I suspect the X2 will be pleasing regardless. But, most people seem to prefer the Clearomizers and a more "pure" taste from the liquids, so to speak. I just happen to be one ready to keep filling my carts quickly.
If you recently quit smoking and started vaping, your taste buds are going to start waking up and flavors are going to start changing up a bit. Something you really liked before will become cursed and something that made you gag will become smooth and sweet. Some may taste stronger or weaker, and may well also be attributed to how much we vape a certain flavor. You may have to put the Cowboy down for a bit and try something new and go back to it later, or you might end up with something else entirely different sparking interest in newly reawakened senses. I have about 8 different flavors I have with me all the time, in either 6 or 12 mg, to take care of my whims at any given time. Sometimes at night I want only my crisp, marathon vapable, 0 nic Winter Vanilla, other times I want SI 555 or Desert Joe, and I don't like anything close to what was supposed to be the "equivalent" of what I smoked in tobacco cigarettes.
And, there is also the possibility that you got a hold of a batch that wasn't up to the usual par for the flavor. Happens sometimes.
By the way, does anyone else taste the grapefruit flavor in Desert Joe?