I missed the poll, would of voted Studio one...I think the interface is good too after a bit of tweaking with tones.
I think its a natural progression from Sonar 8.5 in looks as I think Sonar X1 changed too much in hindsight.

I missed the poll as well. It's only recently that I heard of Cakewalk's demise, so I'm still evaluating, but it looks like I will be moving to Cubase. 

Guys, I'd like to ask a question as my discount code for Presonus will run out today and the Mixcraft deal runs out end of month.
Which DAW would you recommend for a singer/songwriter who mainly plays acoustic 'real instrument' pieces?
 
To give some context: I'm a published musician who released singles in the UK which aired on radio and TV. I've also got some music in Libraries, and occassionally I do work as a Voice Over/Engineer.
I've gone through many programs over the years, starting with Cool Edit at home and Pro Tools at work, moved onto Sonar, from Ver 3 Producer, through Ver 8 Studio and finally the latest versions of Studio and Platinum, as well as Projects 5.
I've also got a lot of high grade VSTs such as BFD (which I love) Trilogy (still better than other bass VSTs), 3 Native Instrument Pianos (I love the Gentleman), plus all the various programs that came with Sonar over the years.
I've got Izotope audio cleaning plugins and all the Sonar ones over the years.
 
My question is, is it worth buying into a high end deal for Presonus or Mixcraft or any of the others if I mainly work with the VSTs which are not locked to Sonar?
The sound editing tools that come with Presonus seem good (I've demo'ed them) but I'm not sure if I need the synths (I have Dimensions and apture etc..). Mixcraft might be a good fit, but is it good enough for Mastering? Sampletude looks huge, but do I need the bloatware?
 
Perhaps Reaper is the best bet?
 
Any views appreciated.

Cubase LOL

burgerproduction
Guys, I'd like to ask a question as my discount code for Presonus will run out today and the Mixcraft deal runs out end of month.
Which DAW would you recommend for a singer/songwriter who mainly plays acoustic 'real instrument' pieces?
 .......
 My question is, is it worth buying into a high end deal for Presonus or Mixcraft or any of the others if I mainly work with the VSTs which are not locked to Sonar?
......
Perhaps Reaper is the best bet?
 
Any views appreciated.

I would've said Studio One Pro first. I have both S1 and Reaper. Reaper is an amazing DAW, but it takes a lot more effort to get your head around it. I still get frustrated and close it up and go back to S1. (I realize everyone is different and I'm a bit of a dolt). In the long run Reaper will do everything you need, and will be cheaper. IMO, Studio One will get you up and running faster - especially if you don't use MIDI.

Brando
 ...especially if you don't use MIDI.

I use virtual instruments, playing via MIDI input keyboard. Will that be a problem in S1?

I had just finished a huge project for children music with midi arrangement and vocals using S1 on 30 songs, Sonar on 7 and Reason 2. S1 is the easiest and fastest daw among these 3. Midi is effective And fast. The project page was brilliant for mastering . I had input 10 songs in a project page with each song an instance of waves ssl, ik eq 324 and Ozone 8. Bounce all 10 songs togather and export them at an instant.

Brando
 ...especially if you don't use MIDI.

burgerproduction
I use virtual instruments, playing via MIDI input keyboard. Will that be a problem in S1?

Studio One is fine for MIDI and virtual instruments, better than Sonar imho. The demo lasts 30 days.

CakeAlexSHere
Studio One is fine for MIDI and virtual instruments, better than Sonar imho.

That's a very subjective opinion. It's different than any other daw I have used/tried. No event list, no notation editor. Way more limited tools (no mfx). I also have notion. Not much difference between rewiring notion in sonar and using it in s1. Not the same as having a notation editor.
But yes you can record midi using soft synths, and yes it works. "Bugs" like deselecting input select, challenging multi output vsti's setup are all well below the maturity of sonar. Not saying that to slog on S1 that I actually quite like. But it's no Sonar. Much depends on the OP's needs. From what he described, I agree S1 should be a good fit.

musichoo
I had just finished a huge project for children music with midi arrangement and vocals using S1 on 30 songs, Sonar on 7 and Reason 2. S1 is the easiest and fastest daw among these 3. Midi is effective And fast. The project page was brilliant for mastering . I had input 10 songs in a project page with each song an instance of waves ssl, ik eq 324 and Ozone 8. Bounce all 10 songs togather and export them at an instant.

this sounds promising.