I took a 9000 out tonight for a club date.

*** First Impressions ***

#1 - DON'T sell your X1's !!!!!
#2 - The sound system distorts far too easily, although the general tone quality at moderate levels is good.
#3 - Keyboard feel is OK, not as good as the X1. The key stroke is shorter, and harder to get a good range of dynamics from. Rhodes players, (like me) that are used to "digging in" will be a little disapointed here.
#4 - Sound quality is about par with the Solton - each has their own "primo" sounds, but across the board, they are both in the same league.(Major league, at that!)
#5 - Layout of the buttons has it ALL over the X1 - it's easier to do a lot of things .
#6 - Tap tempo - I missed that with the X1
#7 - DSP's - score another one for the Yammie
#8 - Mic preamp & harmonizer - both excellent
#9 - Patterns - X1 still wins here
#10 - 1 finger chord recognition - X1 is more logical. The Yamaha uses the "Idiot" method from the Casio stuff (Push "C" & "Bb"
together and you get a C minor chord, instead of a C7.)
#11 - midi files sound a THOUSAND times better on the X1 ! No kidding - the overall tone is not even close. This is because Yamaha put all their attention into the XG and special sounds. These don't get called up with the GM map! Therefore, the sequences sound lifeless and whimpy. I suppose, if you make your own, this will not be a problem
#12 - Polyphony - Don't be fooled by the 126.
It uses them all up faster than the 64 in the X1!! This shocked me, but it's true !
I used the Grand Piano1 layered with Live!Str
and the "dropouts" were pitiful! Almost unplayable. What a scam. The better voices are all layered within the patch and the useable polyphony is actually WORSE than a 64 note keyboard! Nice move, Yamaha! Did you think we wouldn't hear it ?
#13 - As an "all in one" unit - it has alot to offer. SCZI, video outs, direct outs, DSP's etc...... it just lacks the "Balls" of the X1. I'm not done testing it out, so this is NOT my final answer, Reegis. I am quite un-impressed with the overall package, but I like some things. The OS is very nice, the sounds are great, the DSP's are fabulous, and it's entirely TOOOOOO heavy for how loud it ISN'T !
More to follow tomorrow. I'm not giving it back just yet. It may still be a good "stay at home" piece.
Oh yeah, the smf playback - This version can't search for a new song title while the current song is playing. Unacceptable, but I hear a change is in the works. We'll see.