Dave, did I say I was displeased? If that's how I came off, my bad.
I tried to express my curiosity. I love using Sonar, but my decision to upgrade any software is based on the changes that were made. If I can't see a comprehensive list of changes and fixes, I can not make an informed decision. I don't upgrade solely for new bells and whistles, I leave that for the ADHD consumers. I need to know what was changed and how this will impact my work. A marketing piece saying 100+ enhancements does not tell me very much.

There is a cost in keeping old options and methods alive.  It is not necessarily a virtue for a product to be so flexible that it can accommodate any possible work flow and support the most obscure add-ons.
 
As a person who sees SONAR as a great value, I am perfectly willing to give up some of the work flow options in exchange for cleaner, more efficient, more reliable code.  And I think Cakewalk has done an admirable job of trying to balance that.
 
Rather than add more work flow options, I'd be in favor of further tightening it up so that the supported  flows are 100% reliable.  I'm willing to change my methods as necessary.  I don't think it is fair to demand that the product be designed around me so that I never have to learn anything new.
 
If a person doesn't want to change anything, then they should freeze their system and not expect to upgrade to new capabilities.

I'm on the fence about this. On the one hand there is no denying that X3 is an awesome update and well worth the price. They've done a fantastic job. However there is always room for improvement and I still think there are some niggling little fixes and new features that could be added without too much development (i.e. nothing as involved or complicated as ARA integration or VST3 support). Little things that could be, you know, 'tidied up' as it were, for instance those long menus of automation parameters (and drum maps) where you have to click the up/down arrows to scroll slowly through them all (or press the first letter of what you want if you know what you're looking for) - I mean just let us use the scroll wheel lol.....and of course better organization and labeling of automation lanes which I've mentioned before. I'd also like to see more song arranging/organization tools, for instance some kind of clip library like the clip lists in Pro Tools. Hardly reinventing the wheel, but very useful stuff which would make composition and arrangement feel a lot more organized. And ultimately if Cake are going to want to attract more of the young EDM crowd (and who wouldn't want a bigger slice of that market) then I feel there's probably a lot more they could be doing to introduce the kind of sequencing and arranging features found on EDM favorites like Maschine. But who knows, maybe they do have stuff like this in the pipeline - we're certainly not going to get it all in one upgrade. 
 
And of course we all have a duty to submit feature requests and bug fixes - I know I've been lacking in that respect...some of the above I may have submitted, most of it I probably haven't. The problem is I can't even remember lol....I have vague memories of doing that sort of stuff. I really ought to keep track of it 

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
So you don't think a full blown new comping mode, support for 3 new standards VST3, ARA and Gobbler, Prochannel improvements, redesigned color customization, as well as huge plugin workflow enhancements do not constitute a massive upgrade? All of these features impact pretty much every user in some way and were picked because they are not niche features but solid useful tools for every DAW user. Regarding the 3'rd party stuff they are 100% value adds. They take zero development time from us, other than some minor support issues and bug fixes and obviously release management. So its not like taking those out would have magically bought other features you wanted. 
 
If not you have some pretty unrealistic assumptions about what goes into building software. Every one has different ideas about what would be ideal features for their specific workflow. We pick features that would have the most impact on our larger user base. If anything I think X3 hits home here much more than any other version since it tackles the basics - recording, editing, plugins, and customization. Most users would agree that this is very close to what the majority of people wanted. Cakewalk is a small company and we have very finite resources so we have to spend our time wisely..

 Hi Noal not wanting to disrespect cakewalk or your self in this answer and not disputing about the comping mode although not that I personally will ever use that but that just me so I do acknowledge what good had been done here, I only point out what I am thinking regarding improvements or fixes etc. But I do disagree on cakewalks motives in leaving behind the older improvements that have gone on since I got sonar v6, okay a few of them are my ideas that I have mentioned many times over the years but still what the more concerning will no doubtable be thinking about attention to detail, its all logic.
why devise something then not improve it for the better, or fix older issues, I don't say this from a naive or selfish point of view only a knowledgeable point if view, yes all daws have things missing or done different, and I am a fussy one wanting it all and implemented the best and simplest way as far as ease of use goes, I am not bothered about new stuff as much as I want the older stuff improving, and these thing are not trivial they are very important not just to me but from that logical point of view.
 
I only say this because I am not single minded, I have used/have Cubase/studio one/reaper/ableton/reason/and have tested others so I get the best possible perspective on the whole about how things are implemented and how they work, I don't just stick my head in the sonar pie, but I do like what sonar has in place also, so don't get me wrong and I do understand hard work goes into it all and I don't claim to know how to make software, but common nothing revolutionary in the development, nothing unique overall , and cakewalk are trying to catch up with some basic's now, so comping yes valuable to some and needed, but nothing to get high and mighty about because of the lack of ideas or the fact a lot of older request get ignored .I don't doubt what goes on behind the scenes its plain to see from some users point of view that have experience the world of the DAW more to know what should be in a good programme anyhow without making it out to be something special, that is why I don't care much about mentioning your comping and pro channel they may be great and they may also have short comings, that is not my questioning, Its more about what has been kicked to the whey side to make way for the things that a company like this should have been on the ball with a long time ago. on cakewalks part its not really thinking about the majority as you state (Not bringing into the equation what I just said about comping etc. as most established producers or long time hobbyists  will already have their preferred plugins, so why make these out to be  a big thing, they are great for some, but still a cop out overall (Candy),
 
