Another DAW upgrade with VCA - Samplitude Pro X2

I'm a host, I'm reading this, and can read that the description of this thread is "Discussion focused on non-Cakewalk music software." I think it's important to differentiate between people who use Cakewalk and other software, and those who don't use Cakewalk software. If someone has nothing to do with Cakewalk software and comes into Cakewalk forums to discuss other software, at best that seems peculiar, and at worst, downright rude.
 
However, there are plenty of people who believe in "the right tool for the right job." Just because SONAR is the right tool for me most of the time doesn't preclude using other software. I just finished mastering an album in a combination of Wavelab, Sound Forge, and yes, SONAR because it could do things the others didn't do very efficiently. Then I assembled it in Studio One Pro, which has replaced CD Architect in my toolbox. All of those programs are of interest to me. For live performance, it's Ableton Live for the DJ-type stuff and SONAR when hosting hex processing for live guitar. For pureplay DJ applications, it's Traktor but I use Ableton Live and SONAR to prep songs for compatibility with Traktor. All the loops I assemble for use in Live are created in SONAR. Reason loves to be rewired into SONAR, and I can't create REX files without ReCycle. And sometimes I have to track in Pro Tools but that doesn't prevent me from transferring the WAV files to SONAR so I can mix in an environment I prefer. And Mixcraft is a fine needledrop music generator because they include so much content...
 
What I absolutely refuse to get into is adopting some attitude that because I use some particular program, I'm better or know more than people who don't. Yes, SONAR is by far the program that gets the most use in my studio, but the other ones have valid purposes...I don't play just one guitar, either.
 
And think of it from Cakewalk's perspective: I have just about every DAW in the universe installed on either my Windows or Mac computers, yet SONAR is my first choice. The fact that I am conversant with all these programs, and could run a session on any of them, means that I use SONAR not because I don't know anything else but because I know exactly what it offers compared to everything else out there.
 
All I can say with certainty is that SONAR meets my needs best. Period. Other programs fit other peoples' needs...if you want to do 4-point broadcast edits, then you'd better pony up the money for Sequoia because nothing else really does the job. But I don't have to do 4-point broadcast edits. 
 
It's also good to know what's in other programs because often, there are some good ideas in them that, with a little thought, can be implemented in SONAR (like varispeed). And I thought Dave's opening comment was a lot more about the fad du jour than any kind of plug for Samplitude or slam on SONAR. 
 
It's all good. The bottom line is that SONAR is doing very well and picking up a lot of new users, so people are voting with their wallets...and those votes are much more meaningful than the votes in the "vote for your favorite DAW!!" polls. In my experience, the folks at Cakewalk are more challenged by competition than afraid of it - and I can say that for several other software companies as well. Most of these companies have genuine respect for each other, because they know how difficult it is to pull off making products like this.