gcolbert
Bub, those of us who have had a different experience than you (or at least me) don't claim that you are completely wrong - just that we don't seem to have the same issues that you do. It isn't a personal attack (well from some of us anyway).
One of the key points that I have learned from following your posts is that people who do relatively simple projects like me don't run into as many problems because we aren't using as much of Xn as some of the people who are encountering problems do.
I'm not being a fanboi when I say that I use X2 for an hour or two daily, have been doing so since the first day it was released, and have only had 2 crashes over that period. For me, this seems to be stable and dependable.
It really would be nice to know what differences there are that make my user experience so much better than yours. Is it really just because I only do simple projects with a minimum of third-party tools or are there specific incompatibilities that, if flushed out, would help those of you who aren't having the same good experience that I am?
I definitely think that has something to do with it, Glenn. For example, when I first get a version of Sonar, it goes on one of my service boxes (as I like to call my stock Dells) and I mess with it on there. The projects I do on the service boxes are way smaller than those I would do on my real recording systems.
However, I can usually spot some anomalies that talk me out of putting the new version on my recording box until a major patch comes out. I got just that with the initial release of X2. The crashing with PC modules as well as other inconsistencies drove me nuts. But, the quick fix patch ended the issues I was seeing.
By the time the X2a patch came out, I was no longer seeing any problems on my stock Dell and decided to try it on my real machine. Of course this opened me up to other things that I didn't get a chance to test as extensively. Like, I don't have the same drum modules and synths on the Dell that I have on the real machines. I don't use the same templates, I don't use the same plugs....so this opens up a new can of worms for me with projects that are more intense.
I also think soundcard interfaces play more of a role than we know. For example, I had mentioned in one of my slightly negative, but honest posts on the forum up stairs, that ALL my Echo cards (new or old technology...it matters not) leave a gap in punch-out using arm on the fly.
Yet, a Realtek using ASIO4ALL works perfectly. Then again, the Realtek only has 2 ins, so there was no way for me to know that the 1/2 on my Echo cards would not leave the gap, but 3/4 on up would gap on every Echo I own. I don't have the same stuff on the Dell, so once I really get into things on the bigger systems with bigger projects, this is where you start to see things.
Most of my little test projects on the Dell box never exceed 20 tracks and I don't use a lot of the stuff I'd normally use. So for sure, I think stuff like this can make a huge difference in how or when you may see an issue within Sonar. It seems like the more I use it like a tape deck and stay away from the bells and whistles, the better it performs. Use the bells and whistles more extensively, and that's when these weird things seem to crop up. But that said, I've been in pretty good shape with X2a even on the recording boxes. But, it still crashes far more for me than 8.5.3 ever has....but moreso when using 64 bit. Even 8.5 in 64 hates me...so hey, I won't argue with it....I just will stay away from it. :)
-Danny