ampfixer
Intangible results are real. I get this all the time with tech stuff like tubes and components. Some products sound better even though they have the same specs. Their probably is a scientific reason buried in the listening tests, but finding it doesn't change the results. 
 
IF you think it sounds better, then it sounds better.

Now thats something I can hang my hat on. Thanks John.

John

kitekrazy1
 You are one of the view in DAW forums who said the app they use sounds better than DAW X. So many times it's the other way around.

I'm not sure if you have this right. I'm saying Sonar Plat e sounds better. Are you saying that? I may have read your post wrong. 

 Most DAW forums have enough post where Live sounds better than Logic or "Wow I just tried the Pro Tools demo and it sounds so much better".  I think it's often a placebo effect.

Anderton

Brando
Scratch pan laws - i see it's a stereo mix

Not sure about this, but wouldn't it still make a difference? After all a stereo mix has material in the center, which is affected even if the panpot is centered. This article I did about panning laws shows the differences graphically.

Hi Craig. I don't know to be honest. I would be shocked if you could take a 24 bit stereo mix from DAW to DAW and hear a 
difference. Differences in pan laws would certainly affect mix decisions and ultimately  the final mix  but i wouldn't expect the playback of a final stereo mix to differ. But i rely on your expertise (and Bitflipper's) on matters like these to keep me honest. So ..... i dunno.
 

John

Sonar Platinum Sounds 20 to 40% better!

I know this to be true...since 87.5% of all statistics are made up on the spot!

If your ASIO device supports multiple clients you could try loading both programs and A/B more effectively. Better yet, first match volumes and then have a family member alt+TAB and play back without you looking.

Brando
But i rely on your expertise (and Bitflipper's) on matters like these to keep me honest. So ..... i dunno.

Well I'm not sure about this so...I dunno either. Maybe Bitflipper will weigh in.
 
But there can be valid dumb reasons why something sounds better or worse. I remember someone saying Live's audio engine was horrible. I advised him that playing a 120 BPM loop at 90 BPM was not exactly a fair test 

I've just been to a motorhead concert. I can confirm.

Sanderxpander
If your ASIO device supports multiple clients you could try loading both programs and A/B more effectively. Better yet, first match volumes and then have a family member alt+TAB and play back without you looking.

I use WDM when ever possible. I have thought of having someone else listen and will when I can. I did retry this today to check and it was the same as before. The file is stereo and the output is stereo. I double checked for plugins and found none.
 
To be completely candid the title is an exaggeration. The difference is much smaller but very noticeable. Putting a percentage on it is silly. I will look into this with greater care and detail.
 
Actually I am not happy to notice this. It means I have a problem with Samplitude. No other wave player such as Sound Forge gives any difference. Nor does Studio One or Reaper.   

Surely a pan law would not affect the relative balance of elements within a stereo track that's at 100% width i.e. both channels hard panned? For instance if your pan law is set to -3dB center then panning both left and right to center is going to attenuate both sides (and hence the whole mix). But if both sides are hard panned and you switch the pan law from -3dB center to 0dB center then nothing is going to happen because neither channel is panned to the center. There will be, of course, sounds in the stereo mix that are coming from the center, but they're centered by virtue of them existing at the same level in both channels, not because they're being "panned" by any mechanism within Sonar. 

JohnI recently picked up Samplitude Pro X2. I have being playing with it and the other day I loaded a song I did in Sonar; a stereo wave file into Sam and played it in the wave editor.

 
 
John,
 
Post a before and after or it did not happen.