Source: Keyboard Magazine, "Creating and Using Soundfonts with the Roland JV-1080" ( archived version )
If you prefer using SoundFonts due to their workflow, you can make them sound significantly better and closer to the hardware by adding modern processing: roland jv 1080 soundfont better
The SoundFont offers something neither the hardware nor the official plugin can: total freedom. As one Gearspace user noted about the software plugin, it is "more hi-fi, uncoloured... technically/sonically 'better' - but perhaps not 'preferable'". The SoundFont allows you to be the engineer who colors the sound. The SoundFont allows you to be the engineer
I’ve been down the rabbit hole again. You know the one: “How do I make my [soft synth/sampler] sound more like a hardware JV-1080?” Roland JV-1080 Soundfont (Beta) by VentusArranger
The most direct "useful post" for a downloadable soundfont is on Musical Artifacts . Roland JV-1080 Soundfont (Beta) by VentusArranger.
SoundFonts allow you to load up all your favorite JV-1080 patches directly into your DAW (FL Studio, Logic, Ableton) with zero setup time.
: A community-corrected version that fixes common sample delay issues found in older soundfonts [ Musical Artifacts Pro Tip for Realistic Strings