If it's a case that the software is hyper-sensitive to system configuration to the point where other DAW's work perfectly on a person's system yet Sonar falls flat on it's face, then that's just plain bad software engineering. We shouldn't have to precision-tailor our systems to suit a finicky program. Part of the challenge of software engineering is in making a product that is compatible with the wide range of user configurations. I'm not talking about things that are obviously DAW-sensitive, like soundcards and the like, but just your general stuff like processors, graphics cards, motherboards, hard drives etc. Put it this way. If you have a decent quality interface and a (fairly) modern computer, and it runs Pro Tools and Reason and Reaper and Fruity Loops and the like without problems, but chokes on X2, then I'm sorry but X2 is at fault. 

To put it another way: if your computer meets the system requirements as advertised by Cakewalk but the software doesn't run properly on it, then you should get your money back. 

sharke


If it's a case that the software is hyper-sensitive to system configuration to the point where other DAW's work perfectly on a person's system yet Sonar falls flat on it's face, then that's just plain bad software engineering. We shouldn't have to precision-tailor our systems to suit a finicky program. Part of the challenge of software engineering is in making a product that is compatible with the wide range of user configurations. I'm not talking about things that are obviously DAW-sensitive, like soundcards and the like, but just your general stuff like processors, graphics cards, motherboards, hard drives etc. Put it this way. If you have a decent quality interface and a (fairly) modern computer, and it runs Pro Tools and Reason and Reaper and Fruity Loops and the like without problems, but chokes on X2, then I'm sorry but X2 is at fault. 

To put it another way: if your computer meets the system requirements as advertised by Cakewalk but the software doesn't run properly on it, then you should get your money back. 

Well, to play the devil's advocate, Pro Tools, Reason and all the others have and will exhibit similar problematic behavior at one time or another, at least upon initial release of any new version. They'll work fine one one system and perform inexplicably poorly on another/similar one. Sometimes it'll take a few patches to iron things out.

Even on the Mac side, where the list of variables is considerably shorter, we get similar issues (like the ones I have w/ Zeta). Newer applications aren't exempt either - the previously very solid Studio One has been behaving oddly at times w/ the newest release.

@sharke... I agree but sadly pretty much all of this stuff is finicky and annoying. I guess I'm lucky (or dare I say it smart) in the sense I decided on my software of choice and built the computer around that. I literally scoured the recommended systems section of this site and cobbled together the components from there. Even then I had some issues. Next system I get will be custom (I hope) because I've spent FAR too much time trying to sort all this mayhem out. If I didn't have as much time as I did it never would have happened and if after everything Sonar didn't work I would have tried to return it. But everything worked and I'm pretty happy with what I've got. As frustrating and time consuming as it was though I got a pretty hefty dose of learnin and self satisfaction after it all started doing what it was supposed to... almost a full year later. Anyone with an actual life though shouldn't be expected to go through what I did just to record some tunes.

sharke

If it's a case that the software is hyper-sensitive to system configuration to the point where other DAW's work perfectly on a person's system yet Sonar falls flat on it's face, then that's just plain bad software engineering. We shouldn't have to precision-tailor our systems to suit a finicky program. Part of the challenge of software engineering is in making a product that is compatible with the wide range of user configurations. I'm not talking about things that are obviously DAW-sensitive, like soundcards and the like, but just your general stuff like processors, graphics cards, motherboards, hard drives etc. Put it this way. If you have a decent quality interface and a (fairly) modern computer, and it runs Pro Tools and Reason and Reaper and Fruity Loops and the like without problems, but chokes on X2, then I'm sorry but X2 is at fault. 

To put it another way: if your computer meets the system requirements as advertised by Cakewalk but the software doesn't run properly on it, then you should get your money back.

Yep, yep, yep, and a big ol' yep to the money back thing. I agree 100% with everything you said.

I personally feel as though I got ripped off with X1. They never should have released it. Honestly, we should have been downloading X1 last month instead of X2.

I've used a lot of shareware over the years, crappy Japanese made software loading tools for work, tons of different software packages for work, games, video edit ... all kinds of stuff ... and by far, without a shadow of a doubt, after all the years I've been tinkering with computers ... X1 was the absolute worst program release I've ever seen.

Man we audio tinkerers have it so hard. I don't think most people understand the kind of processing power that goes into recording and mixing audio. I have a friend who dabbles in video production and he can't believe the kind of issues I tell him about with DAW's. 

But then again, think of the amount of hardware variables that had to be juggled 20 years ago in order to produce great music. Maybe we don't have it so bad after all. 

DAW's, for me, are a little like smartphones. The manufacturers, between them, have an absolutely awesome collection of working features. But not one single manufacturer has all the ones you want. Choosing a phone, like choosing a DAW, is a frustrating experience of dilemma and compromise. And every now and then you get an absolute turkey for which you want your freaking money back. Like my Samsung Epix from a few years ago, lol. 

X2 has been working pretty well for me so far, but then again I haven't delved that deeply into it yet. Whenever it frustrates me, however, all I have to do is hark back to the good old days of Pro Tools choking on me every 5 minutes.