As a new NW2 owner I've been following this tread with great interest. It help me gain a better understanding of what the instrument can and can't do. I am unquestionably a member of the "broad appeal" crew. I have much less knowledge and experience with synths then most contributors and readers of this forum. However, I am a reasonably experienced musician. I spend more time with my acoustic piano and acoustic guitar then I do with my synths. But I do enjoy playing with synths, especially in the winter months. I've cycled through various synths along the way, including those embedded in Logic Pro and Ableton, and still mess with Omnisphere and Chromaphone from time to time. I know what I like and I know my limitations! Nords work for me because they are simple. I had a Korg Kronos for awhile and I did have fun with it. But ultimately I felt like the instrument was playing me, whereas with Nords I feel like I'm playing the instrument. I'm comfortable with how they are organized and I feel that I have a basic understanding of what I'm doing. All of the comments here about what the Nord can't do I'm sure are absolutely fair and for the advanced synth user they matter. Alot!
For the more casual user (me) the criticism of not being able to load the Nord Pianos is absolutely spot on. And if I didn't have a Stage 3 Compact I would never have bought the NW2. Even a casual user like me misses the vowel formants that are in the A1 and the Stage compact. Also, I would have loved seamless transitions between programs, although some of that can be mitigated by using the four layers well. So the criticism that Nord moves you into buying multiple instruments is exactly right, and that is similar to Apple for sure. The NW2 is unquestionably a luxury and somewhat repetitive of the Stage and the A1, although not so repetitive of the A1 that I'm ready to sell it.
However, as I've mentioned before on this forum, the feature that matters most to me is the ability to work with four layers. Yes, other synths do that. Yes, you can create four layers with the Stage, as long as two of them are pianos and/or organs. What I love about the NW2 is how easy it is for me to create unusual layers of samples, or to mix different guitars and/or bells and come up with some very cool hybrids. I've got one very basic patch that allows me to morph between two electric guitars, give it body with some FM, and then add a cello. That's how I use it. Basic for sure. But throw in some delays and arpeggiation and you can get suitably lost and inspired. Finally the NW2 really does sound great. The casual user can mess with sounds very easily.
Still, there are many missed opportunities with the NW2 as folks are pointing out. And it is something of a luxury synth for me as it forms a great pair with the Stage.
Thanks again to all the contributors to this discussion. As I follow this thread, reading about the strengths and limitations of the instrument, I gain a much better sense of the capabilities of the instrument, its limitations notwithstanding!