Hi, 
your experience with q- base is similar to mine :
After logic (Emagic) finished the support  for  windows based systems in 2003 
I checked several sequencer to get the ( nearly ) same sound, and,
more important to me, the workflow and never had the feeling it sounds nearly as good as 
Logic (5.5 that time ), til I tried Sonar 7.
Imo the workflow of Cubase that time was like a pain in the neck .
During the discussion with other musicians and programmers nearly every time 
the theory arrised, that all none edited tracks must sound the same in every DAW.
I´m not a music and progran scientist but I still could swear-
there is a difference.
Just my subjectiv 2 cent...... 

gswitz
I'm not one of the people who expects any difference in sound.
 
If I record 1001001 and play it back without effect, I expect to get back 1001001.
 
Audio Engine should only be a means to write it to disk and read it back after if there are no effects in the chain.
 
Once you start adding FX, all bets are off.
 
The RME you are using doesn't have Pre amps, right? So are you using different Pre Amps? That should make a pretty good difference if you are. Microphones? Mic placement?
 
What does your dad say? Sounds like he has some skills and he's on site.

Hi,

It was my Dad that was convinced something wasn't right and then put it down to old age and got his ears tested which were fine and as soon as we tried Cakewalk he said "I bloody knew it wasn't me!" haha :)

Basically we are using a Soundcraft mixing desk which goes into the RME AIO card via ADAT. Guitar we use a DI box straight into the mixing desk then into computer and used a VST we put together to get the best guitar sound we could (pretty damn close to a tube amp!) Vocal Mics are in a vocal booth. These have never changed for Cubase or cakewalk.

Like you he said what you are playing straight in without any FX's is what you should hear back out!

Hope that helps?
Kind Regards
Joe

John
I had this happen to me with Samplitude. It turned out I was using the Sam audio ASIO driver. In Sonar I was using the WDM driver that came with my interface. When I switched the Sam driver to the right WDM drive there was no difference. 
 
Cubase has a generic ASIO driver and it may not work well for your interface. See what happens with a different driver.
 
Not all drivers are equal. Personally I believe Sonar has better driver support than may other DAWs.  
 
Here is the tread I started about this. http://forum.cakewalk.com...0-better-m3234755.aspx

Hi,

I had already checked that long ago and have always used the ASIO drivers that came with the RME card not any internal ones supplied by Cubase or Cakewalk.

Thanks for trying to help though :)

Hi. I did see a post earlier, where a person did notice a significant difference (for the better) in audio quality in recent SONAR versions. I cannot hear / feel any difference myself. But that could just be my ears

If it's stereo material, maybe it's different panning laws?

Oh-oh, there are laws in Sonar? I may be the first to break them ALL. I take that back, I don't know enough yet to break them ALL.

charlyg
Oh-oh, there are laws in Sonar? I may be the first to break them ALL. I take that back, I don't know enough yet to break them ALL.

Right! We're all going to jail!  Maybe we can make some music using the bars?

I'm in the "that's illusion" camp.
When your sound card has changed the music into ones and zeros, any software that
plays it back correctly, with no FX or other manipulation, "must" sound the same.
 
Nulling test is the simplest way to get solid proof. Ears don't matter. If you get total silence
when nulling, the audio is the same sample by sample.

Same plugins (waves mostly), same settings, same pan laws.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJfe-A9Ebrc
 

That was me who started the thread about hearing a much better ,,, in your face... sound from projects made in 8.5 played back in our newest version. 
It turned out to be the added step of Mastering in Wave Lab killed something instead of making it better. I still practice the same steps over all and I feel my newest set up IS sounding better. I think it's a combonation of the whole, Better computer processing, better audio interface and better drivers and software. 
And I'm not using differrent settings.  There is something better going on because things just keep getting better here in Sonar land.