I think that half the fun of having an Alesis is all the DIY that's possible to make it your own.. if you had a Roland flagship, or Yamaha, or one of those fancy e-kits that is expensive and looks amazing right out of the box, you may never have to tweak the module or add pads and cymbals, or try out mods and snazz things up make your kit look like a million bucks.
The DM10X (I can't speak for the other kits) is fun to play, and with a small investment to add mesh, it's great to play and for a fraction of the cost it's such a contender for the other more expensive models/companies. And I love to get on my kit and go nuts for hours on end. But the other half of the fun is coming up with cool ways to make it my own, or improve on something.. adding another crash gives you four to slam on (if you use the ride crash as well, 5 if you use open hat sometimes). You don't usually get that with other kits, even more expensive ones. And in general (DM10 and up) you've got 4 toms at the outset.. you can still add more. Then there's the flair, you can add some wrap, or deepen the size of the shells, you can swap in a 12" kick instead of the 8 and so on.
For tinkerers like me, that's something that I love to do almost as much as actually playing the kit! I don't think people would do it on a top line Roland.. I mean, you wouldn't likely have to or want to change them. But then, you'd have paid out 8 or 9 grand to have a set that matches the size of an Alesis DM10 or similar. I want things to work, to be playable and to look good, but I haven't got 9000 bucks, and I also love to toy around with making things either better or make it reflect my taste and that's part of why I love my Alesis so much.
I'm excited to see this Strike series if it ever comes out.. I'm tempted to take the plunge and I do love the new look. I want to feel how the cymbals react and sound, how the hi-hat is improved, the mesh and the depth of the shells and the new large kick and the module of course.. but I'm also happy continuing to work on my set with the DM10 module (which I usually run with Addictive anyways and its great) and then go on modding my existing set.. or perhaps someday I'll buy a cheap used acoustic set and convert it, using my e-cymbals and the hats, maybe keep a couple pads for extras.
Seeing what Dobly is doing and other posters have done just inspires me more and more. I really don't want a Yamaha, or a Roland, I'm really glad that when I dove into e-drumming I chose Alesis. And even though they suck with this whole delay with the Strike line taking forever, I'm still having a blast with my ongoing DM adventure.. just thought I'd share my enthusiasm, lol