When you think of X2 vs X1

betterer for sure. The engine is more refined

Engine seems a lot better to me.

I doubt we will "hear" engine difference.

What I notice about the engine is less prone to glitches.

I have a pretty solid machine but X1 would do a funny audio thing after editing random number of clips (as little as one and sometime not until multiples of 10's). Nothing would bring the audio back (believe me I know all the "tricks") short of closing the project and reopening.

This has not happened once in X2.

That is what make the engine a lot better for me.

  Just got X2 yesterday. Runs much better than X1 here as well on win XP 32 bit. In fact, so far runs like a dream. Love that new amp sim and the Fx chain in the PC is a master stroke.  If I understand correctly, we can now add anything to the PC? I think that's a masterstroke, for folks running out of resources, you can freeze the first layer of FX and still have another layer that anything can be added before it goes to the buss. It's over between me and X1 for sure...

I went from 8.5 to X2, doing a complete uninstall and fresh install only of X2.  V-Vocal now works and in general I do find it a little more stable.  That said I did have one major crash in X2 when loading a softsynth (not a cakewalk one).  It fried my faderport completely, but since I'm adding a BCF2000 controller this week I'm not too upset.  X2 is more resource hungry, and I've noticed when cycling through the media browser to preview samples it doesn't always release the memory elegantly.  The other day it was getting slower and slower (the now marker wasn't even appearing) and when I closed Sonar, after it shut down the desktop was still displaying the 'rendering' dialogue box and loading samples for about a minute.

But I do really like the new workflow and Pro Channels - and this is before I've invested in building out any new templates or screensets.  Going to take it real slow adding new VSTs.

Only one crash so far and I think that was a plugin, not X2 that caused it.

I have projects with Kontakt 5, 64 bit BFD Eco and X2, all of which are unsupported on my Vista 64 bit system and they work fine.

The occasional weird thing has happened but I think its been down to unfamiliarity with the interface.

I had X1 installed but could never get on with it, somehow X2 seems to have addressed some of my perceived workflow / interface issues. Two new features make a big difference. Auto Track Zoom is one major improvement over X1 (but something I did not feel necessary in 8.5) and I really like the ability to click on the MIDI clip headers and to open PRV, event list, staff view or step sequencer.

I've had a very positive X2 experience. Better and Different.

Regards,

I've been beating on X2 really hard since it came out. Quite a few crashes in the initial release, but I haven't had a single crash since the quick fix was installed. It's been rock solid for me.

As for comparing it to X1, I'd say there are things that are better and things that are "different and subjective". The last X1 patch totally fixed the issues I was having with it...so I don't ever have any problems with it.

The one thing I keep forgetting that drives me crazy is lasso-ing with right mouse button. I keep left clicking and dropping midi notes all over the place. Other than that though, I've been learning the new stuff pretty well.

Here's my advice to you, Amp. I would say wait until a REAL patch for X2 comes out. Though the quick fix has been wonderful for me, I have not yet installed X2 on my main recording pc's just yet and won't do so until a real patch comes out. That's not to say you will or won't have any issues, but me personally...I like to run it on a system to test it for a while and then wait for a major patch before I try it on my work horse machines. Just in case there is an issue, I can't afford to be down for an hour let alone have my system messed up. I haven't noticed any anomalies having X1 and X2 on the same machine....you know, where one messes up the other. But I'm still not taking any chances yet.

As far as the audio engine, in my experience is doesn't shut off nearly as often as X1 and previous versions of Sonar. It's rare for me to get a drop-out or have to re-enable the audio engine. I've also noticed about 5% cpu decrease. If I run a project in X1 and the same project in X2, it's anywhere from 3% to 5% less cpu in X2.

Some projects, X2 will use more cpu due to whatever modules I may be using in pro channel that won't be included in X1...so you have to weigh apples to apples when comparing the two. 64 bit X2 has been a bit weird for me as it seems to load up 32 bit plugs even though I have 64's of the same plugs installed. I had to create an entirely different plugin manager for my 64 bit plugs. I never had to do that with any version of Sonar. Usually, I can use the same plugin manager and when I click on something, it would bring in the 64 bit plug automatically if I'm using Sonar 64. I'm not seeing that in X2 though unless I use the new 64 plug manager I created...which I thought was strange. 

But like I say, it has been working well for me. I still think it's in my best interest to wait for a real patch update though before I install on my real recording boxes so that's what I'm going to do. I think the upgrade price is more than fair though and would definitely be worth it for you to grab. It just depends on what your needs and feelings are. Good luck in whatever you decide.

-Danny

Not really pushed X2 yet.....I was one of the X1 haters when it first came out but I suppose I got used to the workflow eventually. So far X2 seems better, slicker and easier to use than X1 but as i say, i haven't worked it hard......yet

I Am very happy with X-2!

I think I'm gonna hold out for a half price deal on a Boss ST2 Power stack: