Thank you, Mully!  Well it sounds like it's certainly worth diving into X2.  Although, I'm really starting to wish I'd given 8.5.3 a chance.  Then again, there's a lot about X1 I really like.  Soooo...maybe X2 is the way to go, and pray to the DAW gods that Cake hasn't given up on their VS-700 users.  Would love to see an X2b before the next major release, and that's one thing that gives me pause.  With the upgrade price dropping, it usually means the next release isn't far around the bend.   Decisions, decisions.  :) 
 
Anyway, I really appreciate the input.  :)

Yeah I think we have seen the last update for X2 unless Cake give way to all the cranky customers who swear they will jump ship if there is not another update before the next release. I'm with you though...a new release is more probable than another update.
 
X1 did seem the goods initially but X2 is a load better and I won't ever go back to X1 for any reason. There will no doubt be the odd return to 8.5.3 but only to avoid getting some old projects into X2. I see you have the 700 gear already so it is a tough gamble for you I guess regarding X2 or wait for next release....can you get a trial install for X2? I haven't kept up to date on this. Just know that X2 with the 700C is definitely a major improvement I think one and all would agree. Not perfect by a long stretch but definitely makes it usable again...mostly.
 
Cheers.

well I have X 2 in the box ready to go but I'm upgrading my computer at the end of the summer. I wanted to get through my recent CD before I started messing with something new. Hopefully there will be a bunch of fixes and updates by the end of August.
I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Probably X 3 will be out by then ha ha ha.
WSS

Heather,
 
I had X1d happy and stable on my system and installed X2.. initial reliability (crashes) were frequent (1/day), vs rarely but I managed to correlate between actions and crashes and avoid the instances.. X2a was a sizeable improvement and has behaved itself more appropriately.
 
why x2?.. take lanes tools and auto zoom... The seth/Brandon intro video of x2 had me totally sold.. ease of use has increased quite substantially.
 
Don't have the vs700c..too many synths in the way...lol
 
cheers, ian