I actually use my console less and less these days because I find I am nuts about accuracy and prefer drawing everything in. I do like the idea of using a touchscreen console which would be easier to use if mounted at a an 18 degree angle, but right now I feel they aren't up to where they need to be in order to use them for music production. Many of them have issues yet that need to be worked out. Give it a few years and I might consider them again, but for now, I'm okay using my VS700 and mouse.

Many touchscreens have foldable bases now.  My Dell ss240d can fold from 90 degrees to almost flat, and the last computer I bought was an all-in-one w/ the same functionality from the computer base.  I bought it for live use, still working on that, but both perform great as an angled board.
 
@

Karyn said: "Another point I'd like to make though, is that if you have a hardware controller that uses a virtual console on a touch screen... why not just use the Console View in the first place?"
 
I was speaking generically when I talked about using a virtual console.  With Sonar, I would the Console view on the lower monitor and use the upper monitor for Track, Staff, or other views.  So, I think we are agreeing.
 
Thanks.

A perfect solution for me would be a hardware controller with the faders down at the bottom (a BCF2000 if it wasnt so noisy), and a touch screen lying angeled (like most touch screens can now) between the faders and a "non touch screen" which is at the normal position of a monitor. 
 
 
 
 

Ok..at the risk of sounding really dumb, I'm going to ask a question. But first I should say that I've been using Pro-tools for years. I have two Digi 002 mixers and of course they were part of the Pro-tools package. After my computer got infected with a ransomware virus I lost the program, and Avid no longer supported my computer, so I switched to Sonar Professional. I'm a folk/Singer/Songwriter and it serves my needs perfectly. Here's the problem: I see a lot of posts from people saying you don't need a mixer. You have a virtual mixer with Sonar and that's all you need. But what am I supposed to plug my Mic's and guitar into? In Pro-tools, I plugged my mics into the Digi002 mxer. I was told that the Digi 002 would serve as the interface with Sonar. It uses a fire-wire connection. I have plenty of channels for inputs and only need a few, but  I don't see how I can get around not using a mixer or external control surface. How do I get the mixer to speak to Sonar? How does Sonar recognize the signal from the mixer so that I can use the virtual mixer in the Sonar Pro program? How do I record anything without an external  mixer/control surface?

You only need hardware to provide inputs and outputs. Sonar controls the rest.

Adagio4639
Ok..at the risk of sounding really dumb, I'm going to ask a question. But first I should say that I've been using Pro-tools for years. I have two Digi 002 mixers 

FWIW, The Digi 002 is an audio interface (provides I/O).
Running Sonar, you have a wide choice of audio interfaces.  
If the audio interface provides low round-trip latency, you can effectively use it (and your DAW) as a digital mixer.
 
Many current generation audio interfaces provide I/O... along with full routing, DSP-FX processing (EQ, Dynamics, Ambience), and external control via iPAD.  This certainly blurs the line between audio interface and digital mixer.

I'd welcome a good hardware controller at the $500-$600 mark.
I'd be hesitant to invest much more than that... given that controller technology is evolving (moving toward virtualized).
At $2k+, I'd just grab a digital console.
 
 
 

I sometimes bring up a tv to use as a second monitor. I would definitely not buy a non touch monitor for sonar. I regularly use the touch and so do my friends. Making it so guests can twiddle plugin parameters is great. No good to have one touch and one not touch.

I measured the KWh per consumption of my 23 inch Dell touch screen. 0.027. At my electricity rates, it costs about $25 a year in power if I never turn it off. My whole rig costs around 120 per year in electricity... not counting amps and performance related gear.

I have a alpha track, but that only gets used if sonar might not have the focus in Windows.

I use the kompkete kontrol S61. I cant live without it now. It just Works for NI Komplete, but it is like having a synth and not VSTs.