Both Presonus and Steinberg offer a special crossgrade price for their DAW for Sonar Platinum users.
Both Presonus and Yamaha are strong companies so risk of shutting down seems limited.
 
The offers are however time limited, especially for Cubase, and I have very little time to test both daws.
 
For those who know them, which is the best / what are the main strengths / weaknesses of both products?
 

I talked to my sales rep at Sweetwater today and he didn't tell me about any crossgrade deal for Studio One.
can you tell me more?
thanks

Presonus Studio One offer:
http://blog.presonus.com/index.php/presonus-cakewalk-crossgrade-offer/
 
Steinberg Cubase Offer;
https://business.facebook.com/Steinberg/photos/a.473445811044.254785.47279836044/10155180083811045/?type=3&theater
 
 

I'm considering both. If Cubase had ARA I would immediately jump on it.
 
I may still go with Cubase as it appears to have very deep midi integration, and has a great pedigree.
 
My experience with presonus hardware was horrific.

Does the Cubase 9.5 Pro trial really require the USB dongle?  I want to try both Cubase and Studio One before I decide.

Cubase Pro demo does require a usb dongle. You can try the Elements version without a dongle though, but just remember that it's a completely stripped out version of Pro when you try it. Cubase has the best pedigree. It has been used by many pros since the 80's. It has tones of features that go very deep both on the audio and midi side, compared to Studio One which is sleek and light because it is young and lacking in wisdom in comparison. Studio One is definitely one to look out for in the future because it has come a long way very fast. If you don't need much and want something simple with a simple workflow, then Studio One will suit you, but if you need a pro daw that can do all you need to do without you running into brick walls then Cubase is your best option.
 
Greg from Steinberg held a live Q & A video event for Sonar users thinking of moving to Cubase yesterday. It's well worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKdr7YZCcgw

While it's true that Cubase is used by tons of pros around the world, I haven't yet run into any "brick walls" when using Studio One. Are you referring to anything specific?

One thing bugged me about Cubase when I looked at it a few years back: a hard limit of 6 or 8 plugins allowed per track. Has that changed? I like plugins.
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

It seems to have gone from 8 to 16 plugins per track.

NB Not sure why this thread was moved here by a Karin, as it concerns specifically only the users of Sonar Platinum.

Cubase had a limit of 8 plugins per track but it's been increased to 16 now. I can't imagine using any more than 8 at the very most!