of additional processing like chorus, reverb, delay, etc.