[Solved] Export mix is not accurate....

I've only had Sonar for a week.  I've been using Linux Ardour prior to jumping into a windows based system.  I have an M-Audio Quad for an interface.
 
I completed my first recording - just Acoustic Guitar (stereo track) and Voice (mono track), no midi or anything else.  I've routed both tracks through a master bus that I created so I could use some plug-ins to master it.  When I finished - it sounded exactly as I wanted it through my M-Audio monitoring speakers and my monitoring headphones.  When I exported it - the mix sounded terrible and completely different.
 
I have tried numerous tests and made sure that the problem was not a result of eq on playback devices and such... 
 
What I mean by different is that the EQ/Compression seems off.  My vocal track sounds overcompressed and muddy and the volume seems to have dropped.  Even when I go back into the mix and make adjustments to the EQ and Master Compression that would fix this problem (resulting in a terrible sounding mix while in sonar) it doesn't seem to be solving the issue or making the changes I need in the final mix.
 
I have some ideas, but figured I'd put it out here.  I suspect that I might be messing up something in the Bounce Settings of the export.  If I have it set to 'entire mix' will that double the tracks and the master bus (seems a little strange, but I'm pulling at thin air here)...  I can't think of anything else to try - I've been at this for a few days!

I'm not bouncing down to a new track...  (But perhaps that's what I should do)
 
I have two tracks - guitar and vocal - and a master bus (in addition to the master output).  The bounce settings I was talking about are in the window that comes up when I click file->export.  It's where you have the checkbox options for including muted tracks and such... 
 
I have 'Entire Mix' selected for that section - does that layer the tracks onto the mastered track?  It's just a guess, might be really dumb.
 

I had mix translation issues for quite a while. In the end I found it was due to the room. I looked into room treatment etc and decided it was easier to use ARC2. There are many different opinions about ARC, however for me it works fantastic. Now my mixes translate well from my studio monitors to other devices. Hopefully this helps.

Yea, this topic comes up too much and it it always has something to do with the routing of the tracks, buses and main outs
and/or your export settings. Ive responded to a few of them in the past weeks.
 
Just do a search as Sonar does export exactly what you hear. If it doesnt, then its your routing and/or export settings
 
CJ

The easiest, simplest b& fastest way of proving that your routing & export functions are correct is to simply re-import your export into the same project on a new track.
 
Solo it, route it directly to your interface (bypassing your master fx) and it should sound EXACTLY the same as your project.
If it does, your problem lies outside of Sonar. If it doesn't, you've got a routing/export function problem

Cool. Glad you got it sorted. I like to do the Master Bounce nulling thing in pretty much every project, just to make sure everything is rendered in the final mix with no missing parts, automation failures, dropped MIDI notes, etc. Plus it ensures that I have a final mix saved with the project. 
 
It helps to freeze synths and FX before doing that bounce to eliminate as much plugin randomness as possible from the null test. And if you have lots of sub buses with FX on them, you can bounce groups of tracks with bus FX to stems that route to the Master, solo those and then bounce the Master. For me this applies more to 3rd-party projects; my own stuff is not usually that complex.
 
When I'm happy with it, I'll export that track, knowing that I'm going to get exactly what I expect without having to triple-check my export settings. I also often do the final fade out on this track using a clip fade rather than messing with automation on the Master bus.