I know a few days late since the last post and you might have pulled the trigger already, however I also have a 735x and upgraded from a 734 which worked fine but I like the lift function with the 735 better. The 734 worked fine when I sold it after many years of good use. However, depending on your needs, the 735 with the straight blades serves people, including myself just fine. I have a Laguna jointer with helical head and I could see the benefits on for the planner to reduce noise and potential tear out. However one benefit is easy of feeding through a helical head but in the case of a planer, the machine does that job, not the operator. With that said, if the planner is just to flatten your boards and you will have a drum sander for sanding down panels / glue ups, a 735x should suit you fine. The only hang up would be if you are a production shop that needs to run 100's of linear feet through per day you would be better off with a bigger machine.