I don't know if I'd agree that Roland's layering of tones on their XP/JV synth patches "massively reduces polyphony". The majority of the preset patches on the XP synths are comprised of fewer than four tones, including many with only one or two tones. Isn't Triton's polyphony "oscillator"-based? Is its functional polyphony more like 31 "notes"? And as far as timing problems in the XPs go, I think it is a polyphony issue and I think that it is MIDI control features (that can often be disabled without affecting the sound of the sequence) that probably consume the polyphony so easily.

As far as Roland's upcoming workstations...I can't imagine that they'll be anything that spectacular. For a hobbyist like me, I can't justify spending over $1000 for some upgraded features that won't really make much of a difference in how my songs ultimately sound (in my car and home CD players).