Several questions about X2 capabilities

I am a Sonar 8.5 Producer user and I'm considering between 2 options - upgrading to X2, or starting to use the Reaper DAW instead. 8.5 has several bugs and omissions that have led me to consider switching, but I'm out of touch with what X2 offers, hence this post.
 
So, my specific questions are:

1. Does X2 support the ability to split a clip (and all grouped clips) and automatically crossfade at the split? (Ideally with a configurable crossfade length.)
2. Does X2 support the ability to move audio within a clip (and all grouped clips), without moving the clip? (In 8.5 I would have to slip edit the start, then the end by the same amount, and then move the clip back to its original position) EDIT: Turns out that this is possible in 8.5 with Shift-Alt- Drag.
3. Is it possible in X2 to apply FX to track folders, or to have a fader on them, or do I still have to use a bus for that?
4. Can X2 take one incoming MIDI CC message (eg. CC7) and either record it or play it back as 2 CCs (eg. CC7 and CC11)? I'd use this with synths that have separate volume and expression controls, to be operated with one expression wheel in real time.
5. In your opinion, have there been any improvements to the audio engine since 8.5? I often get dropouts and glitches despite having a PCI sound card, ASIO drivers, and a quad-core processor, and it appears to affect the timing of tracking subtly as well.
6. Is it any more stable than in 8.5? I get a some crashes when saving, when adding track templates, crashes almost every time when exiting the app, etc.
7. Has the Matrix View or the Step Sequencer seen any improvements during X1 and X2? I'd like to use these more often, but they always felt half-finished.

John, some followups:
 
2) imagine I have an audio clip from 2:01:000 to 3:01:000, one bar long. There's a snare hit at 2:03:90 in there. I want to be able to drag the audio within the clip so that the snare hit is now at 2:03:000, but the start and end of the clip are unchanged at 2:01:000 to 3:01:000. This is available on Pro Tools and Reaper.
3) I don't know what you mean by 'the PC', but I'm specifically asking about track folders or an equivalent.
4) I know Sonar can record any CC - I need to know if it can record 1 CC and treat it as if it was 2, either by duplicating on record, or routing it in 2 directions during playback (and ideally monitoring)
6) Did you notice an improvement relative to 8.5? If you found it stable in both 8.5 and in X2, that's unlikely to help me.
 
Thanks for the other answers.
 
Question 4 reminds me of a related issue - does X2 allow you to route 1 MIDI note to 2 or more outputs yet? eg. via a drum map? On 8.5 it only allows each note to be mapped to one place.

2) ALT+SHIFT+drag moves data within a clip
 

Maybe mentioned in Scott's book.
 
You may want to try the X2 demo. The X3 demo probably won't be out for a while.

scook
Maybe mentioned in Scott's book.
 
You may want to try the X2 demo. The X3 demo probably won't be out for a while.

This ^^

Why not try the demo out and see for yourself :) Only you will know if it works for you.

One thing the demo will give you however, that no one here can, is a feel for the UI changes in the X series.   Specific features aside, how you get there can make a big difference.   I personally like SONAR X* and even more so where I see it heading, since I found X2 to be a more evolved version of X1.   And I expect X3 to be the same.   But only you can make that decision. 
 

Stability is hard to predict...too many dependencies. Depends on your computer, memory, operating system, video card, sound card, antivirus, etc. I've deleted most of the freebie VSTs I had downloaded and that helped. I believe if you manage your computer well, its very stable, but if your computer is like the wild west, you'll likely have problems. 

Double post.

daveny5
Stability is hard to predict...too many dependencies. Depends on your computer, memory, operating system, video card, sound card, antivirus, etc. I've deleted most of the freebie VSTs I had downloaded and that helped. I believe if you manage your computer well, its very stable, but if your computer is like the wild west, you'll likely have problems. 

And as the flaws the OP describes are IMO not SONAR 8.5 bugs (crashing by exiting/opening templates etc) per se, and I think it's been more like a concensus that 8.5 has been the most solid SONAR version for years (ever?)
I wouldn't bet a penny for increased stability with 8.5 vs. X2 (in the same machine), even though the X-line has been fairly well ironed already, according to what I've read here.

From the looks of some of the answers you have recived, it sounds like there are a number of things you still have not discovered in 8.5 (this is normal for any program).  I discover all the time there are many features i have not discovered because either a) it is not pushed heavily as a feature by the manufacturer or b) the exact process is hard to describe to even ask the question of another.