John
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Versions
 
The listing of features notes no audio snap for Artist.  

Not really. It's the opposite:
 
New! Audio Snap Enhancements
 
That implies that Audio Snap is available for all versions, but the improvements ("enhancements") are only for Professional and Platinum. 

John
Another way to look at it is if a feature is important to you than you should have been willing to pay for it as everyone else has. 

That's the way everyone feels. No need for the deceptive marketing and "knickel-and-dime-ing". Quad Curve not opening to a working size is as petty as it gets. The feature is there, but you can't use it!!!!

Maybe it's time for Cakewalk to compare versions and make it clear when features are present but crippled or just not present. Asterisk time. 
 

irvin
That implies that Audio Snap is available for all versions, but the improvements ("enhancements") are only for Professional and Platinum. 

I can see where it could be taken that way, although I don't think there was any intent to deceive. AudioSnap was introduced in SONAR 6 and has never a part of the entry-level version, so Cakewalk probably assumed "everyone knows that." But with all the new users coming onboard, not everyone does know that. I'll ping Andrew. I also noticed a typo on that page .
 
As to the flyout, I rarely use it because I adjust EQ with my ears, and the ProChannel graph has enough resolution for that. The flyout is useful for diagnostics (and screen shots for magazines, because it reduces better in size!) but something like Voxengo Span, which is free, does the job for real-time analysis. 

Perhaps the argument is; people who has other and (better/as good as) EQ's, may choose not to use what is in Sonar anyway. If you have no other choice, then upgrade to Cakewalk's high end Sonar. 

There are plenty of free EQ options. The free MEqualizer includes a spectrum analyzer, the paid version adds a spectrum sonogram. It is part of the MFreeEffectsBundle.

I like the fly-out EQ a lot, I find it very handy to have at hand. I also try hard to use my ears to make judgements, and not get too drawn in by the pretty pictures, but I simply find the controls easier to deal with at that scale, and easier to dial in precise changes. I also like to have it immediately at hand on every channel without having to call it up as an effect. This was one of the main reasons I paid a bit more for Platinum. Even though I have other EQs and can duplicate the functionality - it's a workflow thing, and for me it's important and worth the extra. Of course, Platinum comes with a few other perks as well, so it works out in the end. I'll have to see if I still feel it's worth that much more at the end of this first year of membership...

irvin
Maybe it's time for Cakewalk to compare versions and make it clear when features are present but crippled or just not present. Asterisk time. 

I looked over the comparisons of the three versions, and it seems to me only the AudioSnap listing could be ambiguous. I suggested changing to "AudioSnap (New! now with enhancements)." That way I think it's clear the feature refers to AudioSnap itself, but that it has been enhanced.

irvin
Quad Curve not opening to a working size is as petty as it gets. The feature is there, but you can't use it!!!!

I'm pretty sure Cakewalk had to pay to get the ProChannel EQ modified, so users have to pay to cover the cost of adding that feature. I suppose one could also argue that if you don't use it, you shouldn't have to pay for it but it's simply not practical to do an a la carte SONAR version.

There are plenty of EQs bundled with DAWs that don't have a graphic plot at all. Sheesh all those "vintage" recreations are just knobs. I do understand being bummed, and admittedly I use the flyout all the time, but saying that not having it makes it unusable or is somehow deficient doesn't really hold up.