RAR I came from riding the Absolute for years, to the Marius (2007 & now 2008). Same situation as you. I was very comfortable on the Absolute, it's stable and the great pop had me hooked. Rode a buddy's Marius (just to try it out) and was amazed @ the POP, consistancy & soft landings. The continuous rocker, extra surface area made a HUGE difference. I benefitted from those features and gained a ton of consistancy, now that I can look back on my riding.
2008 is a little faster then the 2007 and has better release off the wake with the shorter molded in fins. Honestly I didn't think they could improve this board, but CWB did.
I say get the Marius, you'll never look back. Keep in mind that it doesn't "dump" on edge like a normal board, it has a more progress cut to it. Which helped me.
ENJOY!