The price will drop soon, then snag it. We are too close to x4 for you to pay full price.

I never bothered with X1 or X2 because it seemed quite apparent that they both had considerable issues and 8.53PE was so solid for me that I couldn't see any advantage in upgrading. I was about to buy melodyne and considering addictive drums at the time X3 came out - so it became a no brainer for me. I'm still not in love with the console view (another reason I had previously avoided X series) but I don't regret buying it at all. There's a lot to like. ARA integration of melodyne and VV is probably worth the entry fee alone IMO - very slick. Bear in mind that you will probably want/need to upgrade melodyne to editor version (the included version is quite basic) but that still makes it a good overall price for editor. That said, at this time of year I would probably wait for the close-out  buy X3 get X4 free type deal that probably isn't too far away.

loving x2 I have not been on these forums for ages because well its just wonderful to work in. 
If I go to version x3 then it would have to be miles better than this one but I cant see that happening X2 is perfect!

Well if you don't want VST 3 or great comping or color coding tracks or a pop out EQ with spectrum or super stable performance or Melodyne or ARA or Region FX then by all means stay with X2. 

I've pretty much decided to go ahead and get the upgrade . . . but as someone wise said in a previous post, I'm holding out for the eventual $99 deal . . . then snap! I'm on it
 

X3 Producer is so good I think I am going to stick with it for a while

wetdentist
X3 Producer is so good I think I am going to stick with it for a while

One point worth considering is that X3 is a "mature" implementation of the X-series concept. In other words, with X3 putting the main "big bits" in place (VST3, ARA, new video engine, and a radical new way to do comping), I would expect future updates to concentrate more on working within the solid framework that X3 has established. In theory, this would mean less of a learning curve because you won't have to learn something significantly different, like the new way of doing comping, but can learn new features "a la carte." It also means Cakewalk has the breathing room to re-evaluate features that were added in the past, but could use a refresh.
 
We'll see...but as someone who uses Sonar almost everyday, I've always found the updates to be worth the bucks. It's clear Cakewalk's strategy is to include enough new features so that even if you only care about a few of them, the update is still cost-effective. 

Anderton
 It also means Cakewalk has the breathing room to re-evaluate features that were added in the past, but could use a refresh.

Keeping my fingers crossed for an Audiosnap reboot.