what happened to beatscape yet again a half finished product full of bugs that could have been made great and really in-depth if any thought had been put into it, but it seem to me like cakewalk just take the easy option always about marketing to the newbie, so is it no wonder we will never be rid of the bugs that are not acceptable and always blamed on hardware and drivers, when they are okay with all other Daws.
we have to get back to the issue of old bugs and older improvements that have been requested and are logical and needed, I am not the only one
on this , all is well with catching up with other daws and welcomed, but not my issue and worry, As well as the excessive bugs, its also the tweaks for me, so I worry on cakewalks ethics here.
And if someone cant be constructive without having the die hards on here getting offensive then its a sad place, not that I am tarring all with this brush mind you, I see some great people here too.   :) 
also  thanks for that note burkek, that's  exactly what I am talking about in my last words, if you wish to take the micky mouse out of some ones poor grammar that may be a result of a hard life at school with bully boys etc, and not getting the best start in their home life, then that is your short coming and very shallow dude !!, but I will forgive and forget, was it really worth the effort to post that in  a patronising way when you don't understand.
 
All I want is to get a voice regarding making cakewalk great I am not saying it does not have some great ideas already and things going on, so I don't want to be negative, I have sonar, so what is the point in ranting about nothing, its not nothing its all good debate.

burkek
That's, a lot, of, commas, and run-on, sentences, and I, would, like that, fixed, please.
 
KEv

thanks for that note burkek, I must try harder  f - , if you wish to take the micky mouse out of some ones poor grammar that may be a result of a hard life at school with bully boys etc, and not getting the best start in their home life, then that is your short coming and very shallow dude !!, but I will forgive and forget, was it really worth the effort to post that in a patronising way.

jatoth
Dave, did I say I was displeased? If that's how I came off, my bad.
I tried to express my curiosity. I love using Sonar, but my decision to upgrade any software is based on the changes that were made. If I can't see a comprehensive list of changes and fixes, I can not make an informed decision. I don't upgrade solely for new bells and whistles, I leave that for the ADHD consumers. I need to know what was changed and how this will impact my work. A marketing piece saying 100+ enhancements does not tell me very much.

Maybe I should have kept it that simple, that is what I am talking about, to sum it all up, without pointing the finger at exact things, so as to get myself in trouble.
Thanks for that.

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
 Cakewalk is a small company and we have very finite resources so we have to spend our time wisely..

well my apologies I am sorry, I thought cakewalk where giants in the DAW world with enough money to get things done and some.

amiller
Well said Noel!
 
I'm absolutely blown away by this upgrade for all of the reasons you point out.  I'm dig'n the new comp tools, colors and of course Melodyne...just fantastic!

alas I did not say their was anything wrong with the addition of colors and of course Melodyne, great additions.
Although for spending money on a upgrade colours are no big resource spending wise for cakewalk,
Okay  melodnye would have taken more work I give that much, but hay cakewalk would benefit from the business with celomony it works both ways and I feel sorry for those that get sonar finding they only then have to upgrade to make it worth having "I will say that much" this was found out the hard way over on the presonus camp, not like cakewalk created their own system like Steinberg cubase so I cant give them to much credit overall although still welcomed.
I did however miss the new Eq off, not that that matter for those that have their plugins already anyhow, nice gesture that's all I can say.
 
I am glad you are happy, that is good and nice to here  :)
Its just this big difference hear in the UK price does start to out whey the good in X3. why I am on the fence with it all, do I get for the couple of things that may benefit of do I give it  a miss.

>>why devise something then not improve it for the better, or fix older issues,
But that is exactly what has been done in X3. Plugins and comping, by far two of the most commonly used areas have had massive attention and many old issues have been fixed or are not applicable anymore.
SONAR is a massive program and its humanly impossible to address every enhancement request in any one cycle so we have to prioritize.
 
>> I thought cakewalk where giants in the DAW world with enough money to get things done and some.
I guess we should take that as a compliment to our skills :) We may be big in the DAW world but we are a tiny company - most developers from other companies I speak to are shocked by the amount we do with our resources. If we had all that money to and resources to do stuff we probably wouldn't be getting acquired by Gibson, eh? :)
 
Regarding lists of fixes, its actually hard to enumerate deterministically since sometimes there are sweeping changes that change the behavior of the program and make old issues no longer applicable. Also sometimes issues are logged and fixed within a cycle that may or may not apply to prior versions. However with the next update we will be listing a large number of issues that we found in our database to be resolved. This is by no means the entire list but it should give people a better idea idea of the areas of change.

here's an example of what, I think, people are asking for regarding lists of fixes:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/SONAR-8-The-fine-print-m1496133.aspx
 
This is from the Sonar 8 release.