This week I took a project that I was working to a professional engineer to mix and he was using two Yamaha Commercial 02R96VCM Digital Mixing Console http://yamahacommercialaudiosystems.com/product_detail.php?prodID=1018  using it with one of the latest HD Protools versions.  He is an old head who has been using Protools back with it was called Music Tools or Studio tools don't quote me on that I am trying to remember from memory. So I asked about the mixers and he said for years no out of the box DAW could mix on the level of these digital yahamahas until one of the later versions of ProTools HD.  He said it is the closest he has seen.  So that I got me to thinking for the more seasoned Sonar X3 Producers how would you rank X3's ability to mix at a Commercial Level?  I guess I need a lesson in what is the advantage of digital mixing Console over a DAW and I personally hate to hear anything about Protools being the best just because more people use it in the bigger studios.  Look forward to your thoughts and responses

by "commercial audio level" are you referring to the "loudness wars"?

The "professional" engineer was simply trying to justify his huge fee by convincing you that his mix will always sound better than yours because he is using expensive "professional" gear.  And he's been in the business since before ProTools was even Pro...  So he must be right...
 
 
He's not.

lawp
by "commercial audio level" are you referring to the "loudness wars"?

No quality of the mix and the ability to mix on a commercial level

Karyn
The "professional" engineer was simply trying to justify his huge fee by convincing you that his mix will always sound better than yours because he is using expensive "professional" gear.  And he's been in the business since before ProTools was even Pro...  So he must be right...
 
 
He's not.

He did not charge me for this session but I have seen these same mixing consoles in big church audio departments also.

There is nothing the 02R does that is significantly better for the stated application. In many studio applications I would label it as significantly worse. He sounds like a relatively old school guy. Perhaps he was simply uncomfortable with other software when he tried it.

Sanderxpander
There is nothing the 02R does that is significantly better for the stated application. In many studio applications I would label it as significantly worse. He sounds like a relatively old school guy. Perhaps he was simply uncomfortable with other software when he tried it.

That is quite possible so X3 producer is just as good or better than the latest HD version of Protools?

BMOGI guess I need a lesson in what is the advantage of digital mixing Console over a DAW

The simple answer,  there is none. A digital mixer is just that,  a mixer.

BMOG

Sanderxpander
There is nothing the 02R does that is significantly better for the stated application. In many studio applications I would label it as significantly worse. He sounds like a relatively old school guy. Perhaps he was simply uncomfortable with other software when he tried it.

That is quite possible so X3 producer is just as good or better than the latest HD version of Protools?

Personal I'd say X3 is way better than ProTools.   While you're inside the machine, it's all just numbers.  The quality of the sound is purely down to your audio interface.

That mixer does 64 bit floating point audio right? Its internal audio routing is also 64 bits FP also?
 
When PT was relying on HD hardware for input and DSP it was at best 48 bits and not FP.
 
Where Sonar was 64 bits with Sonar 5.
 
Also those are nice mixers but commercial is stretching it a bit. The fact you see them at churches where their bread and butter is not quality music production but rather a reliable sound reinforcement system is paramount. 
 
If anything they are at the low end of really pro mixers or at the high end of bedroom studios.  
I will give him credit for using digital mixers when most insist on analog for mastering.