I opted for S1 yesterday because it *apparently* is closer to having the Sonar features that I use the most.  Cubase is *apparently* more useful to people more heavily into MIDI than I am.  I intend to ease into S1, and I bought it yesterday just to get the Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Digital Tuesday/Weird Wednesday... pricing.  Thanks to everyone who voiced an opinion here about which DAW's are workable replacements.  When I have had a chance to form my opinion of S1 vs SPLAT I will return and share it.

Fleer
Because of price? Yep, important part of my decision.
Studio One 3 Pro looks great and costs $125 (and no dongle).
 

Slap it one 5 machines and deactivate one if you get another machine. I always thought the layout was similar to Sonar plus they also have the extra function for mixing.  For a young DAW its come a long way. Plus they are far more aggressive in trying to get people to own a license.
 

I went with S1 because (1) I could try the full version out in advance and (2) it pegged out each of my priorities: Mackie implementation, Melodyne integration and ease of comping.  Comping took a bit of fiddling, but I'm faster in S1 now than I was in SPlat, after just 4 songs.  (And I STILL *LOVE* SPlat!)
 
That being said, my needs are kind of modest, and I know that other types of users will have more elaborate needs.  But I NEVER use loops or included plugins, and seldom use MIDI (though I can, when needed).
 
BTW, my first Cakewalk software came on 5-1/4" floppy disks, so I'm not new at this...
 
But I CAN learn a new app or two.  :) 
 
S1 is fine for me.  Your needs may be very different...

subtlearts

azslow3
On-line authorization, forced included content, limited support for control surfaces. Doesn't that sound familiar?
 
Without me. And looking around, I do not see many choices. Fortunately, there is one...

I'm very curious, what are you going with? I'm still on the fence but am collecting options and, to an extent, opinions...

http://www.azslow.com/ind...8.msg2371.html#msg2371
 

dannyjmusic
doing so because of price? Just curious..

No, not price.
Function pertaining to "my" particular work flow and needs.
I think that's what seems to be  overlooked sometimes, is that it's not about the best DAW it's about the best DAW for "your" particular needs and workflow.  
Research, research, research, according to "your" needs and workflow.

On a side note, aside from NUENDO (The proverbial Rolls Royce of DAW's), all DAW's are pretty much relative in price and value for the buck (minus the sales going on).

I have a FaderPort, plus I used SO Artist in the past...No brainer for me.
 

I saw a no "clip gain" comment but was unclear which DAW that pertained to. Azslow can you clarify when convenient?

I chose Studio One because of the ARA integration with Melodyne and Vocalign, and the tight integration with Softube Console One, and Faderport.

I don't do intensive midi editing. The midi editing features I have in Studio One are more than enough for me. 
I am being optimistic in thinking that Sonar will continue to work for quite some time making midi augmentation in Sonar possible if I decide in the future I need a more in depth midi editor.
 
Since I had recently upgraded to the most recent version of Studio One it was a no brainer for me. I'm glad I didn't jump into Cubase since it appears there are complications with the new release for a few and obtaining the dongle.
 
Not many daws offer the kind of possibilities there are in Studio One with respect to hardware line and the connection to Notion software. 
 
I also bought Mixcraft and I find it is fun to work in for quick arrangement ideas. I haven't been deep into that daw yet. My favored program as of now is Studio One if something happens to my Sonar. 
 
Three programs are enough for me right now.