mudgel
I own most of the major DAWs on the PC platform. Good luck with finding a better provider. There's some where you don't pay as much but then you don't get as much either.

Every upgrade every product go to their forums and there'll always be those that are unhappy with the price or what was or wasn't offered as extras and so it goes.

Thank you. I understand every company has unhappy customers. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with Sonar X3. I am unhappy with the marketing strategy that has made me feel like an idiot three times. I may very well find out that despite the marketing department, Sonar is still the best cost benefit option. But the marketing department made my mind a lot more open to try other options.

mbarsott

bluzdog

Karyn
Everyone who upgraded X1 - X2 - X3 - Platinum  (and didn't deliberately update late to out of date versions) paid way more than you.  Why exactly do you feel cheated?

He clearly explained why he feels cheated. Early adopters paid more for each upgrade but had each version for over a year. His upgrade stayed current for 2 weeks. How can do you know his choice was deliberate?
 
Rocky

Thank you for sympahizing.

You're welcome. I believe you make a valid point and Cakewalk is a great company. They will most likely treat you fairly if you contact them. I'm not sure why people are treating you badly here but it's not usually like this.
 
Rocky

In the past, I've also upgraded at the end of the year (just prior to a new version coming out) as:
 
1) Most of the bugs had already been ironed out
2) I can afford it and know exactly what I'm paying for
3) knowing a newer version is coming out, I still made a decision to get the older version (no one forced me to buy it)
4) I lived with that decision and was happy with that
 
For the first time, I decided to upgrade and get the latest version. I'm sure I'll be happy with this as Sonar has proved to be a solid product and the Bakers have firmly backed this up. I certainly won't be complaining at the end of the year if the price of this will be heavily discounted. I paid for the advertised product, expect to get that product, and will live by the decision I have made.  

Karyn

mbarsott

Karyn
Everyone who upgraded X1 - X2 - X3 - Platinum  (and didn't deliberately update late to out of date versions) paid way more than you.  Why exactly do you feel cheated?

I would not call using an older version for some time a deliberate update to out of date versions.

So as soon as X2 was released you upgraded to it to get the latest? or you waited until it was near end of life before upgrading?

mbarsott
Why would someone do such a thing?

Because it's cheaper...

mbarsott
The reason I did not update to X3 right away, is because I had just spent money upgrading to X2. And the reason I did upgraded to X2 late is because when it was released I had just spent money updating to X1.

So you got the same software as everyone else but paid less for it...  So why do you feel cheated??

Why are continuing to argue? I thought hosts were here to keep things civil.
 
Rocky

Karyn

mbarsott

Karyn
Everyone who upgraded X1 - X2 - X3 - Platinum  (and didn't deliberately update late to out of date versions) paid way more than you.  Why exactly do you feel cheated?

I would not call using an older version for some time a deliberate update to out of date versions.

So as soon as X2 was released you upgraded to it to get the latest? or you waited until it was near end of life before upgrading?

mbarsott
Why would someone do such a thing?

Because it's cheaper...

mbarsott
The reason I did not update to X3 right away, is because I had just spent money upgrading to X2. And the reason I did upgraded to X2 late is because when it was released I had just spent money updating to X1.

So you got the same software as everyone else but paid less for it...  So why do you feel cheated??

Sorry for the previous rude answer. I was really upset. 
I feel cheated because three times I received an email with a relatively good deal to update Sonar just to discover a new version was released a few weeks later. So I was buying something believing I was getting a good deal on the latest version.
Let's see if we can get something productive from this discussion. Actually, that was my intent when I came to this thread. You are telling me you know when a new release is about to come. Where is this information published?
 

 
I don't think we're treating you badly (I could be wrong ).  Perhaps you could do a bit more research on a product before buying.  Browse this forum, for example.  Make informed choices.  Keep up to date on the evolution of the products you own.  Is that patronizing ?  Maybe !
 

X1->X2->X3 had several options: pay up front ~$150 each time and use the latest release, pay ~$70 each time and use the previous version and everything in between. That was a great possibility for some people still stay with CW withing big investments.
 
There is nothing new within new model: you still can use discounted X3 one year and then jump in. I do not see any reason to feel bad, it is known for years when approximately new SONAR version comes and how much it costs.
 
Now CW has completely eliminated versioning, so it is up to the user to decide when to get "new version for myself". Clear, deals strategy is going to be changed and we do not know how it is going to work.
 
Happy IK customers can look at "Larry's war" against IK in archive (about SampleTank).

mbarsott
You are telling me you know when a new release is about to come. Where is this information published?

There were countless "When is X4 coming out" threads here for the last few months.  Cakewalk was always tight-lipped on the matter, but old-timers could read between the lines.  There was actually quite an emotional buildup near the end of a cycle.  I guess that fun is now over and gone for good.
 

I for one am going to miss the old days.

The biggest clue that Cakewalk are about to bring out a new version is that they start having a sale where Sonar figures prominently. If you always update late in the cycle there's that risk of getting caught out. If you buy early you usually have a bit of beta testing to do. Not so much this time round. It's a pretty solid release except for the Melodyne bug which Cakewalk was onto on the first day it was mentioned on the forum by someone who got the pre release.
I always buy early but then I get the longest use out of the version. In the past after 6 months there haven't been any more bug fixes so that was the optimum time to buy.

Now I think going early is the way to go for everyone.