Have to agree. The XF8 is not all that much more than the XS8 as an "upgrade". But they did add some nice things and took away some nice things. Added 136 voices (for those who run out of useful voices on the XS8) They took out the FW and made it an option. Added some $300 Flash RAM card options to save samples rather than reload upon start up. All in all still the king of workstations (47% of the market. The additional ARPS are what I would be most interested in.

I exoect the T-4 to be the same. Looks like the Hard Drive is still there (maybe an SSD?) nah.... XLR likely means phantom Power and condenser mike recording which is huge for those who compose and record solely on their their units and those of us who love the Beta 87. (could this mean eight or more of onboard audio recording as well?) Would love to see "direct to USB recording" like the XS has as well.

More SA2 sounds, Styles, Multis, Since the T3 IS a sampler the additional voices are less of an impact. The SA2 Voice packs Yamaha released were pitiful really. I bought the Trombone.

It is my experience that people who don't use Yamaha products have higher expectations of Yamaha products than those who actually like and use them. The s910 was a worthy upgrade for $50 more than the S900. The USB recording and new screen alone was worth that.

It's like DAW software...skip a version for a more intense upgrade experience.