You can't change the console view from that atrocious looking, hard on the eyes and an all out Advil promotional tool, gray to something better. I'm already going blind! I don't need any more help!
 
Or, am I missing something? 

Color options are explained at the beginning of the "X3 Skylight Enhancements" video http://www.cakewalk.com/CakeTV/SONARU.aspx/Get-Started

Thanks scook! I was looking in the preferences. I'll get back to you.

Well, it's a little better. I just don't understand why the bakers can't give us themes. Is this some kind of torcher? Obviously it's not but for me, it is. Why does everything have to be colors that blend so someone like me can't see anything? If it were not for Panu and his mods, I would still be on 8.5.

To the bakers. If you're not going to make color any better for Sonar, can you at least give Panu the resources he needs so he can? I was on his site today and apparently he is having difficulty continuing his efforts.

Edit -> Preferences -> Customization -> Colors.
Presets ("themes"  if you like) are there or make your own...

I got that Alex. I'm more interesting in getting rid of the gray console view at the moment. I set the strip, as Scook suggested, and chose black but all I got was dark gray. At least wasn't bright gray but it's still hard to look at.
 
After diving in and giving it a test drive, I'm liking this new edition so much more. I took an old mix of a Steppen Wolf cover and just gave it a remix and what a difference. Of course, I just spend the last month watching almost every video on Groove 3 learning the most important part of mixing, EQ. I saw all the other ones about compression and general mixing etc. I didn't get much done but I sure learned a lot. I'll have to do a before and after like Beepster did. I still could learn more but the difference is immense.
 
I'm really liking the tape emu. I don't care for it on the drums but for a brush kit, it should sound pretty nice. Going to check out the blue tubes stuff later. I looked at the spatial thing and it looks and sounded good. I wonder if the triangle looking thingy can tilt side to side like that waves one can.

I don't like that the wave foreground is tied to the track color. Unless I'm missing something, that's a dud.
 
It appears you can change the clip background color.
 
8.5 was the best as far as color customization goes. It even worked with Zoomtext. The previous X series did not. I wonder?