Yeah, yeah, yeah, dead horse...get over it.
After years of running Shimano, lusting for XTR, I saw the new X.0, and was intrigued; couldn't handle the sticker shock, though. A couple years later, had a chance to get X.7, and LOVED IT! X.9, which I'm running now, is the best I've ever encountered! The ONLY Shimano I'll run on my bike now is XTR...cables. Maybe a front derailleur here and there.
X.9 has 90+% of the performance of X.0, for half the price; shifts are more positive, no ghosting, it's just a louder SNAP! when it shifts. Golden.