The bottom bracket drop is the same on the Cross Check as it is on the Double Cross. I'm not sure what's meant by "tight" geometry. For a 58 cm seat tube, the Cross Check has the same head tube and seat tube angle, with a shorter top tub (580 mm vs. 592 mm) and a shorter wheelbase (1030 mm vs. 1042 mm). The Cross Check is about 10% heavier than the Double Cross. I suspect the Double Cross is more relaxed/comfortable than the Cross Check, which is itself already well on its way to being a light touring bike.
I think it would be hard to determine if Soma has "fixed" their welds, as this is likely a frame-to-frame variance. I know there's a guy who posts here a lot who loves his Double Cross.
I'm not sure if it's available as a frameset, but the Masi Speciale CX has a shorter top tube than either the Double Cross or the Cross Check and a slightly steeper seat tube angle. If I understand everything correctly, this translates to a more race oriented geometry. The bottom bracket is 1 millimeter higher and the chainstays are about 1 centimeter longer. I'm not sure what effect that has. It's listed as "double butted 4130 chromoly" which doesn't really tell you anything. Based on complete bike weight, I'd guess it's between the Surly and the Soma in weight.
If you're open to other materials, the Kona Jake the Snake is available as a frameset in about the same price range as the Cross Check or the Double Cross and has geometry similar to the Masi, but with a slightly steeper head tube angle. Kona lists bottom bracket height, not drop, but if I've guessed correctly, it seems to be a few millimeters higher than the others, but I may be wrong about that.
Last edited by Andy_K; 02-03-10 at 09:48 AM.
Reason: had my direction wrong on comments about bottom bracket drop (Doh!)