It's likely that we could all continue to use SONAR for years to come, especially if Gibson upholds the promise to make SONAR work for us even if they shut down the servers used for authentication.
 
Personally, I'm no longer interested.
 
1.  At some point a Windows update will break something in SONAR.  There will be no warning, all of a sudden we'll lose functionality, or stability, etc.  You can leave your PC unconnected so it can't update,  but I don't want to go that way.  Too many other things these days require online authorization or updates.
 
2.  There's no longer official tech support.  This forum is great, but I expect  interest to wane with time.
 
3.  Because of 1 and maybe for some 2, we will eventually have to migrate to  a new DAW.  At that point there will be some sort of a learning curve.  I'd rather get that out of the way now, with SONAR as a backup.
 
4.  There will be no further bug fixes (yes, there are still plenty of them) or improvements.  I was incredibly impressed with the pace of the updates, bug fixes and improvements that Cakewalk was pushing out.  I was on the lifetime plan and feel like I got my money's worth from that, but no fixes going forward is a deal breaker.
 
Given all that I'm planning to keep SONAR installed for existing projects, but I don't plan to use it for anything new.  It was a tough choice between Studio One and Cubase (for me, YMMV) but with the 50% off deal on Cubase pro I decided to go that way for now.  If I hate it I'll try Studio One.
 
I have no interest in doing anything new in SONAR unless I have to-  Anyone else feel that way?
 
 

I have often gone years before getting the next version, all my bugs were fixed in recent months and Windows Update is disabled (and I'm offline anyway) so no problems here.
 
I am finding no alternatives to drum replacer and bitbridge (without additional costs) and with three attempts at doing a project in Studio One (I paid for it) abandoned in frustration I see no choice but to stay if I want to get work done.

jpetersen
I have often gone years before getting the next version, all my bugs were fixed in recent months and Windows Update is disabled (and I'm offline anyway) so no problems here.
 

Definitely one way to go, I completely understand and wish you luck!

1. There's people still using much older versions of Sonar without any problems.
 
2. I suspect there will Sonar users around for a good while. Most of them are here and have said they'll continue using it. A few, including myself, have forums that will continue the Sonar chat should this forum disappear.
 
3. Who knows what the futures brings? By the time SPLAT quits working maybe someone would have picked up the ball for Sonar.
 
4. Nope, don't feel that way at all. I'll drive it until the wheels fall off. The learning curve can't be that significant that one couldn't just switch to a new DAW get started right away. If you now Sonar well enough you should be able to figure another one out fairly easy.
 
For ****s and giggles I installed Studio One to see what it was about. It was different, but not so much that I couldn't figure it out.
 
To each his own I guess.

Bflat5
 
To each his own I guess.

Yeah, maybe I'm just shocked and very highly annoyed at Gibson so I feel like doing something different.  I really appreciated the work that Noel and team and Craig did and I know that me jumping ship doesn't bother Henry one bit, but personally I feel like I have to move on.  Completely understand those who want to keep using SONAR, it's pretty much the best DAW out there.

For those who are, eventually, leaving SONAR, do you have any recommendations for new DAW's? I'm torn and not sure where to start investing time. I've been with SONAR forever and I know all good things must come to an end but where to next?

I'm still using Sound Forge even though it's no longer supported.  I'll stay with Sonar until I'm convinced that another DAW is just as good and has as many features.

I will continue with SONAR until I can learn a new DAW well, then migrate all my work over to it.  This could take a few weeks or a few months, depending on how much spare time I have in doing so.
Once that's done, I'll make the new DAW my home, and simply keep SONAR installed just because I don't want to trash it as long it works. I'm sure it will find its place in my studio.
 
Currently evaluating Reaper, and again, it's the pricing that keeps me from even thinking about the ones I'd really like to try/buy (Pro Tools, Cubase, to name two).  But Reaper looks like it can do the job, so that's where I'm headed.

I intend to stay with Platinum for quite a while (If it keeps working, of course) because, I am currently in the process of recording 3 albums for 3 different artists. Once I am through those projects, I will start looking for a new DAW. At this point, I'd have to say Studio One seems the most likely candidate to me. I will also have to spend extra to replace some of the Platinum plugins that I consider a part of "my sound". 
This whole thing just really sucks. I (Like many others) have invested many years into Cakewalk Sonar only to have that loyalty be rewarded with being orphaned. 

Towel thrown in here! Didn't like the sensation of working on what is essentially a dead product. And didn't want to take my computer off line for years and be frozen in time. Currently working with Studio One Pro.