I like to think of it as one is for the interface as Craig points out and the other is for what Sonar does with it. 
 
Because Sonar can have just about any bit depth it makes sense that the two are separate. No interface supports 32 bits let alone 64 bits. Plus it helps if one has been doing this a long time.  

One mans meat so to speak.
There are in fact 3 separate pages
Preference>File>Audio Data (thank you Scook)
Then Preferences>Audio>Driver Settings

and then
Preferences>File>Folder Locations

 
"Locations" and "Audio Data" contradict each other.
If you select "Use Per-Project Audio Folders" (and who doesn't?),
there is no need for the "Global Audio Folder".
Do I have a better system? NO
Would my system work (assuming I had such a system) for everybody?
Probably NOT
BUT, Fireberd is NOT a casual user, he is NOT a new user.
He's a long time Sonar veteran, like the rest of us contributing this conversation;
and he was confused (I've been there and done that).
That was my reason for the Bass Akwards comment (perhaps it wasn't eloquent).
The bear dances, maybe its not the Bolshoi, but he does indeed dance.
And I will defer to Craig, we can't make everybody "happy".
But I do wish it was all on one page.
 
T

IIRC, the global audio folder is still used when per-project audio folders are specified. It is used when no project name is specified and as a temporary directory for some operations. In the past, having the global audio folder on a disk or partition other than where project audio is stored has caused performance issues.

I hope I wans't misunderstood about being separate. What I was referring to is that they need to be separately configurable whether on the same page or different ones. By knowing the purpose one knows that there is more to it than just setting the device driver.  Yes this does catch people but once the reason is clear it wont catch one anymore. Looking at it that way and understanding that Sonar is a high quality DAW its not unreasonable to fully understand this. 

On my system, exported audio goes to some kind of common audio folder (might be the global one - I guess that's what it is, certainly doesn't put it in the per-project audio-folder like I would rather have it do).
 
Bob Bone
 

The export dialog does not use the global audio folder setting. It uses some other windows default. It would be nice to be able to specify a default folder for the export dialog. The easiest way to put an export in the per-project audio folder is bounce the project to a track in the project.

DeeringAmps
 
 
Preferences>File>Folder Locations

 
 

Its amazing you save your Sonar Projects on 'floppy disks'

When you have a StudioCat you put your audio anywhere you like! It's like just short of telepathy. It is a little bit of a pain though constantly changing the discs; especially at 192k 64bit ;-)
That or Win7 can assign A&B to a hard disc.
I believe in "folders" you specify where Sonar will default for import/export of audio.
Thank you for making my point, even experienced users need a little 'pointer', no pun intended :-)
T

Yeah, I was confusing the export dialog with other file picker dialogs. The export/import default is the Wave Files folder location.

Anderton
Customizable preference menus would be pretty cool, but that opens up another can of worms for support and dealing with questions like the one asked by the OP...first we'd have to identify how he had his preferences set up, so we could tell him where to look.

Hi Mr. Anderton (my show of respect for you, Sir.),
 
I personally don't see a real need or desire for customizing to this degree.  However, there are a couple of things to add in order for users to get proper/effective support when customized preferences are enacted: first, the ability to save the user configured preferences setup; second, a "return to default" button so when the user contacts support, they will both be on the same page. 
 
Now the real problem I see in the customizable preferences is when a novice user rearranges the preferences without being familiar enough with SONAR in the first place.  As when a new user fails to read the manual, for instance, then tries working with SONAR only to get lost, confused or frustrated.  And that is where most of these issues start and can end (yeah, a little sarcasm there).
 
Kind regards,
 
Living Room Rocker